An already underwhelming weekend came to an even more disappointing end, as New Mexico was blown out 11-1 by the mercy rule in five innings, completing a sweep by No. 23 Fresno State on Sunday.
Things did not go well for the Lobos all afternoon, as UNM gave up at least one run in all five innings and switched pitchers three times.
“We made way too many mistakes pitching. We made way too many lazy mistakes on defense today that ended up costing us,” head coach Erica Beach said.
During the first at bat of the game, Fresno State’s Bria Kennedy hit a lead-off homerun to centerfield to open up the scoring for the Bulldogs.
Lindsey Willmon hit a two-run double later on in the inning, giving Fresno State a 3-0 lead early on. Then, Kierra Willis added another run in the second inning with an RBI double, extending the Bulldogs lead to 4-0.
In the third inning, with the bases loaded and no outs, Vanessa Hernandez hit a double, bringing in two more runs and giving Fresno State a 6-0 lead. Moments later, Kennedy hit a two run RBI single, extending the Bulldogs lead to eight runs.
The Lobos attempted to answer back in the bottom half of the third inning, with Shelbie Franc hitting a lead-off triple, New Mexico’s first hit of the game. In the next at bat, Cheyenne Smith would bring Franc home on a single, giving UNM their first and only run of the game.
The Lobos hopes were quickly dashed though, as wild pitching solidified Fresno’s lead. With the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Lobos pitcher Tess McPherson walked Fresno State pinch hitter Dominique Jackson, bringing in Willmon for the Bulldogs’ ninth run of the contest. Fresno State then added two more runs in the fifth inning, thanks to a Paige Gumz two-run shot deep to left field.
“Today we came out with low-energy, so in the third inning I really tried to get people up and use myself as a kick start, and try and get the inning and the rest of the game going in our favor,” Franc said after the game.
The Lobos fell to 18-17 (3-6 MW) on the season Sunday, while the Bulldogs improved to 27-9-1 (9-0 MW). Starting pitcher Krissy Fortner gave up three earned runs on five hits in just 0.2 innings of work.
Colette Robert replaced Fortner but did not have much success on the mound either, allowing five earned runs and seven hits in 1.2 innings.
McPherson finished the game for UNM, allowing three earned runs, two hits and three walks.
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New Mexico’s pitching staff gave up a total of 14 hits, compared to the three hits allowed by Fresno State’s pitcher Jill Compton, in her 15th complete game of the season.
“I don’t think it was one thing that cost us the game today, it was a lot of little things strung together, and they capitalized on it,” said Beach. “Great teams are going to capitalize on your mistakes. We just didn’t do that today, we weren’t sharp today.”
New Mexico will look to erase this weekend’s series out of its minds and focus on Colorado State. The Lobos will be traveling to Fort Collins, Colorado, to take on the Rams. The first game of that series will be on Friday at 4 p.m.
Wally Gallart is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @wallyagallart.
