First, they recorded their first win over Fresno State in four years. Now, the Lobos (10-26) have done the same to in-state rival New Mexico State (18-15) with a 13-4 victory in six innings over the Aggies on Tuesday night in Las Cruces.
The victory gave New Mexico its first win over the Aggies since a 4-3 win on March 19, 2014. None of the players currently on the roster for New Mexico were members of that team.
The Lobos wasted no time getting the scoring started, as lead-off hitter Cameryn O’Grady started the game off with a blunt single before coming around to score on a double from D'Andra DeFlora. Andrea Howard followed DeFlora with a two-run home run to right field to give the Lobos the 3-0 heading to the bottom of the second.
NMSU didn't wait long to answer, as Fahren Glackin hit a one-out triple off of Lobos starter Jensen Main and came around to score on a Kelsey Horton single. However, Horton was called out at second attempting to stretch the hit into a double, and a fly out from the next batter ended the inning. The Lobos held a 3-1 lead after one.
In the second, UNM quickly got the bats going again, as singles from Sydney Broderick and Aleyah Wilbon chased NMSU starting pitcher Analise De La Roca from the game after recording just four outs. O’Grady took the very first pitch from reliever Kayla Green into left center field for a double to score the runners and give the Lobos a 5-1 lead.
Once again, the Aggies were quick to answer back, putting up two runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Albuquerque native Victoria Castro got things started for NMSU with a double, followed by De La Roca reaching first base on a throwing error by O’Grady that gave the Aggies runners on the corners. Anne Marie Vargas advanced De La Roca to second on the sacrifice before Amy Bergeson drove the runners in on a double to center that cut the Lobos lead to two, 5-3.
A pair of errors from the Aggies in the third opened the door for the Lobos to add another run. After Monica Salas reached on an error and advanced to second on a Broderick single, she was able to score on a two out fielding error by Glackin at first base, allowing Wilbon to reach safely as the Lobos pushed the lead to three.
Thanks to a lead off home run from Horton, the Aggies were once again able to answer New Mexico’s run in the top half of the inning before Main sent the next three hitters down in order. After three complete innings, the score was 6-4.
In the fourth, O’Grady opened the inning for the Lobos with a single and was on base when senior Chelsea Johnson, in her last matchup with the Aggies, stepped to the plate and belted a ball over the fence in center for the two-run, one out homer that put the Lobos up 8-4.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Main retired the Aggies in order to record the first scoreless frame of the game.
After the Lobos turned in their first scoreless offensive frame, New Mexico State failed to capitalize on a potential rally, as they stranded two baserunners.
The Lobos broke the game open in the top of the sixth, as O’Grady once again reached base leading off the inning, this time on a hit by pitch. Freshman Taylor Jones, pinch hitting for Sydney Townes, followed with a double down the line in left to put runners on second and third for Johnson. Johnson once again came through for UNM, this time with the two-RBI double that came at the end of a tough seven pitch at bat.
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A fielding error by Horton at second base allowed Howard to reach safely as Johnson, who advanced to third on a ground out from DeFlora, was able to score the Lobos third run of the inning. Salas followed with a two-run home run of her own to left center to give the Lobos a 13-4 lead and put the team in position to mercy rule the Aggies.
In the bottom of the sixth, NMSU was able to put runners at second and third to set up a potential two out rally, but Main struck out Bergeson to end the threat and the ball game.
Next up, the Lobos will take on Colorado State on the road in a three game conference series that begins Friday, April 6 in Fort Collins.
Cameron Goeldner is a sports beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer and softball but also contributes content for baseball, basketball, football and track and field. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter@goeldfinger.
