ENMU stays alive for LSC softball tournament

PORTALES — Still trying to climb into the 10-team Lone Star Conference postseason tournament with the games beginning to run out, Eastern New Mexico University’s softball team made progress in that direction over the weekend.

And they did it without their top pitcher.

The Greyhounds posted a Friday sweep over Texas Woman’s, then managed a split on Sunday against Midwestern State at Greyhound Softball Field, winning 8-7 in the opener before dropping Game 2 to the Mustangs 11-1.

ENMU (13-27, 6-18 LSC), tied with MSU for 12th in the 16-team league, still has its work cut, trailing 10th-place St. Edward’s (18-20, 9-15) by three games and Texas A&M International (14-31, 7-17) by one as the LSC takes a break from conference play this week. The Hounds, who have rescheduled a non-league home twin bill against New Mexico Highlands from today to next Tuesday, return to league play at last-place Western New Mexico (5-33, 2-22) on April 22 and at Texas-Permian Basin (17-28, 4-20) two days later before hosting rival West Texas A&M (25-12, 14-10) for two in their April 30 finale.

Sophomore Brook Leger, who had posted nine of the team’s previous 10 wins, was given the weekend off by first-year coach Amanda Fefel. She’s not slated to pitch against Highlands, either.

“I just saw some things I didn’t like with her mechanics,” Fefel said on Monday of the decision to rest Leger (9-13), a right-hander. “We hope to have her back next week.”

ENMU was outhit 11-4 in the opener, but rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fifth, taking an 8-4 lead when sophomore Kianna Galindo capped the rally with a grand slam home run. But MSU (7-32, 6-18) scored twice in the sixth and pulled to within a run on a leadoff homer by catcher Bailey Brenek in the seventh.

Sophomore left-hander Jennifer Bowman got the next two outs, but surrendered two singles and a walk to load the bases. She fell behind 3-1 against right fielder Maddy Holder, who earlier belted a three-run homer and an RBI triple, but on a 3-2 pitch Bowman snared Holder’s smash up the middle to earn the team’s first save of the season.

Sophomore center fielder Azalea Martinez blasted a two-run homer in the first for the Hounds, but MSU got a run-scoring double from center fielder Paige Bryant before Holder went deep for her first college home run and a 4-2 Mustangs lead.

Freshman Jennifer Gress (2-1) relieved starter Lisette Urquidez at that point and went 4 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and two runs, before giving way to Bowman.

ENMU hit multiple home runs in a game for just the second time this season, the other coming in an 8-5 win over Texas A&M-Commerce on March 4.

In Game 2, Midwestern State scored four times in the first and never looked back, belting three homers and ending it on the 10-run rule in five innings.

Holder, who came into Sunday just 1-for-20 for the season but went 4-for-7 with six RBIs in the twin bill, added a two-run homer in the fifth inning of the nightcap while sophomore righty Kennedy Cameron (5-11) tossed a four-hitter, striking out eight. Urquidez prevented a shutout with her eighth home run of the campaign.

ENMU 4-4, Texas Woman’s 3-2 (Friday) — In the opener, Gress earned her first collegiate win and helped the Hounds rally from a 3-1 deficit with her first home run, a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth.

ENMU tied the game in the sixth on Galindo’s run-scoring single, then walked off the Pioneers (9-26, 4-20) in the seventh after Gress and sophomore Azalea Martinez opened the frame with singles. Urquidez dropped a sacrifice bunt, and Gress came around to score when TWU third baseman Brooke Cornelison committed a throwing error on the play.

Urquidez worked five effective innings, allowing five hits and three runs (two earned), before Gress took over in the circle and tossed two hitless frames with one walk and two strikeouts. ENMU outhit the Pioneers 12-5, with Martinez going 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and four others notching two hits apiece.

In Game 2, Gress belted a two-run, fourth-inning double to stake the Hounds to a 4-1 lead. Bowman (1-0) went the distance on a tidy 85-pitch outing, allowing seven hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

Bowman gave up a two-out RBI double in the seventh and TWU had the tying runs in scoring position before she got the final hitter on a groundout.