Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
ENMU junior first baseman Grace Rofii goes low and stretches for a low throw to get the diving Laylonna Applin out at first base during the opener of Saturday's Lone Star Conference softball doubleheader at Greyhound Softball Field. ENMU beat the Rambelles 3-1 in that tilt, but ASU came back to take the final two games of the series.
Angelo State, ranked No. 25 in NCAA Division II, did all its damage early and senior right-hander Cheyenne Floyd made it stand up in a 4-0 Rambelles win over Eastern New Mexico University in Lone Star Conference softball on Sunday at Greyhound Field, giving ASU the series win.
Right fielder Tatiana Trotter doubled home the game's first run in the top of the first inning off ENMU sophomore right-hander Marissa Rodriguez (5-5). Rodriguez was chased after surrendering a two-run double to first baseman Zoey De Baca in the second, while catcher Keilei Garcia added a solo home run for Angelo (20-8, 11-7 LSC) off reliever Jordan Rivera in the third.
Floyd relieved ASU starter Avene Gunther with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the first and escaped by getting senior shortstop Valeria Contreras on a lineout to first and freshman first baseman Grace Rofii on a foulout to first.
ENMU (15-11, 8-10 LSC) then got a leadoff single from left fielder Cecilia Jurado in the second, but Floyd held the Hounds hitless the rest of the way. She walked three and struck out 11.
Sophomore right-hander Jordan Rivera and junior right-hander Emma Southerland combined for 5 1/3 innings in relief for ENMU, allowing just one run on five hits.
Second baseman Layni Tanner, left fielder Carter Smith, Gunther and DeBaca each had two of the 10 hits for the 25th-ranked Rambelles (20-8, 11-7). ENMU managed to stay close with the help of a pair of double plays.
ENMU 3-2, Angelo State 1-10 (Saturday) – Rodriguez had a much better showing in Saturday's opener, tossing a complete-game four-hitter with four walks and four strikeouts. The Rambelles' run was unearned.
The Hounds got a 3-6-4 double play and senior catcher Alondra Vasquez gunned down a would-be base stealer in the second, but in the third the Rambelles broke through on an RBI single by third baseman Averie Gunther.
Rodriguez then tied the game with a solo homer, her second, in the fourth inning. Then in the fifth, junior catcher Samantha Gutierrez hit a run-scoring double to left-center and Rodriguez followed with a sacrifice fly to deep left for an insurance run.
Ford took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits with four walks and nine strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.
In Game 2, Vasquez tied the score 1-1 with her eighth home run in the bottom of the first, but the Rambelles scored twice in the second and broke the tilt open with seven runs over the fifth and sixth frames, ending the contest after six on the 10-run rule.
Junior right-hander Emma Southerland (6-3) took the loss, working five innings and giving up 10 hits and nine runs (eight earned). ASU's Torrey Hogan (2-1) allowed one hit over the final 2 1/3 innings, striking out three, to earn the win.
Designated player Keilei Garcia led a 12-hit ASU attack, going 3-for-4 and with an RBI double in the fifth and a two-run single in the sixth.
Junior Graci Rofii drove in ENMU's second run with an infield hit in the third.
ENMU faced a three-game midweek series at second-ranked West Texas A&M. The Hounds return to action for three games against Texas-Permian Basin this weekend at Greyhound Softball Field, beginning with a 1 p.m. twin bill on Saturday.
