ENMU still on the skid
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SILVER CITY — Eastern New Mexico’s softball team didn’t end its losing streak on Friday afternoon. Though the Greyhounds came oh so close.
The Hounds entered Friday’s road game against Western New Mexico on a 16-game losing skid, and there were glimmers that it would end there against the Mustangs. But despite leading for most of the way, Eastern ultimately suffered a 4-3 setback in eight innings, making it 17 straight losses heading into the rest of the weekend.
The Greyhounds jumped on the board in the top of the first inning. After Elysa Rodriguez reached on a bunt single and Samantha Brockman walked, the red-hot bat of Jennifer McElroy knocked in Rodriguez with a double to right center, making it an early 1-0 Hounds advantage.
After ENMU starting pitcher Kimberly Herron recorded a three-up, three-down first, the Hounds carried their momentum into the second, as Kayla Marshall ripped an RBI double to left field, scoring Parker Smith from first to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Mustangs rallied back with a run in the third and a run in the fifth to tie the score at 2-2, but Adriana Carabajal put Eastern back in front during the top of the sixth on a pinch-hit RBI double to left, plating Lauren Likes to make it 3-2.
The Greyhounds took that one-run edge into the bottom of the seventh, but Western’s Ariana Maldonado clobbered a game-tying home run to send the game into extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, Eastern managed to put the go-ahead run on second base after Likes reached on a single to center and stole a base, but the Hounds couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity.
In the bottom of the eighth, WNMU scored the winning run on an RBI single by Marina Garcia, snapping Eastern’s eight-game winning streak over the Mustangs.
Western New Mexico scored its four runs on 11 hits with no errors. The Hounds tallied their three runs on eight hits with one error.
Seven different Greyhounds recorded hits, led by Rodriguez who went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Herron had a solid start while getting a no-decision, throwing 6 2/3 innings and giving up just three earned runs on 10 hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
