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Bittersweet sweep for Hounds

Twin killing over WT first since 2007; Hounds in second place prior to LSC sports suspension.

PORTALES — The Eastern New Mexico softball team made a little bit of program history. And then they learned it.

The question: When was the last time the Greyhounds swept rival West Texas A&M in a doubleheader?

“Wow,” coach Kira Zeiter said shortly before giving up. Outfielder Jenny McElroy, with a nervous smile, responded with an unsure, “Never?”

The answer: The Greyhounds started Wednesday afternoon’s twin bill with a 4-3 win for the first victory over the Lady Buffs since 2010, then took the nightcap 5-4 for their first twin killing over their maroon tormentors since 2007.

The pair of wins were quite the 180º from the teams’ first meeting this season, a 21-7 WT win Feb. 23 that didn’t figure into the Lone Star Conference standings. The Lady Buffs posted a seven-run first that day, and managed seven runs in two games Wednesday.

In games that do count for the LCS standings, the sweep saw ENMU (11-8, 5-1 LSC) jump ahead of the Lady Buffs (14-8, 4-2) for second place in the 17-team field.

They’ll be in second place for the foreseeable future, and there’s no telling what it means right now. Due to the spread of novel coronavirus, the Lone Star Conference suspended athletics though March 30 the day following the doubleheader. The suspension wiped out the Greyhounds’ three-game weekend series at Texas-Tyler and eight other future contests.

In their last outing until at least April, the Greyhounds avoided big innings and steadily built leads.

“We all came together as a team; everybody out there worked hard,” McElroy said after going 2-for-6 overall and driving in the first Greyhound run in each game. “It wasn’t one thing. It’s pitching, it’s hitting, it’s defense. It all came together at once.”

The Greyhounds have for the last few years experienced hot starts in LSC play due to a favorable early schedule, only to come crashing down to earth when they faced the conference heavyweights.

The team was hopeful a sweep over the Lady Buffs, owners of a 35-game winning streak over the Green and Silver entering Wednesday, would be the start of a new tune.

“I think throughout fall, throughout our preparations, we knew we were going to surprise some people,” Zeiter said. “Our team is somewhat unknown throughout the conference.”

McElroy hit a solo blast in the first game’s fourth inning to knot things up at 1, and the Greyhounds took the lead for good with a three-run fifth that featured back-to-back RBI doubles by Elyssa Rodriguez and Jokaira Perez. Rodriguez, batting out of the leadoff slot, went 4-for-6 in the two games with four runs scored while McElroy had a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the second game’s two-run first.

Starters Brook Leger and Jordan Bowman by no means shut down the Lady Buffs, each giving up seven hits, but the most damage either took came via two-run homers. Steph Elliott went deep in the sixth inning off Leger to make the first game 4-3 in the sixth, and Ruby Salzman’s no-doubter to left center in the second inning tied the nightcap at 2 before ENMU retook the lead on a Perez RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

“We focus on having a short memory,” Zeiter said, “as well as building off of when we do big things. I think we did a really good job of focusing and building momentum.”

The Lady Buffs had their moments, but too few and far between for coach Michael Mook.

“Their pitchers threw well,” Mook said. “They played good defense and made a lot of nice plays. I don’t feel good about our play at all. I think we need to hit the ball better. I think we need to pitch better. I think we need to play better defense.”

 
 
Rendered 03/23/2024 10:50