Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
ENMU sophomore Brook Leger breaks off the base behind Oklahoma Christian first baseman Lindsey Stoeckel as both watch for the outcome of the pitch during Friday's Lone Star Conference doubleheader at Greyhound Softball Field.
PORTALES - If the Eastern New Mexico University softball team is going to make the 10-team Lone Star Conference tournament, the Greyhounds will have to get hot in a hurry.
ENMU dropped a pair of LSC twin bills over the weekend to start a 10-game homestand, including 7-3 and 4-2 decisions to Cameron on Sunday at Greyhound Softball Field.
The Aggies (21-17, 9-11 LSC) pounded out 22 hits in the two games, including 16 in the opener, but they did most of their damage with six solo home runs, including one in each game by freshman catcher Kaiden Boren.
The youth-laden Hounds (10-26, 3-17) started the season with seven wins in their first 10 games, but have tasted victory only three times since, although they've been relatively competitive against several of the top teams in the league. They currently stand 15th in the rugged 16-team circuit.
The good news is the schedule looks favorable. Prior to a season-ending home twin bill against 20th-ranked rival West Texas A&M (21-12, 10-10) on April 30, they play the other four teams currently 12th or lower in the standings.
The problem is they're going to have to all but sweep those games to have a chance because they're five games in back of 10th-place St. Edward's (17-17, 8-12).
Boren, juniors Khmari Edwards and Karis Clark and sophomore Ashlynn Bruce all homered in the opener to back junior left-hander Breley Webb (9-5), who carried a two-hit shutout into the bottom of the seventh before the Hounds scored three times, including RBI doubles from freshmen Lisette Urquidez and Breanna Loyola. Ten players hit safely for Cameron (21-17, 9-11).
Game 2 was tight all the way. Leading 2-1, Castle hit a leadoff homer in the seventh and the Aggies added another run against sophomore Brook Leger (9-13), offsetting an RBI single in the bottom half from ENMU's Ashlee Lucero.
Junior left-hander Josie Swafford (6-5) picked up the win on a three-hitter, striking out 10.
Oklahoma Christian 7-8, ENMU 2-1 (Friday) - Eagles pitchers Kali Crandall and Grace Anderson combined to limit ENMU to eight singles in the two games to extend the team's winning streak to 12 games. Meantime, 22nd-ranked OC (28-8, 16-4 after sweeping WT 8-5 and 12-2 on Sunday) jumped out to early leads in both games.
Oklahoma Christian took advantage of two ENMU errors for three unearned runs off Leger in the first inning of Game 1, while third baseman Brooklin Bain added a solo homer in the third and second baseman Abi LaValley hit a two-run shot in the sixth.
Leger was pulled after three innings with the Hounds trailing 4-0.
The Hounds pulled to 5-2 in the fourth on shortstop Jokaira Parades' run-scoring single and an RBI groundout by second baseman Alanna Larkins before LaValley's second home run of the season all but put the game away in the sixth.
Crandall (12-6) gave up five hits, with three walks and six strikeouts.
Leger also started the nightcap, but was chased after designated hitter Aaliyah Brown made it 4-0 with a two-run homer in the third. Brown finished 4-for-4 with four RBIs, adding a two-run single in the fourth.
ENMU got on the board in the third on a run-scoring single by sophomore Azalea Martinez. Anderson (9-2) permitted three hits, with seven strikeouts and one walk.
