Audrey Velasquez, Susannah Chandler, and Kamalani Peneku each had three hits over Friday’s Lone Star Conference doubleheader, as the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (18-29; LSC 10-13) pounded out 16 overall hits. Cameron (27-13; LSC 15-4) used their explosive offense to earn a 12-3 win in the opener and an 11-3 decision in the nightcap.
“I expected us to hit a more,” Head Coach Katie Welborn said. “We know that against a prolific hitting team that we need to put up more numbers that we did today.”
Velasquez continued her hot streak and has batted .409 over the last seven games since belting a walk-off grand slam against University of Texas of the Permian Basin. “I feel a lot better since I’m contributing more,” Velasquez said. “I just go up there and its see ball, hit ball. I do what I can for the team.”
“Audrey has turned it on at the right time and Suzy hit that big homerun for us,” Welborn added. “I wish we could have capitalized a bit more.”
Second Game
Velasquez drew a leadoff walk, and Erikka Burke followed with a RBI double to left field, to give ENMU a 1-0 lead in the nightcap. Cameron’s Bethany Hines countered with a one-out, two-run triple in the second from Bethany Hines, and scored on a single from Alyssa Osterdock. The Aggies took a 10-1 lead, before Chandler belted her eighth homer of the season with Velasquez on first base to cut the deficit to 10-3 in the fifth inning.
Velasquez drew a leadoff walk, and Erikka Burke followed with a RBI double to left field, to give ENMU a 1-0 lead in the nightcap. Cameron’s Bethany Hines countered with a one-out, two-run triple in the second from Bethany Hines, and scored on a single from Alyssa Osterdock. The Aggies took a 10-1 lead, before Chandler belted her eighth homer of the season with Velasquez on first base to cut the deficit to 10-3 in the fifth inning.
The Aggies plated an 11th run in the sixth and the game ended due to the eight-run lead. Third baseman Adriana Carabajal turned ground ball off the bat of pinch hitter Tori Smith into a double play to end the inning.
Velasquez and Chandler both had two hits for the Hounds. Hines had three hits and drove in three runs for the Aggies.
First Game
After a scoreless first inning in the opener, Hines singled in the game’s first run in the second inning. The Aggies tried to score a second run on the hit, but centerfielder Ashley Lopez fired a perfect strike to catcher Samantha Brockman to cut off Katylyn Kizarr at the plate. Brenna Busby followed with a two-out single to give CU a 2-0 lead.
After a scoreless first inning in the opener, Hines singled in the game’s first run in the second inning. The Aggies tried to score a second run on the hit, but centerfielder Ashley Lopez fired a perfect strike to catcher Samantha Brockman to cut off Katylyn Kizarr at the plate. Brenna Busby followed with a two-out single to give CU a 2-0 lead.
Chandler led off the Greyhound second with a single, stole second and scored after a single from Ashley Lopez was not fielded cleanly by Kizarr in left field. Lopez later scored to tie the game when Kamalani Peneku was caught stealing at second base. Cameron scored three runs in each of the next two innings to seize an 8-2 advantage, before Brockman’s two-out infield single plated Lopez. The Aggies added four runs in the fifth frame to seal the game.
Peneku batted two-for-two in the game. Brenna Busby drove in four runs for Cameron
Up Next
The Eastern New Mexico University softball team will conclude its series against Cameron, on Saturday at noon. “We’re looking for a win,” Velasquez said. “We can’t take Cameron lightly, but we definitely can do it if we show well tomorrow.”
The Eastern New Mexico University softball team will conclude its series against Cameron, on Saturday at noon. “We’re looking for a win,” Velasquez said. “We can’t take Cameron lightly, but we definitely can do it if we show well tomorrow.”
