The Eastern New Mexico softball team dropped a 10-7 decision at the hands of #9 West Texas A&M despite a stellar offensive performance at the plate.

The Greyhounds (10-21, 6-13 LSC) totaled 10 hits for the game, while the Lady Buffs (25-10, 16-6 LSC) recorded just nine as a team, but three straight home runs in the top half of the sixth inning for West Texas A&M ultimately made the difference as both teams struggled to get outs throughout the game. Sophomore Jennifer McElroy had a solid afternoon with four RBI’s, including a towering three-run home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the seventh and a game-tying double in the bottom of the fifth that evened the score at 4-4.

McElroy’s double in the fifth pushed the Greyhounds even with the Lady Buffs after West Texas A&M scored three runs in the third and one run in the fourth to offset a 1-0 early advantage for the Greyhounds. Sophomore Iliana Mendoza provided that early advantage with an RBI ground out to second base scoring sophomore Kayla Marshall, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Elysa Rodriguez and advanced to third on a wild pitch.

Starting pitcher Kimberly Herron kept the Lady Buffs off the board in the first two frames with a strikeout with the bases loaded in the first and three straight outs in the top of the second. The Lady Buffs struck for four total runs in the third and fourth inning to open up a 4-1 advantage, but couldn’t maintain that lead through five innings as the Greyhounds totaled four hits and forced two Lady Buff errors in the field to tie the game up at 4-4 at the conclusion of the fifth inning.

Those aforementioned three straight homers for West Texas A&M broke the game open immediately in the following frame, establishing an 8-4 advantage for the Lady Buffs, which was extended to 10-4 in the top of the seventh with two more runs. The Greyhounds would not go away however, as Mendoza and junior Samantha Brockman led off the final inning with two singles before McElroy sent them both home with a three-run homer to left field.

Freshman Haleigh Behncke walked in the ensuing at bat following McElroy’s homer, but three straight outs for the Greyhound ended the late rally.

Mendoza, Brockman, McElroy and senior Karina Moreno all recorded two hits in the game while Mendoza and Brockman each produced a single RBI to go along with McElroy’s four.

The Greyhounds and Lady Buffs will complete the series tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.