The Eastern New Mexico softball team pushed #11 Texas A&M-Kingsville to the final inning in the second game of a doubleheader Friday evening despite falling in both contests by finals of 8-0 and 4-2.
A homerun over the leftfield fence from sophomore Jennifer McElroy in the top half of the sixth inning cut a 4-0 deficit for the Hounds in half and gave them a chance to pull off the road upset heading into the remainder of the contest. Eastern New Mexico had the go-ahead run at the plate after getting runners on first and second base with just one out in the top of the seventh and final frame, but couldn’t manage to manufacture the runs across to fall by a 4-2 final.
McElroy recorded two of the four hits on the day for the Hounds after the squad failed to record a hit in the 8-0 game one loss at the hands of the Javelinas. Senior Kimberly Herron got the start in the circle in game one and kept Texas A&M-Kingsville off the board until the bottom of the third, and then conceded seven more runs over the course of the fourth and fifth innings to enact the five-inning run rule.
McElroy was joined in the hit column by junior Elysa Rodriguez and senior Emma Gary in the second game of the day. Herron got the start in game number two as well and worked through the first three innings without surrendering a single hit, allowing just one base runner by way of a walk in the bottom of the third.
Herron found trouble in the heart of the Javelina order in the bottom of the fourth, giving up three straight runs before being replaced by senior Emma Gary, who would work through the remainder of the game. Herron finished game number two by surrendering three earned runs on just three before Gary took over and allowed just one earned run the remainder of the contest to give the Hounds a chance at getting themselves back into the ball game.
The McElroy homerun proved to be a game changer as Eastern recorded two out of their four hits in the game following the homer. Gary continued the momentum generated by the long ball with a single in the next at bat, followed up by a hit by pitch on senior Karina Moreno.
Despite not cashing in Gary or Moreno in the top of the sixth, that rally continued into the sixth with a leadoff walk by sophomore Kayla Marshall and the aforementioned single by Rodriguez.
Eastern New Mexico will look to keep that momentum rolling in the third and final game of the series tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m. MST in Kingsville, Texas.
