Centerfielder Ashley Lopez cracked a career-high two doubles to lead the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (18-30; LSC 10-14) at the plate in Saturday’s Lone Star Conference series finale against Cameron. ENMU pitching forced the Aggies to strand 10 baserunners, but three fifth-inning homers lifted the Aggies to a 5-0 win at Greyhound Field.
“AC (Lopez) came up big for us twice, but we needed that throughout the lineup,” Head Coach Katie Welborn said. “I’m proud of the way she played and how Katie (Ripple) came in and finished the way we knew she could.”
The Aggies left the bases loaded in each of the first two innings, and managed just one hit with runners in scoring position in the game. The Hounds threatened with a two-out double from shortstop Susannah Chandler in the bottom of the first inning, but CU starter Bethany Hines escaped the jam.
After Cameron loaded the bases in the top of the second with one out, Greyhound pitcher Kaylee Rogers retired the next two batters, faced three in the third and retired the first two batters in the top of the fourth frame in what to that point was a scoreless tie. Kaytlyn Kizarr singled with two outs and Brenna Busby followed with a walk. Callie Busby followed with a three-run homer, followed by solo shots from Paige Daino and Breezy McComas to give the Aggies a 5-0 advantage.
Lopez registered her first double in the bottom of the fourth, and hit a line drive into the left-centerfield gap, one-out into the seventh frame for her second of the game. “I was just really focused at the plate and hit some line drives,” Lopez said.
Ripple blanked the high-powered Aggies on one hit over the final 3.1 innings. “What I try to do is just hit my spots and let my defense do the job for me,” Ripple explained. “With their slappers, I knew I wanted to keep it low, but I wanted to keep it away from their big hitters. If I hit my spots, it’ll come out good for us.”
For the series, Lopez paced ENMU with a .500 batting average and paced and outfield, which came up with diving catches throughout the three contests. “We’re really aggressive in the outfield and like to push each other,” Lopez said. “We have great outfielders and try to make as many plays as we can for our pitchers and defense.
The Eastern New Mexico University softball team will return to action on Thursday, to open another LSC series at Texas A&M-Kingsville. The contest is scheduled for 4 p.m. MST.
