– Freshman pitcher Kaylee Rogers and the Eastern New Mexico University softball team overcame windy conditions and a five-run deficit on the way to a doubleheader sweep of University of Texas of the Permian Basin (5-27; LSC 2-12). The Greyhounds (15-24; LSC 8-9) snapped a 10-game skid with an 8-0 win in the opener, and followed with a 10-5 victory in the nightcap. Rogers allowed just one earned run over 11.2 innings of play and fanned six batters.

“Kaylee Rogers was a force today, said ENMU Head Coach Katie Welborn. “She has the ability to stop good hitting teams, and she proved that today. I am exceptionally proud of Tiana Faagalulu who came in to pinch hit twice, and came up huge twice. We know UTPB is a scrappy team and we are staying focused for one more win against them tomorrow.”

The windy conditions started around 30 mph when play start, and exceeded 40 mph by the end of the doubleheader. The contests marked the first time the team met in Lone Star Conference play, and the Hounds moved to 15-9 in the all-time series with a 9-4 mark at home.

Game 1
In the opener, Falcon starter Chelsea Fairies retired the first two batters she faced before Kylee Keller launched her second homer of the year to give ENMU a 1-0 lead it would not relinquish. Eastern added three runs in the second inning and three more in the third for a 7-0 lead. Tiana Faagalulu‘s pinch-hit single in the bottom of the fifth plated Adriana Carabajal with the eighth run, to end the game.

Cameron Conrad belted her first homerun of the season for two RBIs in the third inning. Eastern pounded out 13 hits, which included five extra-base hits. Keller, Conrad and Samantha Glover each had two base hits. Rogers allowed just three hits and fanned three batters to earn ENMU’s first win since an 11-0 decision at Midwestern State on March 4. Her shutout was the fourth of her career.

Game 2
A three-run, first inning homer from Cindy Juarez gave UT-Permian Basin the early advantage, but the Falcons could muster just one more earned run the rest of the way. Eastern faced a 5-0 deficit after Juarez’s RBI single in the third frame.

After that third inning single, Rogers allowed one more hit the rest of the way, as the Greyhound bats heated up. Erikka Burke‘s one-out single got Eastern on the board in the bottom of the third, before the Hounds caught fire in the fourth.

Susannah Chandler led off the ENMU fourth with a bunt single, and later cracked a two-run double as the Hounds sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on five hits. Faagalulu added a two-run pinch hit single and the Hounds took a 6-5 lead on a Falcon error. In the fifth inning, Ashley Lopez belted her first homer of the season to extend the lead to 10-5.

The Hounds held a 13-6 edge in hits and a 4-2 lead in extra-base hits. Four Hounds had multiple hits, while Faagalulu, Chandler and Lopez drove in two runs each. Rogers scattered five hits over 6.2 innings of relief and struck out three batters.

Up Next
The Eastern New Mexico University softball team will conclude its series with UTPB on Saturday. The first pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. MST.