LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State fell 6-4 to Seattle U in the semifinal round of the Western Athletic Conference Softball Tournament on Friday.
How it happened
Kayla Green started her second-straight game in the circle for NM State (26-23, 11-4 WAC) and pitched a scoreless inning to start the game. She hit trouble in the second inning when she gave up a leadoff walk to Madison Cathcart. Back-to-back singles for SU (20-30, 7-8 WAC) loaded the bases with no outs. Cherise Silvan hit a sacrifice fly, scoring the Redhawks lone run of the inning.
In the top of the third inning, Rachel Rodriguez and Haley Nakamura hit a single and a double, respectively, to put a pair of runners in scoring position with no outs. After SU walked Kelsey Horton to load the bases, Nikki Butler hit into a fielder's choice, scoring Rodriguez from third.
The Aggies scored again in the fourth with Amy Bergeson starting a rally with a leadoff single. Jeanelle Medina put down a sacrifice bunt to advance Bergeson to second and she advanced to third on a passed ball with two outs in the inning. Rodriguez hit a double down the left field line and Bergeson scored, giving NM State a 2-1 advantage.
Seattle U tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Cathcart led off with a double. After advancing to third on a strikeout, SU scored when Silvan hit a single through the left side.
The Aggies took the lead again in the fifth when Butler started an offensive run with a double to right center field. Brandy Hernandez came in to pinch run for the freshman and advanced to third on a passed ball. Victoria Castro singled to third, putting runners on the corners. Caity Szczesny hit a double to the gap, scoring Hernandez for the Aggies second lead of the game.
Trailing 3-2, SU started a scoring run of its own in the fifth after the Redhawks started the inning with a double. Back-to-back singles scored the tying run for SU. Kaylee Ree hit a double to right field to score a pair of runs for Seattle U. A sacrifice fly scored the final run of the inning and NM State trailed 6-3 going into the sixth.
Misty Hoohuli started the sixth with a single and Nakamura followed with single of her own to put runners on the corners. Horton hit a sacrifice fly and Hoohuli was able to come home on the play, cutting into Seattle U's lead.
In the seventh, the Aggies took down the Redhawks in order, allowing themselves one last chance to take the lead. However, New Mexico State went down swinging and fell to Seattle U 6-4.
Green picked up the loss in the game when she pitched four innings and allowed six runs on eight hits. NM State out-hit the SU 11-8 and left nine runners on base.
New Mexico State takes on the winner of the elimination game between UMKC and CSU Bakersfield on Friday at approximately 6:30 p.m.
