The number five Lady Buffs of WTAMU won three of four games played, including a three-game sweep against the Aggies of Cameron on April 19-20.  The Lady Buffs then fell to the Rattlers of St. Mary’s on April 21, 4-2.

“One thing I like about this team, we don’t get caught up in the emotions of the game,” Head Coach Kevin Blaskowski said.  “That’s a great trait and one of the reasons we’re having the kind of year we’re having.  That’s critical, because you can get caught up in the emotion, and we did a really good job of keeping our composure.”

In game one of their three game series against Cameron, WT dominated in a 14-2 victory in five innings.  The Lady Buffs jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning thanks to an illegal pitch and an RBI single by sophomore Allie Cranfill.

After a solo home run by senior Mercedes Garcia put WT up 3-0 in the second inning, the Lady Buffs poured it on in the third, plating eight runs to take an 11-0 lead.  Sophomore Renee Erwin hit a two-run homer in the third, her team-tying eleventh of the season.

Freshman Brittany Gehle added a two-run triple in the fourth inning to put WT up 14-2.

Freshman pitcher Hannah Newcomb went four innings, giving up two runs on four hits to improve her record to 14-4 on the season.

Things didn’t go so easy for the Lady Buffs in game two on Saturday, the first game of a double header.  WT found themselves in unfamiliar territory when they came up to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, trailing 6-0.

It didn’t take the Lady Buffs long to get right back in the game however, as senior Meghan Slattery started the comeback in the fourth with a two-run homer, followed by an Erwin two-run triple and an RBI ground-out by junior Jessica Sipe to cut the lead down to one, at 6-5.

The Lady Buffs would have another big inning just one inning later, as they would score six more runs to take an 11-6 lead.  WT had the bases loaded with no outs, when Slattery had an RBI single and junior Alyssa Lemos had an two-run double.  Gehle followed it up with a two-run single and Cranfill had a sacrafice fly to extend the Lady Buffs’ lead to five.

The Aggies would make a comeback of their own, but the Lady Buffs would hang on for an 11-10 victory.  Freshman Lauren Heinrich picked up the win, her tenth of the season, and Newcomb finished off the game in the circle for WT, picking up her second save of the year.

“I think we’re very confident,” Blaskowski said.  “We dug an early hole, but I’ve got complete confidence in our offense and if our pitchers just give us a chance, our offense will create some scoring opportunities.”

Game three was much more comfortable for the Lady Buffs, as they scored five runs on three home runs in the first inning en route to a 7-2 victory.

Erwin started things off with a two-run moonshot to left field for her twelfth homer of the year, followed by a Lemos two-run homer to center field and solo home run by senior Lacey Seidl to put WT up 5-0.

Seidl would go yard again in the third inning, a solo shot that put the Lady Buffs up, 6-1.

Newcomb picked up her second win of the series and 15th of the season, going the distance in a complete game, giving up just two runs on eight hits.

WT hosted a single game against St. Mary’s on April 21 for Senior Day at Schaeffer Park.

Lemos led off the game with a triple to right-center field and ended up scoring on a Rattler throwing error.

St. Mary’s would score three runs in the third inning, however.  The Rattlers tied the game up with an RBI single by senior Shelly Lee Zawadzki, followed by a two-run homer by senior Christina Rodriguez to take a 3-1 lead.

Slattery pulled the Lady Buffs to within two with an RBI single, but WT could not push any more runs across, as St. Mary’s was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh inning to hold on for a 4-2 victory.

Senior Adriana Garcia was charged with her first loss of the season, as she pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on ten hits with eight strikeouts.

The Lady Buffs’ record now stands at 39-8 overall and 18-5 in Lone Star Conference play.  WT will head to Portales, New Mexico, for one game against the Zias of Eastern New Mexico on April 23 at 5 p.m.