The No. 1 ranked West Texas A&M Lady Buffs would maintain their dominance, easing past Eastern New Mexico by scores of 4-0 and 10-1 in five innings on April 18. With the home sweep, the Lady Buffs haven’t dropped a game to the Zias since 2010 and extend their current winning streak to 17 games.
In the day game, the Lady Buffs would strike first in the bottom of the first inning, thanks to a triple by junior centerfielder Tyler Wilkinson and scoring off of a wild pitch by ENMU starting pitcher Cailin Garmon. In the bottom of the second, sophomore designated batter Lacey Taylor took a Zia pitch deep over left center while bringing in junior first baseman Allie Cranfill for two RBIs. This flurry of scores would leave the Lady Buffs with a 3-0 advantage into the fourth inning.
The fourth inning would see the Lady Buffs score once more, as a single by senior catcher Mallory Wyatt and three consecutive walks by the Zias would eventually helped Wyatt cross home plate for the final score of the game.
Taking home the win was junior starting pitcher Rita Hokianga, who is now 20-2 in the 2014 campaign. Hokianga would pitch a complete game, yielding only three hits while accumulating four strikeouts. Zias pitcher Cailin Garmon would take the loss for the Zias.
In the nightcap, the Lady Buffs bats came to life early and often. Beginning in the bottom of the first inning courtesy of a sac fly from senior third baseman Jessica Sipe, who enticed Wilkinson to cross home plate. Taylor would hammer another pitch to left center in the bottom of the second while Wilkinson would score again in the bottom of the third due to a sac fly and throwing error by the Zias. The Lady Buffs would further extend the lead in the same inning, as Cranfill would double into left field enabling junior left fielder Kaisha Dacosin and Sipe to cross home plate.
The Zias would attempt to mount a comeback in the top of the fourth inning, as Marleyna Pinon would single in Kyra Sirag to keep within four.
However, the bottom of the inning would see five more scores from the Lady Buffs. A frenzy of various hits would entice Taylor, sophomore second baseman Brittany Gehle, Wilkinson, junior baserunner Renee Erwin and Dacosin to cross the dish to secure the Lady Buff victory.
Sophomore pitcher Tori Bayer would record her ninth win of the season. The transfer from Lubbock Christian would yield seven hits and one run, but would strike out six in 4.2 innings to remain undefeated. Cailin Garmon would again take the loss for Eastern New Mexico, falling to 5-21 on the season.
The Lady Buffs continue to run roughshod through the 2014 season with a record of 19-4 in the Lone Star Conference and 44-4 overall. The Zias, on the other hand, would stumble to 1-22 in the LSC with a 13-38 overall record.
Continuing their season-ending homestand, the Lady Buffs will host a doubleheader against the UT-Permian Basin Falcons (11-35 overall, 8-13 Heartland Conference) at Schaeffer Park on April 22 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.. West Texas A&M will then battle No. 10 ranked Angelo State (37-10, 19-4 LSC) for Lone Star Conference supremacy and for the right to host the LSC softball tournament to cap the regular season at Schaeffer Park on April 25 and April 26.
