The UTEP softball team (11-8, 2-7) got a victory against Louisiana Tech University (19-12, 4-3) March 26 at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex. The Miners were able to get in some good hits and drive in runs consistently.
In the beginning of the first inning, junior pitcher Isabella Kelly only allowed one hit and was able to get out of the inning with no runs scored.
In the bottom of the first inning, sophomore infielder Ana Sample drove in a run to make the score 1-0. Then, a runner advanced to push the score to 2-0 for the Miners. The score became 3-0 after LA Tech’s pitcher walked a batter.
“I started off good I felt like, in the second inning I kind of had a rough going out, and you know it was a team effort. All the pitchers got a place in the circle today and then I got called back in,” Kelly said in a post-game interview.
In the beginning of the second inning, outfielder sophomore Katelin Cooper, was able to advance to third base after a well hit ball.
Graduate outfielder Maddy Green hit a home run to bring the Miners lead to 3-2. Sophomore pitcher Mackenize Collins, relieved Kelly in the second inning and allowed no runs in her outing.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Miners scored a run on a single hit putting the lead at 4-2. Redshirt junior Pate Cathey for the Miners scored from a two RBI single that was hit by freshman infielder Ajia Richard to put the score at 6-2.
Collins allowed no runs or hits in the top of the third inning as the Miners kept the lead at 6-2. In the bottom of the third inning, the Miners were unable to put runners on base and score runs.
In the top of the fourth inning, Collins only gave up one hit and gave up no runs in this contest. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Sample hit a solo home run to push the Miners lead to 7-2.
“So we always come here with a gameplan, we knew what she was throwing before we came out, and we stuck with it the whole time,” Sample said in a post-game interview.
In the top of the fifth inning, junior pitcher Zaylie Calderon took over for Collins. In her first outing, Calderon ended up walking a batter for LA Tech to cut down the score to 7-3.
Then, Saco for LA Tech hit a RBI to drive in a runner to cut UTEP’s lead to 7-4. Kelly re-entered the game and threw a wild pitch, causing a run for LA Tech to bring the score down to 7-5.
At the bottom of the fifth inning, the Miners were unable to score any runs, but had runners in scoring position.
In the top of the sixth inning, LA Tech scored on a hit and an error to only trail the Miners by one run 7-6. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Miners had three runners on base, but were not able to score, leaving the score at 7-6.
Starting at the top of the seventh inning, freshman pitcher Aalijah Alarcon took over for Kelly to close out the game and get the three outs, getting the Miners a 7-6 win. Collins ended up being the winning pitcher.
The Miners can be seen back in action for the final game of the series against Louisiana Tech University at 11 a.m. on March 26 at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex.
Daniel Alec Lopez is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email protected].
