SILVER CITY, N.M. – The Black Hills State University softball team dropped a pair of games Saturday afternoon as part of the Western New Mexico Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference pod. In game one against Colorado Mines, the Yellow Jackets fell 8-0 but came back in game two to fight to a 5-4 loss against the host, WNMU.
Game One: Colorado Mines 8 Black Hills State 0
The Orediggers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, as the two squads then battled to scoreless softball in the middle three innings. CSM then tacked on four more runs in the fifth inning.
Alex Wiley took the loss for the Yellow Jackets while Hallie Smith was the winning pitcher for CSM. The lone hit for the Green and Gold came off the bat of Wiley, when she smacked a double. She also drew a walk.
Game Two: Western New Mexico 5 Black Hills State 4
The Yellow Jackets knotted the game up three different times but were unable to grab the lead from the Mustangs, who picked up the victory with a walk-off hit.
The first WNMU run came in the first inning when Mariangela Garcia hit a single, scoring Ariana Maldonado from second. The Yellow Jackets then tied the game in the second inning when Pamela Sakuma drew a bases-loaded walk scoring Lauren Lesniak.
In the bottom half of the second, the Mustangs grabbed the lead back, scoring a pair of runs.
However, again in the top-half of the next inning, the Yellow Jackets again tied the game up. This time at 3-3. Claire Fergusson singled, followed by an Alex Wiley single into left field gave the Green and Gold runners at first and second when Katie Camp stepped up to the plate.
Campo promptly hit a double into left center field scoring both base runners to tie the game at 3-all in the top of the third inning.
Western New Mexico again gained the lead in the bottom half, this time when T. Ramierez hit a homerun. That score would hold until the top of the fifth with the Yellow Jackets batting.
The Yellow Jackets loaded the bases with a Katie Campo single, Stefanie Witman double and an Erica Everson hit by pitch. Jo-jo Curry stepped up to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded, where she was then hit by a pitch to bring in Campo and a 4-4 score.
The Yellow Jackets couldn't get the offense moving in the next two frames, giving the Mustangs a chance to sneak away with the win in the bottom of the seventh. Ramirez doubled to lead off the inning where she was then pushed over to third on a fielder's choice. With two outs, B. Misenhimer singeled into centerfield for the walk-off victory.
Witman was charged with the loss, pitching 6.2 innings and striking out three, giving up three earned runs. T. Salazar was credited with the victory for WNMU, pitching 2.1 innings of relief.
Campo led the Yellow Jackets with two hits and two RBI and scoring a run herself. Witman, Campo and Morgan Smith each hit a double.
Black Hills State continues its stay in New Mexico, again facing Western New Mexico and Colorado Mines. First pitch against WNMU is scheduled for 10 a.m. with a noon first pitch against CSM.
