LAS VEGAS, N.M. – BHSU entered this game having won seven of their first eight conference games, and now they added two more wins to their total as they swept NMHU in the first two games of the series thanks to excellent pitching and a couple really strong innings. The Yellow Jackets found themselves struggling to score early in both these games, but late rallies allowed BHSU to continue to hold a second-place spot in the conference.
Laci Peskey tied the BHSU single season record for wins in a season with her win in the Game 1.
QUICK DETAILS – GAME 1
Final Score: Black Hills State 5, New Mexico Highlands 1
Team Records: Black Hills State 10-5 (8-1 RMAC), New Mexico Highlands 7-12 (1-8 RMAC)
Pitching Decision: Win: Peskey (9-1), Loss: Banegas (1-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1
• There were not a lot of baserunners in the early going of this game.
Desi Hernandez had a first inning single, Highland's Shaylene Saladin walked in the bottom of the first. BHSU got their first chance in the second inning when
Carli Maley hit a single, and
Carly Reyes Mims hit a double, but Maley tried to go all the way from first to home and was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. Heaven Medina walked in the bottom of the inning and advanced to second on a Giana Marez single, but was unable to make it home. Then, we had three half-innings of 1-2-3 innings.
Laci Peskey had six strikeouts through three innings up to that point.
• It wasn't until the bottom of the fourth that we had our first run. Dioni Lincoln hit a leadoff double and stole third with one out in the inning. With two outs, Vicky Alvarado hit an RBI single to score Lincoln and give New Mexico Highlands a 1-0 lead.
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Taylor Dowden doubled in the fifth, but couldn't make it home, and Peskey had another 1-2-3 inning including her eighth strikeout to send it to the sixth still down by a run.
• Finally, BHSU offense came alive in the sixth.
Lily Simmons hit a single up the middle.
Tyler Whitlock hit a bunt single to advance Simmons to second and
Ashlynn Pauwels hit an RBI single to score Simmons and advance Whitlock to third. Wong hit a squeeze bunt to score Whitlock and that gave BHSU a 2-1 lead with no one else able to cross home plate in that inning. Dioni Lincoln doubled in the bottom half but couldn't score and BHSU headed to the seventh with a 2-1 lead.
• In the top of the seventh, Reyes Mims hit a leadoff single, and with one out
Lily Simmons walked to advance Reyes Mims to second. They both scored on a Whitlock two RBI triple, and Whitlock scored on a Hernandez sacrifice fly, which gave BHSU a 5-1 lead heading into the last frame. In the last frame, Alvarado hit a leadoff single, before Marez struck out swinging. Alessandra DeLaTrinidad hit a single to have two on with one out, before
Laci Peskey struck out the next two batters to end the game with 11 strikeouts, which was her fourth game this season with double digit strikeouts.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS – GAME 1
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Laci Peskey: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 11 K, W
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Tyler Whitlock: 2-for-4, 2 RBIs, 2 runs, 1 triple
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Carly Reyes Mims: 3-for-3, 1 run, 2 doubles, 5 total bases
QUICK DETAILS- GAME 2
Final Score: Black Hills State 4, New Mexico Highlands 3
Team Records: Black Hills State 11-5 (9-1 RMAC), New Mexico Highlands 7-13 (1-9 RMAC)
Pitching Decision: Win: Hoff (2-3), Loss: Williams (1-1), Save: Peskey (1)
Attendance: 202
HOW IT HAPPENED- GAME 2
• Whitlock hit another triple in the first inning of this game and Hernandez walked, but Pauwels hit into a double play to end the inning before Whitlock could cross the plate. In the bottom of the inning,
Caitlyn Hoff took the mound and allowed a single, a walk, and a single with one out to start the game. This had bases loaded early, and Saladin was able to score on a sac fly from Alvarado. Hoff settled down though and after hitting Alexia Apodaca with a pitch, she struck out Marez to end the inning, but NMHU had a 1-0 lead.
• It wasn't until the third inning when BHSU got on the board. With two outs, Whitlock reached first on an error and stole second. Hernandez walked to get two on for
Ashlynn Pauwels, who hit a double to score Whitlock, before
Alyssa Wong struck out to end the inning, but BHSU had tied it up at 1-1.
• After a few uninteresting frames, BHSU came up to bat in the top of the fifth.
Taylor Dowden started it off with a single. Simmons singled to advance Dowden to second, and Whitlock walked to load the bases with no outs. Hernandez got an RBI with a hit by pitch that walked in a run, before Pauwels hit a sac fly to score Simmons and advance each batter. Wong hit a bunt single to load the bases again, before Hoff got an RBI fielder's choice that got Hernandez out at third but advanced every other runner.
Audrey Fouras hit a single, but Wong was tagged out at home and that ended the inning, but not before giving BHSU at 4-1 lead.
• The bottom of the fifth started with Hoff giving up a leadoff single to Lincoln and then giving up a two-run home run to Medina that brought the score to 4-3. Despite a single, late in the inning, no more runs scored, but the lead was down to one.
• Reyes Mims hit another double to start the sixth, but nothing came of it.
Laci Peskey took over for her first save chance of the season trying to hold the one run lead. She immediately gave up a single, before getting the next three batters out with one more strikeout to add to her total. No one scored for BHSU in the seventh, which brought it to the final frame. Peskey walked Medina, struck out Alvarado, then allowed a single to Apodaca, but Whitlock made a perfect throw to tag the pinch runner out at second base. Peskey finished the game with a strikeout of Kaylee Rodriguez to give BHSU the day sweep.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS- GAME 2
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Desi Hernandez: 1-for-1, 1 RBI, 2 BB
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Ashlynn Pauwels: 1-for-3, 2 RBI
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Caitlyn Hoff: 5 IP, 8H, 3 ER, 5 K, W
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Laci Peskey: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K, S
UP NEXT
BHSU continues their series with New Mexico Highlands tomorrow with games at 11 AM and 1 PM.
