Utes, Lobos Split Twinbill

Friday, April 28

Salt Lake City

3:00 PM

University of Utah

New Mexico

4/28/2006 12:00 AM | Softball

April 28, 2006

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah softball team (29-15, 8-4 Mountain West) had a chance to distance itself from third place today, but left the race for second wide open in splitting a doubleheader with conference rival New Mexico. The Lobos (22-22, 3-9 MWC) nabbed a 7-3 win in the first game while Utah rallied in the nightcap, 8-5.

Playing from behind proved to be a too difficult for both teams today. The Lobos jumped out to a 4-0 lead in game one and held on the four-run win. Utah then leapt out to a 4-0 lead of its own in game two but saw the Lobos rally to make it 6-5 in the sixth. The Utes got insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, securing the three-run victory.

Diana Phillips and Jackie Wong extended their hitting streaks to 14 and 11 games, respectively. They accounted for six of the team's 15 hits on the day. Phillips hit a team best 4-for-8 today and had a run and RBI. Her 14-game hitting streak is a career high. Wong only had two hits but scored five of Utah's 11 runs this afternoon.

Devina Quintero also had a solid day at the plate, going 3-for-6 with a run and an RBI as well.

Meghan Dyer got the game-one start and falls to 12-6 on the year with the loss. She went 4.1 innings, struck out three and walked four. Four of her six runs surrendered were earned as she scattered five hits.

Karina Cannon was Utah's game-two hurler. She went the distance and improves to 14-5. She struck out three and allowed nine hits and five runs. Only three of her runs were earned.

New Mexico 7, Utah 3
The Lobos capitalized on two Utah errors and a wild pitch in the third inning, scoring the game's first four runs en route to the 7-3 win. Only two of the Lobos' runs that inning were earned. In all, Utah had three miscues in the field, leading to three unearned Lobo scores.

UNM held the slim 7-6 edge in hits.

The Utes responded to UNM's four-run, third-inning effort with a run of their own in the third. With Wong on second, Quintero hammered a ball off the center-field fence, cutting into New Mexico's lead, 4-1.

However, the Lobos tagged Dyer for a pair of homers in the fifth. Cassie Chavez and Lindsey Elcess each banged out solo homers to stretch their team's lead to five, 6-1.

Utah had a pair of RBI singles by Jessica Shiery and Phillips in the fifth and made it 6-3 but UNM preserved its original four-run lead with an RBI single of their own in the seventh.

Jen Mendenhall got the win for UNM while Katie Gregg came on in relief to bag her first save of the year.

Utah 8, New Mexico 5
Four of Utah's first five batters all scored in the first inning as it raced out to the 4-0 lead and held on for the 8-5 victory. The Utes and Lobos both smacked the ball around the park nine times.

An RBI single and a pair of RBI doubles in the first inning allowed Utah to jump out to a comfortable lead. Quintero got the scoring started when her RBI single scored Phillips, making it 1-0. Then, Sharee Fonoti's RBI double scored Shiery and Staci Hemingway's two-bagger scored Quintero and Fonoti for the four-run cushion.

An Elcess homer in the second made it 4-1 but Quintero plated her second of three RBI on a single through the left side of the infield. Her hit scored Wong, who ended up scoring a total of three times in the win.

UNM trimmed Utah's lead to one with three runs in the third. With the bases loaded and two outs, Elcess hit a ball up the middle. Phillips misplayed it and as the ball rolled to the fence, all three on board scored. Only two of the three runs were earned.

Utah scored a run in the fourth and UNM in the fifth, keeping Utah's lead at one, 6-5.

The Utes hung insurance runs on the board in their last at bat. In the sixth frame, Jessica Shiery drew a bases-loaded walk while Quintero got her third RBI of the game on a bases-loaded fielder's choice.

Gregg started the game in the circle for UNM, and gets the loss. She only pitched one-third of an inning before Mendenhall came on to relieve her. Mendenhall went 5.2 innings and was not the pitcher of the record.