Wednesday, March 17, 2010

PORTALES, N.M. - With one swing of the bat, senior first baseman Kristen Cruickshank (Glendale, Ariz./Deer Valley HS) won her nine-pitch battle with St. Edwards (17-11) pitcher, Diana Cezeaux, crushing a walk-off three-run homer to center field, lifting the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (7-18) to a 6-5 win. St. Edwards claimed a 7-1 victory in the opening game of the doubleheader, Wednesday afternoon at Zia Field. Over the two games, Kimberly Crouse (Sr., P, Round Rock, Texas/Hill College, Round Rock HS) pitched 9.1 innings, allowing just one earned run and fanning 11 batters.

The game two win marked the first time the Zias have defeated the Hilltoppers in the five meetings between the teams. The previous three meetings all took place on a neutral field in San Antonio, Texas.

In the nightcap, Eastern capitalized on an error by SEU shortstop Lexi Stephens, taking a 2-0 lead on a Michelle Anderson (Sr., C, Sierra Vista HS/Buena HS) sacrifice fly, followed by a RBI single from Cruickshank. The Hilltoppers returned the favor in the top of the fourth, tying the game on a two-run single from Miranda Yeager after an errant throw from Crouse.

Leading off the top of the fourth, Crouse roped a triple into the right centerfield gap and scored on a two-out single from Josette Aguirre (Sr., CF, Moriarty, N.M./Moriarty HS). Hilltopper first baseman Jenny Varteressian tied the game with a leadoff homer in the top of the sixth, as St. Edwards seized a 5-3 lead, plating three runs on four hits in the inning. Aguirre led off the Zia seventh with a double, but Cezeaux retired the next two batters and appeared on her way to victory, even after Anderson's infield single put the game-tying run on base. Facing an 0-2 count, Cruickshank took two pitches and another ball to bring the count full. After two more foul balls, she crushed the 27^th home run of her career to lift the Zias to a 6-5 win.

Cruickshank hit two-for-four in the game with four runs batted in, while Aguirre notched her first multiple-hit game with a one-for-four performance at the plate. Amanda Lale (Fr., P, Mesquite, Texas/Horn HS) earned the win in two innings of relief, allowing four hits and striking out two. Crouse scattered five hits over the first five innings, striking out eight.

The teams were locked in a pitchers' duel in the opening game, with Alex Mayo Otis (Sr., RF, Phoenix, Ariz./St. Mary's HS) drawing a leadoff walk in the first inning and scoring from second on Cruickshank's single to left field. The Hilltoppers evened the score in the top of the second on Stacy Giles leadoff homerun to right centerfield. St. Edwards threatened to take the lead in the top of the fifth, when pinch hitter Ally Valdez led off with a single, with pinch runner Salena Acosta stealing second base. With one out, Aguire fielded Yeager's single to center and fired a strike to the plate, keeping Acosta from scoring, without allowing Yeager to advance to second base. Five pitches later, Aguirre snared a line drive off the bat of Stephens and tossed to third base, where Acosta was doubled off, after taking too large of a lead off, ending the inning.

The Hilltoppers capitalized on four ENMU errors in the top of the seventh, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring seven unearned runs to take an insurmountable 7-1 lead.

Anderson, Cruickshank, Crouse and Aguirre all singled for Eastern, with Crouse scattering four hits over 4.1 innings with three strikeouts. Paige Sandahl tossed a four-hitter for SEU, striking out 12 and walking three to earn her ninth win of the season.

The Eastern New Mexico University softball team will continue their home stand on Friday, when they open a Lone Star Conference South Division series with a doubleheader against second-ranked Angelo State. The first game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. MST.