PUEBLO, Colorado – West Texas A&M connected on seven homeruns on Wednesday afternoon including five in the nightcap as the #15 Lady Buffs ran their win streak to 10 with a regional doubleheader sweep of Colorado State-Pueblo at the Rawlings Sports Complex in Pueblo, Colorado.
 
The Lady Buffs return to the friendly confines of Schaeffer Park this weekend as they renew one of the top rivalries in Division II Softball in a three-game Lone Star Conference series with the #4 Belles of Angelo State starting on Friday night with first pitch set for 6 p.m. in Canyon.
 
THE BASICS:
- Game 1 Score: #15 West Texas A&M 8, Colorado State-Pueblo 0 (5 Innings)
- Game 2 Score: #15 West Texas A&M 9, Colorado State-Pueblo 2
- Records: WT (22-3) / CSUP (6-15)
- Location: Pueblo, Colorado
- Venue: Rawlings Sports Complex
 
HOW IT HAPPENENED (GAME 1):
The Lady Buffs wasted no time starting off the scoring as Ashley Hardin continued to stay hot at the plate as the senior connected on her fourth homerun in the last 24-hours, a solo shot to center for the 1-0 lead. Kourtney Coveney was hit by a pitch followed by Kylee Moore's 13^th long ball of the season with no outs, Stevie McLemore and Allie Smith added to the lead with RBI singles followed later in the inning by another hit-by-pitch to Coveney for an RBI to make it 6-0.
 
WT added to their lead in the top of the second inning as Smith singled down the right field line with two outs to score McLemore to run the lead to 7-0. The Pack looked to cut into the lead in the home half of the third inning as they loaded the bases with two outs before Kilee Halbert ended the threat with her fifth strikeout of the afternoon.
 
Mari Ruiz extended the Lady Buff lead in the top of the fourth inning as the Pima CC product grounded out with the bases loaded to score Suka Van Gurp from third base to make the score 8-0. Halbert got out of another jam in the home half of the fourth as the Pack loaded the bases with no outs before the All-American struck out a pair and forces a grounder to the circle to end the inning.
 
Halbert picked up the win (10-2) in the circle for the Lady Buffs, giving up no runs on three hits with three walks and nine strikeouts in the senior's 47^th career complete game while tying the Lady Buff career record for shutouts with 13 to tie Marci Womack (2009-12).
 
HOW IT HAPPENENED (GAME 2):
The Lady Buffs got on the board first in the top of the first inning as Van Gurp singled to right center to score Coveney from second base with two outs for the early lead, Smith added to the WT lead in the top of the second inning with a solo bomb to left field to make it 2-0.
 
The Pack plated their first runs of the game in the home half of the third inning with an RBI groundout to the circle followed by an infield single to tie the game at 2-2, Alyx Cordell gave the Lady Buffs the lead again in the top of the fourth inning as the sophomore crushed a solo homerun to center field followed later in the inning by a Coveney three-run bomb to right and a Moore solo shot to right center for back-to-back jacks and a 7-2 lead.
 
WT used the long ball to their advantage again in the top of the sixth inning as Shanna McBroom lifted a two-run shot to left with two outs to extend the lead to 9-2. That's all the cushion that the Lady Buffs would need as Shayne Starkey entered the circle in relief of McLemore for the final two innings.
 
McLemore picked up the win (3-1) for the Lady Buffs, giving up two runs on nine hits with no walks and no strikeouts in her five innings of work, Starkey capped off the win allowing no hits with a strikeout in the final two frames.