WT Edges Colorado Mesa, Cruises Past New Mexico Highlands
 
CANYON, Texas  – West Texas A&M softball started the 2023 WT Invitational with a pair of wins on Friday. The Lady Buffs defeated Colorado Mesa 2-1 in a rubber match before handling New Mexico Highlands, 7-0.
 
WT (6-0) continues the WT Invitational with a 12:15 matchup against Colorado Mesa and a 4:45 game against Fort Lewis.  
 
THE BASICS
Game 5 Score: West Texas A&M 2, Colorado Mesa 1
Pitching: (W) Heidi Vortherms (2-0); (L) Hannah Sattler (1-2)
 
The Lady Buffs' first game of the day turned to be a pitching duel between Heidi Vortherms and Colorado Mesa's Hannah Sattler. WT had a chance to put an early run on the board in the second as Brittni Rufus and Gabie McConnell advanced into scoring position with two outs. In the next at-bat, Sattler forced a Madison Johnson fly out to left to retire the side. On the other side, Vortherms held the Mavericks quiet, allowing base runners but erasing them shortly after.
 
Colorado Mesa struck first in the bottom of the fifth inning after Rylee Couch started the inning with a leadoff double. After Crouch's double, Makayla Westmoreland reached on an error after the ball popped out of Gabriella Valforte's glove on the tag. As a result, Crouch came around to score while Westmoreland advanced to second.
 
Determined to tie the game, Ruby Salzman led off the top of the sixth walk before advancing to second on Emilee Boyer's single. Diana Murtha matched Boyer's single with a base hit of her own to easily score Salzman from second. After the Mavericks cut a run down at the plate, Lauren Granger beat out a would-be double play to score Murtha on third.
 
In the sixth, Vortherms went back to work striking out two and walking one. The sophomore pitcher looked to have struck out the side, but a passed ball on strike three allowed Colorado Mesa to place runners on first and third. The play didn't faze Vortherms as she struck out the next hitter, stealing the momentum from the Mavericks.
 
After a quiet top of the seventh for the Lady Buffs, Vortherms struck out the side in the bottom half to complete the game.
 
Vortherms ended the complete game with 14 strikeouts including seven in the final two innings.  
 
THE BASICS
Game 6 Score: West Texas A&M 7, CSU Pueblo 0
Pitching: (W) Emilee Boyer (3-0); (L) Arianna Ramirez (0-2)
 
In the nightcap of the first day, Salzman started the inning with a one-out double to center field. A few batters later, Murtha ripped a double down the left-field line to bring in Salzman for the game's first run. Boyer, starting the game as the Lady Buffs' pitcher, held the Cowgirls silent through three innings before turning the ball over to Emilee Wilson in the fourth.
 
WT did its damage in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring five runs on four hits. Moving into the designated player role, Boyer started the inning with a walk before being lifted for a pinch runner. Murtha followed the walk with another double, scoring Malaya Delfin from first. With the score 2-0 in favor of the Lady Buffs, Rufus hit a ball back to the pitcher but beat the throw to first. After reaching base, Rufus forced herself into a rundown. The NMHU defense decided to pursue Rufus, allowing Murtha to come home. WT repeated the play immediately after with McConnell as the hitter and Rufus as the runner, scoring another run. The Cowgirls registered two outs, but a Shyanne Sanchez triple into the gap brought home McConnell. Shortly after, Sanchez completed her trip around the bases by scoring on a wild pitch.
 
In the fifth, Murtha walked with two outs, allowing Nikki Warren to replace her on the base paths. Rufus brought home Warren on a sharply hit ball to center field, resulting in a three-base error. After five innings, the Lady Buffs sat firmly in control with a 7-0 lead.
 
NMHU couldn't mount a comeback in its final two at-bats as the Lady Buffs walked away with a 7-0 victory.
 
The WT pitching staff comprised of Boyer, Wilson, and Emma Parrish allowed just three hits, one hit batter, nine strikeouts and two walks.