CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M softball hit six home runs on Wednesday, including three off the bat of Diana Murtha, to secure a series sweep of Eastern New Mexico. The Lady Buffs took game one 9-0 in five innings before taking a 9-1 run-rule victory in six innings. WT improves its overall record to 25-2 and 17-1 in Lone Star Conference play with the wins while Eastern New Mexico drops to 15-14 overall and 8-11 in league action.
 
THE BASICS
Game 1 Score: West Texas A&M 9, Eastern New Mexico 0 (5 inn.)
Pitching: (W) Emilee Boyer (11-1); (L) Marissa Rodriguez (5-6)
 
WT started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning as Lauren Granger walked before advancing to third on Brittni Rufus' single. With runners on first and third, Rufus took off from first where Eastern New Mexico threw down to second. The throw allowed pinch-runner Kiley Avery to come home and score the Lady Buffs' first run. Later in the inning, WT cashed in on another first-and-third situation as Murtha stole second with Rufus on third base. When the Greyhounds attempted to get Rufus out, the throw went wide, allowing Rufus to score.
 
The Lady Buffs replicated their success on the base paths in the second as Granger reached on a fielding error with Rufus singling to right once again. During Emilee Boyer's at-bat, Rufus took off for second to initiate a rundown. After a couple throws, Granger crossed home as Rufus slid into second.
 
In the third inning, Murtha started the inning with a solo home run to left-center field, pushing the WT lead to four. An error and a single into left field set up a groundout from Moreno to advance the runners. Megan Guericke brought in the Lady Buffs' fifth run of the ball game, but a great defensive stop from the Greyhounds ended the inning.
 
WT broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth as a Granger single and Rufus double put traffic on the bases for Boyer. The sophomore walked to load the bases for Murtha. The Lady Buffs' third baseman wasted no time as Murtha powered a grand slam out of Schaeffer Park for her second home run of the game.
 
THE BASICS
Game 2 Score: West Texas A&M 9, Eastern New Mexico 1 (6 inn.)
Pitching: (W) Ashley Mandell (3-0); (L) Emma Southerland (6-6)
 
WT scored in its first at-bat once again in game two of the doubleheader as Lauren Granger started the inning with an inside-the-park home run. Granger powered a ball into the gap where a bounce off the wall sent the ball rolling into right field. The bounce allowed the Lady Buff left fielder to turn on the jets and score without a throw. With two outs in the inning, Murtha stayed red-hot at the plate as the senior blasted a ball out of the ballpark once again. WT added its third run of the inning when Johnson and Moreno hit back-to-back doubles.
 
After a scoreless second inning, the Lady Buffs scored another run in the bottom of the third. A one-out double from Boyer advanced to third on Murtha's fly out to right where Johnson singled in Boyer on the first pitch of her at-bat.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, WT scored another run on Granger's RBI double to right field. The RBI hit was set up by Guericke's second hit-by-pitch of the game. After being lifted for a pinch runner, Tatem Pendergraft advanced to third on a wild pitch, but Eastern New Mexico ended the inning on a fly out to right field.
 
The Greyhounds scored their first run of the day in the top of the fifth when pinch-hitter Aylene Lucero started the inning with a single to center field. After stealing second and a strikeout, pinch-hitter Cecilia Jurado singled off a deflection, beating out the throw to first. The bounce gave Lucero enough time to come around to score when the throw went wide. WT ended the scoring chance a pitch later when Mandell forced a ground out out of the Eastern New Mexico lead-off hitter.
 
The Lady Buffs got the run back in the bottom half of the fifth when Boyer singled and Murtha doubled to set up runners on second and third. With one out, Moreno lifted a fly ball to left, but the fielder couldn't hold on as pinch-runner Kiley Avery came in to score.
 
Ashley Mandell continued to deal in the circle in the top of the sixth as the freshman finished off the inning with her seventh strikeout of the day. In the home half of the inning, Eastern New Mexico recorded two quick outs to turn over the lineup and bring up Granger. Granger singled into right field, allowing Rufus to come to the plate. On a 2-1 count, Rufus powered a home run to center field, bringing the score to 8-1. Needing just one more run to end the game, Boyer homered to the opposite field, capping off the 9-1 run-rule victory.