CANYON, Texas — Western New Mexico (25-26, 21-19 LSC) was the the #9 seed who fell to #8 Texas Woman's University (30-25, 23-17 LSC) in a 4–1 defeat during the LSC Tournament play in-game at Schaeffer Park. The Mustangs managed four hits, including a double, but were unable to overcome the three-run first inning by the Pioneers.
Western New Mexico faced Texas Woman's in a competitive matchup. In the first inning, Texas Woman's took an early lead when Elizabeth Smith homered to deep left field, driving in three runs, including Tamia Cherry and Hawwa Townsend. The inning concluded with the Pioneers leading 3–0.
The sixth inning saw another score from Texas Woman's as Smith hit her second home run of the game, this time to deep center field, extending the lead to 4–0.
In the seventh inning, the Mustangs got on the scoreboard.
Jenna Peters (Lake Elsinore, CA/Temescal Canyon High School) walked, and
Aleeya Barwick (Mesa, AZ/Desert Ridge High School) entered as a pinch runner.
Hannah Martinez (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad High School) singled, advancing Barwick to second.
Addisen Byers (Albuquerque, NM/La Cueva High School) then singled to right center, allowing Barwick to score and Martinez to move to third. The inning ended with Western New Mexico narrowing the gap, but Texas Woman's maintained the lead at 4–1.
The game concluded with Texas Woman's securing a 4–1 victory over the Mustangs.
Alixe De Anda (San Tan Valley, AZ/Red Mountain High School) pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs while striking out five batters for the Mustangs. She threw 71 pitches, 44 of which were strikes, and gave up two home runs.
Labraida Tenorio (Rio Rancho, NM/Rio Rancho High School) provided one inning of relief, conceding just one hit and no runs, with one walk and no strikeouts. Tenorio successfully kept the opposing team scoreless during her appearance, throwing 16 pitches with eight strikes.
Byers contributed with two hits and one RBI.
Lanessa Morales (Vail, AZ/Cienega High School) added a double in her one hit of the game. Barwick scored a run after entering as a pinch runner in the seventh inning.
Western New Mexico finishes the year at 25-26 and seeded ninth with a conference record of 21-19 in the LSC. The Pioneers hold a 30-25 record and will face the #1 seed West Texas A&M on Thursday evening.
This concludes the Mustangs season as they have had the most wins since 2011, where the team had 29 wins. This was the first time the Mustangs reached the LSC Softball Tournament. The last time the Mustangs reached a conference tournament was in 2015.
Thank you Mustang Nation, we cannot wait for next season!
