The Lobos fell 2-0 to the Rams on Friday but took a 4-3 win on Saturday. UNM head coach Erica Beach said the rubber game would be difficult.
“We always have competitive series against Colorado State, no matter what the records are,” she said. “We had great pitching, great hitting and great defense today. It was a tough fought game ... I’m really proud of these girls for toughing it out and being gritty.”
The beginning of the game was certainly not a walk in the park for the Lobos.
The Rams scored a run in the first inning and then another one during the top of the fourth.
UNM went into the bottom of the fourth inning down 2-0 but turned it around thanks to some timely hits.
Junior outfielder Mariah Rimmer was able to bring her team’s confidence up after being inches away from scoring the Lobos’ first run. Rimmer ran to the home plate when the umpire motioned his arms “safe,” but seconds later, the decision was overturned.
Some Lobo fans complained from the bleachers, but Rimmer and the rest of the Lobos were not shaken by this. Rimmer said the umpire made the “safe” gesture but was actually trying to tell her she had been tagged.
“Everybody makes mistakes. Umpires make mistakes all the time,” Rimmer said. “It happens. I’m glad my team was able to recover.”
After the misunderstanding, the Lobos seemed to get their offense going. They soon managed to get on the board after a single by freshman Chelsea Johnson.
Not long after, a home run by sophomore Michala Erickson gave the Lobos a 4-2 lead.
The Rams were able to tie the game at the top of the fifth inning. But the Lobos recuperated the lead at the bottom of the inning with two more runs thanks to a two-run shot by Rimmer.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The Lobos kept the Rams (22-22, 3-9 Mountain West) from scoring the rest of the game and also added one more run to their lead during the sixth inning.
“We were never out of this game; we were always in it,” Rimmer said. “We are a bunch of fighters. Even though we hadn’t scored anything for a few innings, I knew we were going to eventually pull it together.”
Beach said after losing the first game of the series, yesterday was “a big testament” to the toughness of her team.
“It is always good to win a conference series,” she said.
With the win, the Lobos improve to 24-20 on the season and are now 8-7 in the Mountain West.
The Lobos will take a break from conference action Tuesday and travel to Las Cruces to take on NMSU for the second game of the Rio Grande Rivalry.
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
