Pack settles for split with Western New Mexico

CSU-Pueblo 5, Western New Mexico 3
Western New Mexico 9, CSU-Pueblo 1

After the ThunderWolves pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win in Saturday's first game against Western New Mexico, momentum was squarely in the Pack's grasp.  But a great rebound by the Lady Mustangs halted the Pack's four-game win streak, leaving them with a split, winning the first game 5-3 before losing 9-1.

The ThunderWolves' high point of the day came in game one, trailing 3-0 going into the top of seventh.  With one out, senior Dominique Hernandez, who hadn't seen much playing time because of nagging injuries, recorded just her second hit of the year, firing a single to leftfield and advancing to second on a bobble fielding the ball. 

With momentum beginning to swing, the Pack went on a tear as the next three batters reached base, putting up their first run of the game, as leadoff hitter Janine Tyler came to the plate.

Tyler promptly launched one of the biggest home runs of her career, a three-run shot, that put the Pack remarkably in the lead. 

On the bottom half of the Mustangs' inning, Alyssa Hansen, who had come on in relief of starter Amber Higby in the fourth inning, closed out the game with a quick one-two-three inning, sealing the unlikely win.

In the second game, though, the Pack sent Hansen to the circle to start, but watched as she gave up seven big runs in the fourth inning, leading to the Mustangs taking the 9-1 win and invoking the eight-run rule to end the game in five innings.

The ThunderWolves (20-18 RMAC, 25-22 overall), coming in as the six-seed in the RMAC's eight-team playoff race, maintained that status with Friday's split.  The Pack will finish out the series with Western New Mexico Sunday with another doubleheader, looking stay a few slots ahead of the Mustangs (19-19 RMAC, 25-28 overall) and Regis (17-17 RMAC, 24-23 overall), who are now in seventh and eight place, respectively.

Notes: Tyler, who was on track to become the most efficient base stealer in NCAA Division II history if she could make it to the NCAA's statistical minimum of 50 stolen bases in 50 attempts, had that dream dashed Saturday when she was caught stealing during the 9-1 loss.  It was the first time in her career that she was caught stealing, her first in 44 attempts.