UNM LOBOS SOFTBALL
Lobo softball sweeps into long-awaited postseason
UNM clinches No. 4 Mountain West seed with Utah State sweep, secures 1st tournament berth since 2006
Published
Modified
The Lobos are sweeping their way into their first postseason in 20 years.
Pitchers McKenna Guest, Arianna Capek and Mountain West strikeout queen Caitlin Benningfield combined on a one-run gem from the circle to lead the UNM Lobos to a 3-1 win over Utah State on Saturday at the Lobo Softball Field, capping their regular season with a sweep of the Aggies.
Saturday鈥檚 win secures for the Lobos the No. 4 seed in next week's Mountain West softball tournament 鈥� the first time UNM has played in that event since 2006 鈥� and guarantees the team its first .500 or better season since 2015.
UNM is 26-25 (13-12 in league play) heading into the tournament, which calls for a first-round single elimination game against the No. 5 seed before entering a double-elimination four-team bracket.
Junior centerfielder Hayden Luderer added to a highlight reel-worth robbery of a home run over the centerfield wall in the fourth inning with a bottom-of-the-sixth bomb of her own over the same centerfield wall 鈥� a good 10 feet clear, leaving no chance of her hit suffering the same fate.
HAYDEN LUDERER 馃槷
— UNM Softball (@UNMLoboSB)
Hayden is the pitcher's best friend this weekend. She robs the HR.
The Lobos beat Utah State 12-6 on Thursday and 11-3 in five innings on Friday and seem to be playing their best softball of the season at the right time.
鈥淲e鈥檙e ready to play anybody,鈥� fourth-year Lobo softball coach Nicole Orgeron told the Journal after Friday鈥檚 win. 鈥淲e still have good softball in front of us.鈥�
Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) .
