ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—South Dakota freshman
Aleesia Sainz hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the seventh inning and fellow frosh
Jordyn Pender delivered the game-winning hit in the eighth to lift the Coyotes to a 5-4 win against Northern Colorado in the first of two games Saturday at New Mexico's Lobo Classic.
The win pushed the Coyotes' win streak to six games and completed a two-day sweep of the Bears (4-14). New Mexico (9-9) ended that streak with a 7-6, eight-inning win in the nightcap, moving South Dakota to 11-9 on the season.
South Dakota has three home runs all season and Sainz has two of them. Northern Colorado had scored two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to take its first lead at 4-3. Sainz drilled a 3-2 offering from UNC starter Erin Caviness over the wall in left field to tie the game at 4-4.
Sarah Lisko, who entered in relief in the sixth inning for USD, held the Bears scoreless in the top of the eighth.
Lauren Eamiguel started the bottom of the eighth on second base, moved to third on a ground ball from
Dylan Underwood, and scored the winning run on Pender's base hit to right field.
Pender was 3-for-4 with a double,
Lauren Wobken had a pair of RBI singles, and USD totaled 11 hits against the Bears. Lisko (7-1) allowed five hits and two runs to get her seventh win of the season.
South Dakota and New Mexico scored six runs apiece in the first four innings of game two, but not again until Lobo first baseman Lauren Wilmert lifted a fly ball to left field that was deep enough to score Skylar Jenkins with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The Coyotes went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position during the final three frames.
Alexis Devers allowed one hit and struck out four in 5 2/3 innings of relief, but wasn't rewarded with a win. Jenkins started the eighth inning on second base and was bunted to third before Wilmert's winning fly.
Eamiguel was 4-for-5 against New Mexico, the first four-hit effort of her career and first Coyote with four hits in a game since 2017. She brought
Camille Fowler home with a base hit in the second to tie the game at 2-2, and delivered a two-run single in the fourth that cut New Mexico's lead to 6-5.
Courtney Wilson was 3-for-5 for USD, her second three-hit game of the season.
South Dakota will have a chance to get even against the Lobos. The two teams meet again at 1 p.m. (MT) Sunday.
