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Lobos upset erased by furious GCU rally in Mountain West softball tourney
TL;DR
UNM Lobos led 6-2 until a late rally by GCU resulted in a 7-6 victory for the Lopes in the Mountain West Softball Tournament. The Lobos' hopes were dashed despite a grand slam by Jessica DeLeon.
Key points
- UNM Lobos led 6-2 in the seventh inning
- Jessica DeLeon hit a grand slam for UNM
- GCU scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh
- GCU won the game 7-6
- UNM plays an elimination game on Friday
UNM LobosGCU LopesMountain West Softball Tournament
Mountain West Softball Tournament
• Friday: UNM plays an elimination game Friday at 4 p.m. MDT against either Nevada or UNLV. The winner plays a second elimination game immediately following.
• Streaming: All MW Tournament games are streamed on TheMW.com
UNM catcher Jessica DeLeon belted a two-out grand slam over the left field wall in the top of the seventh inning, putting the Lobos up four heading into the bottom of the inning. The bases-clearing homer — which came against former teammate and UNM transfer pitcher Natalie Fritz — put UNM on the brink of a monumental upset over nationally-ranked Grand Canyon in the Mountain West Softball Tournament.
The elation subsided as the MW regular season champion Lopes methodically put together a five-run bottom half of the frame for a heart-wrenching 7-6 win over the Lobos at Hixson Softball Park in Reno.
It had been a pitcher's masterclass through six innings. GCU starter Oakley Vickers struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings while UNM's Caitlin Benningfield struck out five, going the distance for UNM.
The Lobos fall to the loser's bracket of the double-elimination Mountain West Tournament, playing either Nevada or UNLV on Friday at 4 p.m. MDT. If they win, they play a second elimination game immediately after.
To keep their season alive now, the Lobos (27-26) — winners of eight of their last 10 heading into Thursday's game — will have to win two elimination games Friday and two more on Saturday.
For Grand Canyon, who is now a head-shaking 49-7 on the season and ranked in the Top 25 of both major college softball polls, the Lopes move on to a winner's bracket game Friday, but not before first getting one of their bigger scares of the season courtesy of UNM.
"I mean to beat a team like New Mexico, who's been playing so well, that's a feather in our cap, for sure," GCU coach Shanon Hays said in a postgame interview on TheMW.com.
Conference USA Tourney
No. 5 seed New Mexico State's softball season came to an end Thursday with a 3-1, 11-inning loss to No. 7 Louisiana Tech in a loser's bracket game in Newark, Delaware.
Faith Aragon pitched all 11 innings for NM State, allowing just one earned run through 10 innings while striking out 11.
The Aggies end the year with a 27-27 record.
Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
Q&A
What happened in the Mountain West Softball Tournament game between UNM and GCU?
The UNM Lobos were leading 6-2 until GCU scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, winning the game 7-6.
Who hit a grand slam for the Lobos in the tournament?
Jessica DeLeon hit a two-out grand slam for the Lobos in the top of the seventh inning.
When does UNM play their next game in the Mountain West Softball Tournament?
UNM plays an elimination game on Friday at 4 p.m. MDT against either Nevada or UNLV.