Lopes end regular season on 9-1 run

The Lamar Community College softball team split with Trinidad Junior College on Wednesday and took two from Otero Junior College in their final home games on Saturday to finish the season on a 9-1 run and a 20-10 record in Region IX.

Wednesday, April 19

 In a midweek match-up, LCC split with Trinidad winning the first game 13-4 and losing the second 9-8. The Runnin' Lopes recorded 15 hits in the first game including five doubles and three home runs. Freshman Lauren Reed threw the win for the Lopes and also went 3-for-3 at the plate with five RBI and two homeruns. Sophomore Mariah Lopez also contributed to the LCC offense, going 2-for-2 at the plate. Despite an early lead in the second game, the Lopes were unable to hold off the Trojan offense. Freshman Larissa Royer went 3-for-4 at the plate with two homeruns and three RBI.

Saturday, April 22

In the final home games of the regular season the Runnin' Lopes swept Otero, defeating the Rattlers 9-1 and 10-0. In the first game, LCC broke open a scoreless game with a six-run third inning, followed by a three-run inning in the fourth.  Freshmen Samantha McDonald and Ashleigh Espinoza both recorded two RBIs in the contest, while Lauren Reed smacked a three-run double to help lead the Runnin' Lopes to a win. In the second match-up, the Lopes took an early lead and scored every inning to defeat the Rattlers in five innings. Larissa Royer threw the win for the Lopes, allowing no earned runs and struck out four. At the plate, freshman Caitlin McCarthy went 2-for-2 and recorded three RBI. Freshman Mackenzie Rowlett also drove in three runs while freshman Mercedes Salazar had two RBI for the Lopes; both hitters had doubles on the day.