April 26, 2009
Final Stats
UTEP vs. Tulsa 
EL PASO, Texas - Tulsa scored four runs in the top of the fourth inning, defeating UTEP in the series finale, 4-2, on Sunday at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex. The Miners fall to 24-26-1 overall and 7-13-1 in Conference USA action while Tulsa improves to 32-15, 13-4 in league play to move to first in C-USA standings.
Freshmen Chelsea Troupe and Kristin Lusby were UTEP's top hitters, combining for four of the team's six hits, each going 2-for-4. Troupe was responsible for the Miners' two runs, scoring one run in the first inning and hit a double in the fifth that sent a run home.
Stacie Townsend (15-16) was the losing pitcher, despite tossing her fourth double digit strikeout performance of the season. She punched out 12 batters, four more than her Tulsa counterpart, but scattered eight hits, good for four runs - two earned.
Tulsa's Jackie Wagner earned her 15th victory of the season, giving up two runs on six hits, walked four and fanned eight.
One of the four seniors, Jennifer Stalter, was the only veteran to connect for a hit in a passing of the torch game. Townsend recorded UTEP's fourth hit.
UTEP opened the game with back-to-back singles by Troupe and Lusby. They advanced to second and third on a fly out by Carrera. A wild pitch looked to be a good opportunity to score but Lusby was chased down for the out on the path to home as Troupe advanced to third. She took advantage of another untamed toss, scoring the first run of the ball game.
The Miners caught a break in the top of the second. With two outs and runners on first and second, Tulsa's Skylar Swanson smacked the ball over the centerfield wall for the home run. UTEP's co-head coach, James Rodriguez, came out of the dugout to talk to the first base umpire and in the end, the home run became an out as Swanson failed to touch first base, ending the inning.
It was déjà vu in the fourth as Swanson came up to bat. But this time, Swanson worked Townsend for a walk to load the bases. The Golden Hurricane's Lauren Lindsay knocked a single to centerfield, plating Brooke Smart and Christian Timmons. As Lindsay attempted to take second on the throw, UTEP's Stalter took the cutoff and threw the ball that was out of reach at second in an attempt to get Lindsay out. The error cleared the bases giving the Hurricane a 4-1 advantage.
Troupe helped cut the lead to two, with an RBI-double in the fifth. The Miners had one out with the bases loaded but could not convert, leaving three stranded.
UTEP was able to get two singles off in the bottom of the seventh, but Amber Bennett went down looking for the 4-2 final.
Bennett leaves UTEP owning the career records for hits, runs, walks, doubles and assists. Davis is UTEP's all-time stolen base record holder, having 23 take aways for her career. Lodes is one of six players on the squad to have lace five or more home runs with six this season and Stalter leaves UTEP ranked third in school annals in triples with three.
The Miners head to Orlando, Fla. to take on UCF in a three game series, the final tune up before hosting the 2009 Conference USA Softball Championship Presented by Helen of Troy May 7-9.
