UTEP Miners

Box One
Box Two

DENTON, Texas – The UTEP softball team (7-18, 2-3 Conference USA) dropped two games to North Texas (15-9, 4-1 C-USA), 10-2 and 5-1, at Lovelace Stadium Saturday afternoon.
 
Kacey Duffield knocked her seventh dinger of the year, tying teammate Cortney Smith with the lead in C-USA. Ilena Santos also went yard, hitting the second of her sophomore season.
 
Game One
 
The Miners fell to North Texas 10-2 in the first game of the series.
 
Ilena Santos knotted up the score, 1-1, after sending the second homer of her sophomore season over the fence in the second inning. That would be the only run of the game for the Miners, as the Mean Green used an explosive six-run third frame to take control of the game.
 
Allie Johnson entered the game in the bottom of the fourth. The junior hurler struck out two batters, and surrendered no runs in an inning of work.
 
Ariel Blair registered a double and ended up scoring after a hit by Ariana Valles for her 13th RBI of the season in the fifth frame.
 
Game Two
 
The Miners fell in the second game of the day, 5-1, to lose the series.
 
Senior Julia Wright kept the Mean Green bats in check for the first four innings of play. Wright worked her way out of two different instances where the bases were loaded.
 
The Miner offense was unable to strike first as North Texas broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run homer.
 
Wright got into another jam in the bottom of the sixth frame with the bases loaded. Johnson would come in to relieve the starter and give up three runs to extend the Mean Green lead to 5-0.
 
The seventh home run of Duffield's senior season would cut into the Mean Green lead, but that would be all the Miner offense could muster up as they fell, 5-1.
 
Notes
 
>>  Santos hit the second home run of the season
 
>> Duffield hit her seventh homer of the season to tie Cortney Smith for the team lead
 
On Deck
The Miners will play with final game of the North Texas series on Sunday (12 p.m. MT).