EL PASO, Texas – UTEP softball dropped game two of its three-game Conference USA series to Liberty, 9-1 in six innings, Friday night at Helen of Troy Field.
UTEP moves to 9-18 overall and 1-7 in CUSA play, while Liberty improves to 13-15 and 6-2 in league action.
Liberty struck first in the top of the second, capitalizing on a defensive miscue to take a 1-0 lead. The Lady Flames added another run in the third on an RBI single, followed by a solo home run in the fourth to extend the advantage to 3-0.
The game broke open in the fifth inning as Liberty plated four runs, highlighted by a back-to-back homeruns from Doerr and Strickland to make it 7-0.
UTEP answered in the bottom half of the inning when Kenna Carranza blasted a solo home run to left center, putting the Miners on the board at 7-1.
Liberty responded with two more runs in the sixth inning, including a solo home run and an RBI single, to secure the 9-1 run-rule victory.
Liberty outhit UTEP 11-4 on the night. Four different Miners recorded hits: Kendall Angulo, Kenna Carranza, Bri Garcia and Serenity Jacoway. Carranza accounted for UTEP's lone run with her fifth-inning home run.
Marissa Burchard, Iliana Munoz and Carranza each drew walks in the contest.
Ariana Flores earned the start in the circle for the Miners and was charged with the loss, moving to 0-4 on the season after tossing 3.2 innings. Hannah Jones provided relief with 1.0 inning of work, while Ryann Presswood closed out the game, throwing 1.1 innings and recording two strikeouts.
On Deck
UTEP and Liberty will close out the weekend series on Saturday, March 21. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. MDT at Helen of Troy Field, with the game available for streaming on ESPN+.
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