UT Permian Basin softball picked up its first win of the season in the first half of a double-header with a 4-1 victory over Chadron State. The team fell 7-4 to Emporia State in the second game with the tying run on base.
Maritza Rojas pitched brilliantly against Chadron to give UTPB their first victory. She went all seven innings with nine strikeouts only allowing one unearned run on four hits.
UTPB jumped out fast to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Alyssa Lopez and Aubree Avila drew walks before Adrianna Berzoza doubled both of them in to give them a 2-0 lead. The following at-bat Cindy Juarez homered to right to give the Falcons all the offense they would need on the day.
Chadron got a run back in the second inning on an Ellie Owens RBI-single but only managed three base runners the rest of the game. Megan Horn came into pitch in the second inning for Chadron and threw 5.2 hitless innings only allowing a runner to reach on a walk and an error.
In the second game Emporia State jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a single and ground out. UTPB got a run back in the second with an RBI double by Ashlynn Williams plating Juarez. They tied the score at two in the third on an Avila RBI single. Emporia retook the lead with a double and single off Juarez, who had come into pitch in relief.
Emporia would score three more in the fifth off Sloan Springfield. Valerie Kinney and Destiny Ojigoh had RBI singles and McKenna Davis followed it up with a ground-out to drive in another. UTPB would not go quietly in their last at-bats again. An error and back to back singles by Williams and Alexis Watson loaded the bases with no one out. A run scored on a wild pitch and then April Arellano singled in another run to make it a 7-4 game with still only one out. It was all UTPB could do failing to score and falling by the 7-4 final.
Rojas picked up the win in the first game for her first of the season and Haylee McKeehan took her first loss of the season for Chadron. Berzoza and Juarez each finished with two RBI with the only hits for the team on the day.
Juarez picked up her first loss of the year while Ojigoh picked up her first win on the year for Emporia. Lopez, Arellano and Williams each had two hits with Arellano and Williams each getting a double.
UT Permian Basin takes on Lubbock Christian in Lubbock to wrap-up their opening weekend before heading to take on the University of the Southwest on the road in a doubleheader Tuesday.
