LOS LUNAS, N.M. (January 31, 2026) – Day two of the South Central Crossover saw the UT Permian Basin softball team hit nine extra-base hits (6 doubles, 3 home runs) and win back-to-back games 10-4 over New Mexico Highlands University and 10-1 over Adams State University.
 
Game 1 (UTPB 10, NMHU 4):

• UTPB finished with 10 runs on 12 hits and saw four players record two hits and three players score a pair of runs.
• The Falcons also hit five extra-base hits, including four doubles by three different players.
• The offensive standout for UTPB was Laila Vasquez, who after totaling just one at bat in her first two seasons as a Falcon, finished 2-for-4 with four RBI's, two runs scored and a home run.
• After recording three hits and two RBI's in Friday's season-opening victory, Keri Sanford added two hits and again had two RBI's in the first game on Saturday.
• Angelina Arriaga continued her strong start to the season, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
• Freshman Amathyst Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with two doubles in her first appearance of the season.
• It was Gonzalez's two-out walk in the top of the second inning that started a rally for the Falcons that led to two runs on back-to-back RBI-singles by Mia Serrato and Sanford.
• Priscilla Medina (1-0) earned the win in the circle for UTPB, pitching the first four innings and allowing two hits, two runs and just one walk. She got three straight groundouts in a 1-2-3 bottom of the first inning, and totaled three 1-2-3 frames overall. The lone blemish against Medina was a leadoff double followed two batters later by a two-run home run to left field to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the second inning.
• Despite the tie, UTPB again scored a pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings, making it three straight innings with two runs on the board as UTPB took control of the game.
• The top of the third inning saw the Falcons load the bases with no outs, leading two batters later to an RBI-walk by Michelle Balcazar to retake the lead. Two batters after that, Sanford singled to center field to record her second RBI in as many innings.
• Just like the second inning, UTPB recorded back-to-back two-out RBI-hits in the fourth inning, this time coming on a single to left field by Vasquez and a double to right field by Gonzalez. In all, UTPB had five two-out RBI-hits in the contest.
• Vasquez then broke the game open with her three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning.

 
Game 2 (UTPB 10, ASU 1):

• A sacrifice fly to right field by Gabriella Cabrera scored Arriaga for the first run of the game in the top of the second inning.
• Cabrera would later launch a leadoff home run to right field to make it 4-1 in the top of the sixth.
• Jessica Cantrell (2-0) struck out four Grizzlies within the first two innings and did not allow a hit until a leadoff double in the bottom of the fourth inning. That led to a sacrifice fly to score the first run of the game for ASU and make it a 3-1 Falcons' lead.
• After a leadoff bunt single in the bottom of the fifth, Cantrell struck out the next three batters swinging. In the sixth inning, Cantrell needed a flyout to center field to strand the bases loaded.
• Cantrell tossed her second complete game in as many days and allowed eight hits, one run and two walks while striking out a career-high 12 batters.
• The UTPB offense exploded for six runs on six hits in the final inning, highlighted by a two-run home run to center field by Cantrell to round out the scoring in the game.
• UTPB would finish with 12 hits for the second game in a row, being led by Sanford with her second 3-for-4 effort in the first four games of the season.
• Arriaga would lead the Falcons in both RBI's (3) and runs scored (2) in the game.
• Freshman Alivia Robinson was 2-for-2 with two walks and a double. She also had a two-RBI single in the seventh inning before scoring on Cantrell's home run.

Coach's Quote:

• UTPB Head Softball Coach David Martinez said, "I want to highlight the pitching staff. They played really well and set us up for success in both games. In game one Priscilla Medina and Presley Crawford held it down, and Jessica Cantrell came in to finish it out and then threw another complete game in game two. The pitchers also contributed offensively. Laila Vasquez and Cantrell wanted an opportunity to show me that they could hit, and they did not mess around with their opportunity. That helps us to use players in other positions, and gives us extra bats to use in the lineup. Overall it was just a great day. We got timely hitting with runners in scoring position up and down the lineup, and the team was able to learn from playing in the cold yesterday, and played with a much tougher mindset in the exact same weather today. Coach Brooke and I are proud of how they competed and played together, and we are very excited about how they are playing so far."

 
Next Up: The Falcons will return for the third and final day of the South Central Regional Tournament on Sunday, February 1, playing New Mexico Highlands University (10 a.m. MT/11 a.m. CT) for a second time.