May 8, 2008

Box Score

HOUSTON -Sixth-seeded UTEP's Ashley Perez belted two home runs, including a first-inning grand slam and knocked in a Conference USA Championship record-six RBI as the Miners won their first C-USA postseason game with an 8-4 win over No. 3 Tulsa in game three of the 2008 C-USA Softball Championship at the Cougar Softball Stadium.

This was the Miners (30-23) first appearance in the C-USA Championship as the league now takes all nine teams in the new single-elimination format. The new format has already provided two upsets in the first three games.

The game began with a 30-minute first inning as both teams combined for seven runs on Perez's grand slam and a two-run shot by Christian Timmons of Tulsa.

Amber Bennett singled with one out in the first to get the hitting started followed by a Camilla Carrera walk and a Stacey Townsend single. Simone Holland was up next and fouled, out and it appeared the Miners would not be able to get on the board first. Perez was up next however, and hammered a 3-2 pitch to dead center field for the 4-0 lead

Tulsa (34-23) came up in the bottom of the first frame looking to keep pace with the Miners. Lauren Lindsay was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and then moved to second on a passed ball. Timmons was up next and hit her third round tripper of the year to make the score 4-2.

Still in the first, TU used small ball to get within a run. Second-Team All-Conference member Sara Dyer was up next after Timmons and worked a five-pitch walk. Brooke Smart sacrificed Dyer to second, and she then scored on Vanessa Vice's single through the right side to pull to within 4-3.

Neither team scored again until the Miners tacked on three runs in the top of the fifth inning.

Stacie Townsend singled to begin the inning, and Simone Holland then walked to put runners at first and second with no outs. Perez then collected her second hit of the day and established the new RBI mark when she doubled through the right side to score Townsend to make the score 5-3.

Shea Lodes entered the game as a pinch hitter and promptly singled to right field to score Holland and make it a three-run UTEP lead. Lodes' single moved Perez to third and, after a Jenifer Davis ground out that advanced pinch runner Ashley Ellis to second, Rachel Schaeffer hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Perez.

Perez cracked her second home run of the game in the seventh inning and ended the day 3-for-4 with the record six RBI and three runs scored. The multi-homer game was the first of the season for Perez and was only the second in championship history. Her three runs scored tied the championship record last done in 2005.

Townsend also had a strong day at the plate for the Miners, finishing 4-for-4 with two runs scored.

Nichole Tunget grabbed the win in the circle for UTEP and improved to 9-6 on the season. She scattered five hits in four innings of work and tallied two strikeouts.

Lindsay led the Golden Hurricane with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, her 18th multi-hit game of the season. Timmons led her team with two RBI.

Kinard (14-6) took the loss for TU, giving up eight hits while striking out three.

With the win, sixth-seeded UTEP advances to play No. 2 UCF in Friday's first semifinal game at 2 p.m.