MIAMI Dominates Troy Cox Invitational
The Miami softball team is off to an outstanding start this season after posting a 4-1 record at the Troy Cox Invitational in Las Cruces, NM over the weekend. The RedHawks, who went 2-2 at the Auburn Tiger Invitational the weekend before, faced off against George Mason, Morehead State, Texas State, Utah Valley State, and host New Mexico State.
The action kicked off on Friday with a 12-4 domination of GMU. Leading the way for Miami was junior Leslie Macedo, who went 4-4 with two RBI. Also contributing to the RedHawks’ cause were sophomores Jamie Arundel, Christine Bills, and Kimberly Williams, who hit their first home runs of the season in the rout. The Colonials jumped out to a 4-1 lead after two innings, but Miami scored 11 unanswered runs to win by the mercy rule in the sixth.
The RedHawks took to the field again on Friday to face off against Morehead State. Once again, Macedo stood out, recording her first multi-home run game by going 2-3 with a grand slam and a three-run blast. By the top of the third, Miami was up 10-0. While the Eagles managed to chip away at the lead in the third and fourth, the mercy rule once again kicked in, this time in the fifth.
On Saturday, Miami faced off against Texas State. After 22 runs on 25 hits in the first two games, the RedHawks offense was shut down, as bobkittens pitcher Sarah Lancour allowed three runs on five hits and retired 13 of the last 15 batters she faced. Texas State took advantage of a five-run fifth to pull ahead for good, and the RedHawks lost 8-3.
Sunday had another doubleheader in store for the RedHawks. The early opponent was Utah Valley State. After the Wolverines took a 4-0 lead, Miami responded with three runs in the bottom of the second. Then, sophomore Breanna Robinson put the RedHawks in front to stay with a two-run homer in the fifth. The star of the game, though, was freshman Kelly Cabana, who took over after Utah State’s no-out second-inning runs knocked starter Christine Bills out of the game and pitched four perfect innings of relief. After Courtney Salmon pitched the seventh to get her second save, the RedHawks won, 6-4.
Miami finished up against tournament host New Mexico State. The Aggies, 4-0 on the weekend at that point, ran into Courtney Salmon, who was much more than they could handle. Miami jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, and it turned out to be all the RedHawks would need, as Salmon threw a five-hit, complete-game shutout. Miami added an insurance run in the sixth to seal the win.
At the end of the invitational, Miami tied with TSU and NMSU for best record at 4-1 for the weekend. Leslie Macedo and freshman Ashley Martland were named to the all-tounament team. The RedHawks moved to 6-3 on the season. Next up is the Panera Bread Classic in Chattanooga, where the RedHawks will face, among others, the dear old U.Va.
Recaps from MURedHawks.com
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