CUSA Softball Tournament: UTEP eliminated after loss to top-seeded Liberty
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KTSM) — UTEP softball was bounced out of the Conference USA Tournament after it ended up on the losing side of a wild, closely contested elimination game against Liberty at the NM State Softball Complex on Thursday.
FINAL: Liberty 13, UTEP 10
UTEP falls on the losing side of this closely contested wild CUSA Tournament elimination game. UTEP finishes its 2024 season with a 26-21 overall record. It's the Miners first winning season since 2010. https://t.co/ycGIkRY33H— Sam Guzman (@SamGuzmanTV) May 10, 2024
After a loss to New Mexico State earlier in the day, the tournament’s top-seeded team was dropped down into the elimination bracket to face UTEP.
Lexi Morales, a Chapin High School grad, gave the Miners its first run of the game with a opposite field homer in the top of the first inning. UTEP then tacked on two more runs in the inning to take a 3-0 lead.
In the second inning, UTEP’s Halle Hogan blasted a two-run homer to left field. Hogan’s homer put UTEP up 5-0.
In the bottom of the second inning, Liberty scored four runs in the bottom of the second to make it a one run game.
In the top of the fourth, UTEP extended its lead to 8-4 with a three-run homer run by Marijn Crouwel.
Liberty countered in the bottom half of the inning as Brynn McManus hit a game-tying grand slam.
In the bottom of the fifth, Liberty scored three runs to take an 11-8 lead.
In the top of the sixth, UTEP scored two runs to make it a one run game (11-10).
Liberty once again struck back in the bottom half of the inning as the team scored a pair of runs.
Liberty took care of business in the top of the seventh inning as it kept UTEP scoreless to secure a 13-10 win.
“We just wanted to come out strong. We know that they are great hitting team, so if we put runs on before them, we’d have a better chance, obviously. Today was a little different,” UTEP senior outfielder Lexi Morales said postgame. “Personally, this has just been the ride of my life. I wouldn’t have wanted to do it any other way. I wouldn’t want to play with any other team for my last year. We just really balled out this year and did everything we needed to do. Obviously, we came up short, but I think this will be a huge steppingstone for the following teams, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they could do.”
UTEP ends its season with a 26-21 overall record. It’s the program’s first winning season since 2010 and the first winning season of the T.J. Hubbard era.
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