Miners Secure Third Walk-Off of Season to Highlight Sunday Split
EL PASO, Texas – UTEP softball wrapped up the Dr. Diana Natalicio Memorial Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Helen of Troy Softball Field, splitting the day to finish the weekend at 6-6 on the season.
The Miners opened Sunday with a 5-4 redemption walk-off win over Idaho State before falling to No. 4 Oklahoma, 34-0, in five innings.
Three Miners were named to the All-Tournament Team: Marissa Burchard, Camrynn Guthrie and Brantley Lavas.
Overall Recap
UTEP closed out the weekend in familiar fashion, mirroring opening weekend at the UTEP Invitational. After dropping two games on Friday, the Miners responded with a Saturday doubleheader sweep that featured back-to-back one-run finals and a walk-off victory in game one. Sunday followed suit with a redemption win to start the day before a run-rule loss in the finale.
Against Idaho State, UTEP outhit the Bengals 7-3 and secured its third walk-off win of the season. Marissa Burchard was the lone Miner to record multiple hits on the day, batting .333 (2-for-6) with singles against both Idaho State and Oklahoma. Camrynn Guthrie and Iliana Munoz each drove in two runs, while Halle Hogan delivered the game-winning RBI in the seventh inning of game one.
In the circle, Tatyana Vega made two appearances, tossing 7.1 total innings. She earned her second consecutive complete game — and third of the season — in the win over Idaho State, finishing the day with two strikeouts and improving to 6-2 on the year.
Defensively, Munoz led the way with a team-high eight putouts, followed by Burchard with seven, while Bri Garcia added six assists. Burchard also accounted for the lone stolen base of the day across all three teams, going 1-for-1 against the Bengals. Kenna Carranza added a sacrifice hit in game one.
Game 1 UTEP 5, Idaho State 4
Idaho State struck first in the opening frame on a solo home run by S. Groves, but UTEP answered immediately in the bottom half. Guthrie tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI single that scored Burchard.
The Miners took control in the second inning. Munoz delivered a two-RBI single to right field, plating Bri Garcia and Ari Leon to give UTEP a 3-1 edge. Guthrie followed with an RBI groundout to push the lead to 4-1.
The Bengals chipped away with a two-run homer in the fourth and tied the game at 4-4 in the sixth on a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the seventh, UTEP delivered once again. With two outs, Kenna Carranza sent a deep shot to left that nearly cleared the fence. As the Idaho State left fielder attempted to make the play at the wall, she dropped the ball, sending Miner fans into a frenzy and allowing the go-ahead run to move into scoring position. Hogan then singled to right center to score Carranza and seal the 5-4 walk-off victory.
Game 2 No. 4 Oklahoma 34, UTEP 0 (5 inn.)
No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners softball scored eight runs in the first inning and added 12 more in the third to take early control. The Sooners continued to add on in the fifth, securing the run-rule victory in five innings.
ON DECK
UTEP will return to Helen of Troy Softball Field on Wednesday, Feb. 18, to host the New Mexico Lobos in a single game at 2 p.m. MST. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+.
