COMMERCE– The No. 18 Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team defeated Eastern New Mexico twice on Friday afternoon. The Lions won the first game 10-1 and won game two 7-0. The Lions hit five home runs on the day.
 
The wins bring the Lions to 19-6 on the season and 8-3 in the Lone Star Conference. ENMU falls to 10-9 and 6-5 in conference play.
 
The Lions and Greyhounds will meet in the final game of the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be played at the John Cain Family Softball Field.
 
HEAD COACH RICHIE BRUISTER AFTER THE GAME
- On the team bouncing back after a tough week : I'm proud of how the team responded. That's how I felt they would. I love this team. Our team came back this week with a new focus in practice and it showed in the game. I couldn't be more proud of what they did.
 
- On getting some home runs in the game: We definitely had some big ones. We just worked on hitting good pitches and leaving the balls alone, not trying to extend the strike zone. We waited for good pitches and hit them hard.
 
- On the pitching performance from Emily Otto: It was great to see her put the team on her back. She went out there and did well. The offense got going early today but she went out there and kept them to just one run in two ball games. That's just outstanding. When you do that, you have a good chance of winning the ball game.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 1)
- Vanessa Muro (Oak Hills, Calif.) hit a grand slam in the first inning. She also had an RBI double, bringing in five runs.
- Jodie Hill (Heavener, Okla.), Kynslee Noriega (Kyle - Lehman) and Madison Schaefer (Frisco - Independence) each had a solo home run. Hill also had an RBI single.
- Ciera Nunez (Amarillo – Randall) also had an RBI. Kayla Kilcrease (Kerens), Da'Jia Davis (Hillsboro - Midway), Bri Sims (Rowlett), Avery Markley (Murphy – Plano East) and Chealsea Slider (Texarkana – Texas HS) all scored runs.
- Emily Otto (Richmond – Lamar Consolidated) pitched four innings, striking out four to get her 11^th win of the year. Kinsie Hebler (Cypress – Cy Fair) pitched the final inning, recording a strikeout.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1)
After a quick top of the inning, the Lions brought seven runs across. Hill hit a solo homer. After three consecutive walks, Muro then came to the plate and hit a grand slam. Nunez brought a run across and Hill came back up and had an RBI single. The Lions led 7-0 after one.
 
The Greyhounds homered in the second inning to get their lone run of the game. After a scoreless second, the Lions extended their lead in the third inning. Noriega and Schaefer hit consecutive solo home runs. The Lions led 9-0 after three complete.
 
Muro had an RBI double in the fourth inning to extend the Lion lead further. Hebler then came in and finished the fifth inning and the Lions won in the shortened game.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 2)
- Madison Schaefer hit a solo home run in the third inning.
- Sims and Hill each had RBI singles. Hebler, Muro, Noriega and Kilcrease also brought in runs.
- Nunez and Davis each scored a run.
- Otto pitched a complete game, winning her 12^th of the year. She struck out seven.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2)
The Lions drew five walks, including three hit-by-pitches, in the first inning. Without recording a hit, the Lions scored three runs to take the lead.
 
Otto struck out one in the first and two more in the second. The Lions then brought two more runs across in the bottom half. Nunez tripled and scored on a groundout from Kilcrease. Sims then had an RBI single, scoring Hill. The Lions led 5-0 after two.
 
Schaefer hit a solo homer in the third to give the Lions a 6-0 lead. Otto struck out one more in the third, two in the fourth and one more in the fifth. The Lions added another run on a single from Hill in the sixth. Otto recorded the final three outs in the seventh to earn the Lions the shutout.