Courtney Ware and her teammates could not connect with the ball against Houston Baptist pitcher, Kendall Stiefel, in a 6-3 loss at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex. (Photo: Brian Kanof)

EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP softball team looked to gain momentum as it headed into the rubber match of the three-game series against Houston Baptist. The Miners continued to show growing pains, due to the infusion of youth thank to untimely injuries, falling 6-3 Sunday to the Huskies at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex.

UTEP (4-5) fell behind early, giving up two runs in each of the first two frames. Freshman pitcher Laura Ramos started the game for the Miners, but lasted one inning before being removed from the game.

Ramos finished the game, allowing three earned runs on four hits, and striking out one batter in only one inning pitched. Ramos, who still has plenty of softball left to play, said she knows that in order to have success at the Division I level, she must make sure every facet of her game is clicking.

“Maybe my spins weren’t working as well. It was just an off day,” Ramos said. “They were hitting me, and that is all there is to it. I have those days.”

Houston Baptist (4-4) was led on the mound by freshman Kendall Stiefel, who stifled the Miners’ batting lineup all day long. She pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on six hits with three strikeouts, while issuing six walks.

Stiefel received help from her offense, which provided her with six runs on 10 hits. A couple of those hits were home runs. One of the home-run balls, by sophomore Callie Herrington, gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. They never trailed for the rest of game.

Despite the Miners never leading in the game, the team was a few hits away from being back into the contest. UTEP left nine players on the base paths, which is something co-head coach Kathleen Rodriguez noticed.

“We hit the ball a few times right to people,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a game of inches here. You know, one inch here, one inch there; I think we have a different outcome.”

The only bright spot for the Miners was senior Kia Moore, who launched a two-run home run in the sixth inning to cut the Miner deficit to three runs. She finished the game 1 for 3 with one hit, one walk, and two RBI.

Despite the team being able to only get six hits, Moore knows that as time progresses this team’s offense will only get better.

“I mean we work hard in practice, we hit a lot and it’s just sometimes we have it and sometimes we don’t,” Moore said. “That is one of the things that we really have to work on. Learn to be consistent with our hitting and it will come around its early.”

Next up for the Miners is the UTEP Invitational. UTEP will christen the annual tournament by playing against I-10 rival New Mexico State Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex.

Alex Morales may be reached at show@minerillustrated.com.