The 2026 Mountain West Softball Tournament kicked off with a single-elimination matchup between the #5-seeded Fresno State Bulldogs and the #4-seeded New Mexico Lobos. The latter squad was in their first conference tournament appearance since 2006, and they certainly made it count, taking down the Bulldogs by a final score of 7-2.
The game started off as a pitchers’ duel between New Mexico’s McKenna Guest and Fresno State’s Lauryn Carranco. Just like her last appearance in Reno, however, Carranco was
the first to give up a massive play; a 250-plus foot nuke to Allie Williams in the bottom of the third that drove in the game’s first two runs. Guest then gave up an RBI single in the top of the fourth to the white-hot Rylee Bocchini, but Carranco responded by giving up another two-run shot to little-used pinch hitter Ella Dawson in the bottom of the fourth.
The Bulldogs tacked on another run in the top of the fifth after a wild pitch with two outs allowed diminutive lefty Kealani Nitta to race home from third just in time to beat the throw. Guest was then pulled for Caitlin Benningfield, who got the final out to keep the ‘Dogs off the board. In the bottom of the fifth, Carranco completed the trifecta, giving up yet another two-run homer, this time to Jessica Deleon with two outs, giving the Lobos a 6-2 lead.
Benningfield allowed a hit to fellow two-way star Alyssa Ramirez, but had perfect reaction time on a liner right to her, allowing her to score an inning-ending double play to send it to the bottom of the sixth. Ramirez was brought into the game to replace Carranco, but she, too, proceeded to give up a two-out RBI single to another pinch hitter, this time sophomore Jasmyn Lloyd. Benningield mowed down the Bulldogs’ lineup in the seventh, securing the Lobos’ first conference tournament win since 2005.
The Lobos outhit the Bulldogs 10-5, leaving only three runners on base all game. Williams and Hayden Luderer each went 2-for-3 on the day, with the remaining hits split amongst six players. Guest recorded the win, giving up four hits and two runs in 4.2 innings, while Benningfield closed it out with 2.1 innings of one-hit dominance. It was a complete team victory, and a statement win for the Lobos heading into the rest of the tournament, and into the new Mountain West Conference.
New Mexico will advance to play #1-seeded Grand Canyon tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. PST. GCU defeated the Lobos in the season series on the road three games to none, making this a daunting task for the underdogs to handle.
