Sweep by Nebraska-Kearney Fitting End to Disappointing Season
KEARNEY, Neb. -- University of Colorado at Colorado Springs softball coach Scott Peterson's most frustrating season as coach of the Mountain Lions mercifully came to an end Sunday as his team lost three games to the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers at Dryden Park.
UCCS would have not only qualified for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoffs with a four-game sweep of the Lopers this weekend, it would have jumped up to the seventh seed. Instead, it was Nebraska-Kearney (18-26, 17-21 RMAC) that will still be playing on Friday after sweeping the series.
Sunday's first game was the completion of a rain-suspended contest from Saturday. Following Kearney's 3-2 win there, the Lopers took Sunday's regularly scheduled games 3-2 and 6-2.
The 2008 Mountain Lions were the RMAC's preseason pick to win the conference. Instead, UCCS finished with a dismal 15-25 conference record (22-29 overall), ranking 11th in the 12-team RMAC. The Mountain Lions surrendered a conference-worst 346 runs, or a staggering 1.053 per inning pitched.
But Sunday, it was the inability to score runs that hurt UCCS. After averaging 6.6 runs per game coming into the triple-header, the Mountain Lions managed just six runs combined against the Lopers.
Sarah Cleland drove in half of those on two home runs. UCCS' No. 9 through 4 hitters (Sierra Green, Holly Jordan, Brianna Workman, Stacy Haney and Cleland) went a combined 18-for-50 (.360), but the rest of the lineup managed just four hits in 31 at bats.
UNK's Amanda Bell (12-12) earned two wins Sunday and three in the series.
UCCS Players/Staff Featured | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Cleland | 14 | IF | Fr. | |
| Sarah Cleland | 14 | IF | Fr. | |
| Sarah Cleland | 14 | C | Jr. | |
| Sarah Cleland | 14 | IF | Fr. | |
| Sarah Cleland | 14 | IF | Fr. | |
 | Stacy Haney | 21 | OF | Jr. |
 | Stacy Haney | 21 | OF | Sr. |
 | Sierra Green | 15 | OF | Fr. |
 | Sierra Green | 15 | OF | So. |
 | Brianna Workman | 4 | OF | Fr. |
 | Brianna Workman | 4 | OF | Fr. |
 | Brianna Workman | 4 | OF | Fr. |
 | Brianna Workman | 4 | OF | Fr. |
 | Holly Jordan | 14 | P/OF | |
| Holly Jordan | 14 | P/OF | |
| Additional News Stories | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| November 24, 2008 |  | Peterson Announces 2009-10 Softball Recruiting Class | University of Colorado at Colorado Springs softball coach Scott Peterson announced Monday the signing of nine players, including two all-Colorado selections, for the 2009-10 season. |
| October 6, 2008 |  | Mountain Lions Named an All-Academic Team | The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs softball team was named an all-academic team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. |
| May 22, 2008 |  | All-American Anastos Transfers to UCCS from Fort Hays State | Under ordinary circumstances, a coach brings in a player and hopes to develop her into an All-American. |
| May 8, 2008 |  | Haney Adds Two More Awards to Her Growing Collection | University of Colorado at Colorado Springs center fielder Stacy Haney added two more awards to her impressive collection Thursday when she was named first-team academic All-District VII (College Division) and first-team Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-South Central Region. |
| May 7, 2008 |  | Haney Named to Daktronics All-South Central Region First Team | University of Colorado at Colorado Springs senior center fielder Stacy Haney was named first-team all-South Central Region by Daktronics, it was announced Wednesday. |
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