GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – No. 6 seed University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team was eliminated from the 2019 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship tournament Friday afternoon, falling to No. 4 seed Colorado School of Mines, 7-5.
The Mountain Lions, serving as the home team, were quickly in a hole after the first inning when the Orediggers jumped to a 3-0 lead. CSM drew three walks in the opening inning and scored all three of their runs with two outs on the board.
UCCS was held scoreless in the first two innings before knotting the game in the third inning.
Taylor Reidhead punched in her ninth home run of the season that sored
Peyton Reisman and
Alex Cook, evening the score at 3-3.
Mines added one run in the fourth inning from a throwing error by UCCS, attempting to stop a stolen base.
The Mountain Lions responded to gain their first lead of the game in the fifth inning, 5-4.
Melissa Martinek took advantage of a fielding error by CSM to reach first base. She crossed three bases from Cook's hard double to right center, tying the game at 4's.
Rayle Glover brought in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly that scored Cook from third base.
The Orediggers retaliated with a three-run inning in the sixth for the third lead change of the game, 7-5.
Trailing by two runs entering the bottom half of the seventh, Reisman reached base for UCCS on a single to center field. Reidhead moved Reisman to third base on a double, putting two runners in scoring position with one out. The next two batters flied out to close the game and the season.
Reisman led the offense with three hits and one run scored. Reidhead drove in three runs on two hits and drew one walk as Reisman and Reidhead combined for five of UCCS' seven hits.
Reidhead started her third straight game of the tournament, working the first 3.1 innings and allowing three earned runs on five hits.
Braelyne Crenshaw relived Reidhead in the third inning, surrendering three runs on four hits as the pitcher of record.
The Mountain Lions season ends with a 28-26 overall record.