PREVIEW | Softball Heads to Las Vegas for Four-Game Series

2/26/2020 9:01:00 PM

By: Sarah Meier, Associate Athletic Director

This Week's Games

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team (5-10, 1-3 RMAC) will travel South on I-25 to Las Vegas, N.M. to play four games at New Mexico Highlands University. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 12 p.m., and Sunday's doubleheader will begin at 11 a.m.

Game Coverage

Weather Forecast

Dry weather and high winds are expected in Las Vegas, N.M. this weekend. Temperatures will reach near 60 degrees both days, but partly cloudy skies on Sunday can be expected, with winds blowing at 20-25 mph both days.

RMAC Standings

The Mountain Lions are tied for eighth place (1-3 RMAC) after one weekend of conference games. Colorado Christian University, Colorado Mesa University and Regis University are the only three teams to open the conference season without a loss.

The Series

The Mountain Lions lead the all-time series against NMHU, 17-6, but have lost the last two meetings. UCCS is 7-5 all-time against the Cowgirls when facing NMHU on their home field.

Scouting the Cowgirls

New Mexico Highlands University enters the weekend with a 1-15 overall record and a 0-4 mark in league games.
NMHU is led by Camrynn Ziegler who is batting .327 with 16 hits, two doubles, two home runs and one triple. She has also drawn five walks.
Belinda Gonzalez leads the team in innings pitched (44.2). She is 0-6 on the season and has allowed 31 earned runs on 58 hits while fanning 34 batters.
NMHU has been out-scored, 144-56, and out-hit, 154-100.

Hot Takes

The Mountain Lions were slated to open the conference season at Colorado School of Mines last weekend, but unplayable field conditions in Golden, Colo. moved the four-game series to Mountain Lion Field. The Orediggers took the first three games of the series before UCCS earned an 11-6 win.
Freshman Brianna Santos leads the league in triples (four) and doubles (8), and she ranks second in hits (28) and slugging percentage (.887), third in stolen bases (6-for-6) and batting average (.528), and fifth in RBI (18).
Defensively, Payton Romines and Peyton Reisman are a dual threat. Romines is the league leader in assists (40) while Reisman has the fourth most putouts in the league with 96.
Braelyne Crenshaw has started eight games in the circle and is 4-4 on the year. She has pitched 45 innings and owns a 5.91 ERA with 38 earned runs, 63 hits and 25 strikeouts.
Cami Duffey earned her first win of the season in the series finale against CSM. She is 1-4 on the season with two complete games and a 7.87 ERA.

UCCS Under Coach Ricki Rothbauer-Stubbs

The 2020 season marks Ricki Rothbauer-Stubbs fifth season at the helm of the Mountain Lions, and her 10^th season as a head coach. In her five seasons at UCCS, Rothbauer-Stubbs is 98-114 overall. In 10 seasons as a head coach, she owns a 189-284 overall record. Rothbauer-Stubbs spent her first four seasons as a head coach at Texas A&M-Kingsville (68-144), followed by one season at Northwestern Oklahoma (23-26). She recorded her first winning season in 2019 when she led UCCS to a 28-26 overall record.

Upcoming Games

UCCS will return home to Mountain Lion Field March 7-8 to play host to Dixie State University in a four-game series. Saturday's action will begin at 12 p.m., followed by Sunday's games at 11 a.m.