COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team began their 2022 season on Friday against Cal Poly Humboldt and managed to take the first game of the doubleheader in six innings with a 13-5 run-rule victory before dropping the second game of the afternoon by a score of 8-4.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Game 1: UCCS 13, Humboldt 5 | Game 2: UCCS 4, Humboldt 8
Records: UCCS (1-1, 0-0 RMAC), Humboldt (2-2, 0-0 CCAA)
Location: Mountain Lion Field | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions move to 2-1 all-time against the Lumberjacks.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE

• After the first three Mountain Lion batters reached to load the bases in the bottom of the first, redshirt junior Sawyer Brewster drove a single through the left side to put UCCS on the board first, 1-0. With the bases still loaded, freshman Paige White would extend the lead to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly to center field to score freshman Briana Mattos from third.
• A walk by redshirt senior Courtnie Heller and a two-RBI single off the bat of redshirt junior Peyton Reisman would push the Mountain Lion's lead to 4-0 and prove to be the end of the day for Lumberjack's starting pitcher Megan Escobar after recording just one out. UCCS would add another run with an RBI single from redshirt junior Bryn Horton to cap off a five-run first inning.
• Humboldt would cut the UCCS lead to 5-2 in the top of the second inning as Tessa Poirier slammed a two-run homer to dead center, but the Mountain Lions found a response in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run bomb by Reisman that got the lead back to five runs at 7-2.
• The Lumberjacks made things interesting again in the bottom of the fourth inning, getting two runners on base via a base-on-balls and a hit batter before watching senior Micaela Harris take one out of the park for a three-run homerun to cut the UCCS lead down to 7-5.
• Once again, the Mountain Lion offense quickly answered in the bottom of the inning as White continued her strong debut with a three-run homerun and Morgan Hernandez-Belew added a two-run homer to help the team build a 12-5 cushion.
• Following a scoreless fifth inning, back-to-back doubles off the bats of Hernandez-Belew and Horton pushed the Mountain Lion's lead to eight and clinched a 13-5 run-rule victory in game one of the doubleheader.

STATS FROM GAME ONE

• UCCS combined for 17 hits in the opener, with Brewster leading the way with a perfect 4-for-4 line with two runs and an RBI. Junior Solana Martinez also had a hot start at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
• Reisman and White each recorded four RBIs to lead the team, while Hernandez-Belew and Horton each posted a pair of runs batted in.
• Redshirt junior Braelyne Crenshaw earned her first win of the season, tossing 5.2 innings while allowing five earned runs and punching out six batters. Freshman Mackenzie Rutkoff faced the final two batters of the game, walking one and striking out one.

HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO

• The Mountain Lions carried their momentum over to the start of game two, keeping the 'Jacks scoreless while scoring lone runs in each of the first two innings on a Humboldt error and an RBI triple by Mattos to take a 2-0 lead to the third.
• The momentum would shift in the top of the third, as back-to-back home runs from Izzy Starr and Katelyn Dendas put the Lumberjacks ahead 4-2.
• Sophomore Mia Perez brought the Mountain Lions one run closer in the bottom half of the inning, slicing a double to left field to score Brewster from third base and make it a 4-3 ballgame.
• After Humboldt managed to score single runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to grab a three-run advantage, freshman pinch-runner Brianna Jennings showed off some aggressive baserunning in the bottom of the fifth as she stole second and eventually scored on a pair of Lumberjack throwing errors to cut UCCS' deficit back to just two runs, 6-4.
• Cal Poly Humboldt would string together another rally in the top of the sixth inning, scoring two more runs to take an 8-4 lead that would prove to be insurmountable for the Mountain Lions.

STATS FROM GAME TWO

• Mattos accounted for two the Mountain Lion's five hits in game two, while Hernandez-Belew, Brewster, and Perez recorded one hit apiece.
• After finishing game one in the circle, Rutkoff started game two and pitched a solid 2.1 innings while allowing just one earned run. Juniors Lexi Rayburn (2.1 IP, 4 ER) and Gabrielle Cronin (2.1 IP, 2 ER) combined to throw the final 4.2 innings while combining for four strikeouts.
• Gaige Garcia pitched a stellar game for Cal Poly Humboldt, tossing a complete game and allowing just two earned runs while striking out six hitters.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Five players made their Mountain Lion and collegiate debuts today, including Mattos, White, Jennings, Rutkoff, and Cassidy Hubner.

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions will head to the Lone Star State to compete at the LCU Softball Classic hosted by Lubbock Christian University on Feb. 12-13. On Saturday, UCCS will square off with Oklahoma Baptist University at 11 a.m. (MT) then take on University of Nebraska at Kearney at 1 p.m. (MT). On Sunday, the Mountain Lions will battle Eastern New Mexico University at 10 a.m. (MT) followed by West Texas A&M University at 12 p.m. (MT).

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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.