THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP

• The Mountain Lions will begin their busy week with a non-conference doubleheader on the road at Colorado Christian University beginning at 12 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams were originally scheduled to play two additional games on Tuesday at Mountain Lion Field, but they were canceled due to expected inclement weather.
• UCCS will get back to their conference schedule over the weekend as they prepare to host Adams State University for a four-game set on Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27. Saturday's twin bill will kick off at 12 p.m. and Sunday's doubleheader is scheduled to get started at 11 a.m.

GAME COVERAGE

• Live stream and live stats links for the road doubleheader against Colorado Christian can be found below.
  • Live Stream
  • Live Stats
• Live stream and live stats links for the home series against Adams State can be found below.
  • Live Stream
  • Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT

• Due to heavy snow in the Golden, Colo., area, UCCS' originally scheduled road series against Colorado School of Mines was relocated to Mountain Lion Field, where the Mountain Lions and Orediggers halved the four-game series with each team winning two games.
• In game one of Saturday's twin bill, the Mountain Lions scored the first four runs and held the lead throughout the first six innings of play, but the Orediggers mounted a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh inning that was capped by a walk-off grand slam to give them a 7-4 series-opening win.
• UCCS did well to turn the page from the tough ending in the first game of the series as they broke out for 13 runs in the first two innings of game two of the doubleheader. With a 14-6 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, UCCS starting pitcher Lexi Rayburn held the Orediggers scoreless to clinch the run-rule win and even the series at one game apiece.
• The third game of the set featured a back-and-forth contest that saw the teams tied on three different occasions. The Mountain Lions would rely on a pair of freshmen to help them gain a 2-1 advantage in the series as Mackenzie Rutkoff entered the game in the fifth inning and held the Orediggers scoreless for the remaining three innings while Briana Mattos rewarded Rutkoff's efforts with a go-ahead solo home run in the top of the seventh inning in an 8-7 win for the Mountain Lions. 
• A 3-for-3 game from redshirt junior Sawyer Brewster in the final game of the weekend was not enough for the Mountain Lions to earn the series win as the Orediggers exploded offensively for ten runs and forced a series split with a 10-2 run-rule victory.
• The UCCS offense posted a stellar .392 team batting average over the course of the series while scoring a total of 28 runs.
• Bryn Horton and Solana Martinez tied for the team lead with seven hits each, while Brewster continued to flash her power stroke with three home runs and four RBIs on the weekend. Redshirt junior Peyton Reisman also put her power on display with a pair of home runs and a team-leading five RBIs.

RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS

• Colorado Mesa University extended their winning streak to 21 games with a sweep against Adams State over the weekend and remained at the top of the conference standings with a perfect 14-0 record.
• Colorado Christian swept Black Hills State University in a four-game series to stay hot on the tails of the Mavericks at 13-1 in RMAC play. Regis University also came out of the weekend with a sweep of Chadron State College to improve to 14-2 within the conference.
• With a split of their weekend series against Colorado School of Mines, UCCS holds on to the fourth spot in the conference at 10-6. The Mountain Lions are trailed by a trio of teams sitting at the .500 mark in the RMAC, including Colorado State University Pueblo (8-8), Metropolitan State University Denver (7-7), and Mines (7-7).
• Rounding out the rest of the conference standings are Fort Lewis College (5-11), Black Hills State (5-11), Adams State (3-13), New Mexico Highlands University (3-13), and Chadron State (3-13).  

THE SERIES

• The Mountain Lions are 14-13 all-time against Colorado Christian but have not faced off with the Cougars since 2019.
• UCCS holds an all-time record of 63-56 against Adams State and have been victorious in ten of their last 13 meetings with the Grizzlies dating back to 2018.

SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

• The Cougars have raced out to hot start to the season, holding a 23-5 overall record and a 13-1 record within the conference. CCU is currently riding a nine-game winning streak after sweeping their last two series' against Chadron State and Black Hills State.
• Much of Colorado Christian's success this season has been a result of exceptional offensive production at the plate. Entering this week, the Cougars lead the RMAC with a .348 team batting average, .981 team OPS, 53 doubles and 42 home runs.
• Junior Sami Edwards and Kenzie Middleton are the top two hitters in a talented Cougars lineup that has averaged 6.86 runs per game. Edwards and Middleton sit tied atop the RMAC individual leaders with 44 hits each, while Edwards leads the conference with 16 doubles and Middleton is the RMAC leader in home runs (11), RBIs (37), total bases (93) and slugging percentage (.903).
• The CCU pitching staff has also been exceptional this season, sporting a 3.42 team ERA across 176.1 innings pitched. Junior Alexis Hamilton leads the staff with nine wins as she has pitched to a 2.58 ERA in 76.2 innings. Second on the team in innings pitched is Abrie Castillo with 62.0 innings spent inside the circle and a solid 3.48 ERA.

SCOUTING ADAMS STATE UNIVERSITY

• The Grizzlies hold an 8-19 overall record for the season and are 3-13 in conference play after getting swept at the hands of Colorado Mesa last weekend.
• In 27 games, ASU has recorded a team batting average of .273 and are scoring an average of 5.04 runs per game. The Grizzlies are led offensively by junior Jade Garbiso, who leads the team with her .438 batting average, .516 on-base percentage, and 29 runs scored.
• Sophomore Belinda Vargas leads Adams State with 23 RBIs and has added four triples and three home runs to go along with a .315 batting average.
• The Grizzlies have struggled to a 7.04 ERA inside the circle for the season, but the pitching staff has been the best in the nation at inducing double play balls as they have had 19 double plays turned behind them.
• Sophomore Tayler Duncan has been the most effective Adams State pitcher to this point in the season, posting a 4.74 ERA across a team-leading 41.1 innings pitched.  

HOT TAKES

• The Mountain Lions have showed off their extra-base ability this season, ranking 17^th in the nation and first in the RMAC with 1.95 doubles per game. The power has also been on display all season long as UCCS sits eighth among Division II teams and third in the conference with 1.41 home runs per game.
• The UCCS offense has recorded the fifth-best batting average in the conference at .317 and holds the third-ranked slugging percentage in the RMAC at .544.
• Redshirt junior Sawyer Brewster has broken out offensively in her fourth season in a Mountain Lion uniform, leading the team with a .417 batting average, nine home runs and 22 RBIs. Brewster's nine home runs are third most in the RMAC this season while her slugging percentage of .889 also ranks third in the conference and sits 16^th in the country.
• Shortstop Solana Martinez has also been a hit-machine for the Mountain Lions this season, tying with Brewster for the team lead with 30 hits and holding the second highest batting average on the team at .411. Martinez is tied for the team lead for multi-hit games with nine and has recorded three or more hits in game six times this season.
• Redshirt senior Courtnie Heller has appeared in 19 of the Mountain Lion's 22 games this season and holds a team-leading .512 on-base percentage with three home runs and eight RBIs.
• Outfielder Bryn Horton has provided a spark for the Mountain Lions out of the nine-hole in the batting order as she has slashed to a .391 batting average and .451 on-base percentage, both ranking third on the team.
• On the rubber, the Mountain Lion's pitching staff holds a 4.80 ERA for the season as they have allowed 102 earned runs across 148.2 innings pitched.
• Redshirt junior Braelyne Crenshaw and junior Lexi Rayburn have combined to toss nearly three-quarters of the innings for UCCS, with each pitcher having thrown five complete games.
• Crenshaw, the typical game one starter for UCCS, leads the team with 61.1 innings pitched and has allowed 43 earned runs and struck out 58 hitters for a 4.91 ERA.
• Rayburn is the team leader with five wins on the season as she has tossed 50.0 innings with a 4.48 ERA and 40 strikeouts.
• Freshman Mackenzie Rutkoff holds a team-leading 3.23 ERA across ten appearances this season, nine of them in relief efforts. Rutkoff has totaled 21.2 innings pitched and punched out 23 hitters while walking just three.

UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH RICKI ROTHBAUER-STUBBS

• Ricki Rothbauer-Stubbs, who picked up her 200^th career Division II victory last season with a 9-7 win over Chadron State on March 8, enters her seventh season at the helm of the UCCS Softball program during the 2022 season. In her first six seasons as the head coach of the Mountain Lions, Rothbauer-Stubbs has collected 120 wins and made three appearances in the RMAC Tournament.
• During the 2021 season, Rothbauer-Stubbs coached two players to the All-RMAC team with Brianna Santos receiving First Team honors and Solana Martinez being named as an Honorable Mention. She also led her team to great academic success, as Santos was named to the RMAC All-Academic First Team and 13 more softball student-athletes were named to the Honor Roll.

WEATHER

• Wednesday's forecast in Lakewood, Colo. is calling for mostly sunny skies and a high of 54 degrees. High winds could have an impact on the games as they are expected to blow at 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.
• The weather in Colorado Springs, Colo. for the Mountain Lion's series against Adams State will feature a sneak-peak into the spring as temperatures are expected to reach the mid-70s with plenty of blue skies throughout the weekend.

UPCOMING GAMES

• The Mountain Lions will head out on one of their longer road trips of the season as they make the trip to Durango, Colo. to take on Fort Lewis College for a four-game series on April 2-3. 

SOCIAL 
Twitter - @GoMountainLions 
Instagram - @gomountainlions  
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions 
  
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.