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PREVIEW | Softball Wraps Up Regular Season at CSU Pueblo

4/26/2022 11:58:00 AM

By: Tyler Tvelia, Assistant Sports Information Director
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
  • The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team is set to close out their 2022 regular season schedule with a four-game set at Colorado State University Pueblo on April 29-30 at the Rawlings Softball Complex.
  • The series will get underway on Friday with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. and will wrap up with another twin bill on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.
GAME COVERAGE
  • Live stream and live stats links for the Mountain Lion's series against the ThunderWolves can be found below.
LAST TIME OUT
  • The Mountain Lions bounced back nicely from their recent slide to sweep the New Mexico Highlands University Cowgirls in a four-game series over the weekend.
  • An early RBI single by Heaven Medina gave the Cowgirls an early 1-0 lead in the opening game of the series, but UCCS pitcher Braelyne Crenshaw settled in to hold NMHU to just one hit over six scoreless innings throughout the remainder of the game. Still trailing 1-0 in their half of the sixth, redshirt junior Sawyer Brewster led off the inning with a long solo home run to left field to tie the game at one. After loading the bases with still nobody out in the inning, pinch-hitter Makena Geist plated the eventual winning run with an RBI fielder's choice groundout as the Mountain Lions snuck away with a 2-1 win. 
  • UCCS found themselves with a 4-1 deficit in the second game of the series after the Cowgirls recorded a three-run inning in their half of the fifth, but a solo home run from Peyton Reisman, an RBI single by Solana Martinez and a two-RBI single by Brewster in the bottom of the sixth helped the Mountain Lions recover and take a 5-4 lead to the seventh. After NMHU scratched a run across in the top of the seventh to tie the game at five, freshman Cassidy Hubner reached base with one out in the bottom half of the inning on a single to left field and was brought around to score the winning run on a clutch walk-off double by freshman Briana Mattos as UCCS escaped with a 6-5 win.
  • Crenshaw came back to start the third game of the series and was staked to an early lead as the Mountain Lion offense took advantage of four walks and four hits to score six runs in the bottom half of the first inning. New Mexico Highlands would manage to get their offense rolling in the middle innings to cut the UCCS lead to 7-4, but an RBI triple by Bryn Horton in the fifth inning would put a bow on an 8-4 win for the Mountain Lions.
  • After being held scoreless for the first two innings of the series finale, the Mountain Lions tallied four two-out runs in the bottom of the third with Reisman being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Hubner clearing the bases with a three-RBI double to the right-center field gap. A two-run home run by Reisman in the fifth gave UCCS an even larger cushion, which they were able to hold on to behind starting pitcher Mackenzie Rutkoff for a 7-4 win and a series sweep.
  • Reisman had a huge weekend at the plate, hitting .545 (6-11) with a triple, two home runs, four runs scored and four RBIs. The Fort Collins, Colo., native also played perfect defense in the field as she recorded 27 putouts without an error.
  • Crenshaw had a dominant series in the circle as she won both of her games started and posted a stellar 2.05 ERA across 13.2 innings pitched with 20 strikeouts.
RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS
  • After their sweep of the Cowgirls, the Mountain Lions hold a 21-15 conference record and a one game lead over Metropolitan State University Denver for fourth place in the standings. The top six teams in the final standings will qualify for the postseason RMAC Tournament on May 5-7.
  • Colorado Mesa University and Colorado Christian University faced off over the weekend in a battle of the top two teams in the conference and came away with a series split to remain tied atop the conference standings with identical 31-3 records.
  • Regis University won three out of four games against MSU Denver last weekend and stays in the third spot of the standings at 25-11, four games ahead of UCCS.
  • MSU Denver falls to 19-15 in conference play and currently holds the fifth spot in the standings. Hot on the heels of the Roadrunners are the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks, who occupy the sixth and final spot in the standings entering the final week of the regular season with a 19-17 record.
  • Colorado School of Mines (15-17) and CSU Pueblo (16-20) remain in contention for a playoff spot with the Orediggers sitting two games out of a playoff spot and the ThunderWolves three games behind the sixth-ranked Skyhawks.  
  • Rounding out the rest of the conference standings are Chadron State College (10-22), Adams State University (8-26), Black Hills State University (8-28), and New Mexico Highlands (5-31).
AWARD WINNERS
  • Reisman earns player of the week honors after putting forth an impressive effort during the Mountain Lion's four game sweep of New Mexico Highlands over the weekend. In 13 plate appearances against Cowgirl pitching, the redshirt junior recorded an incredible .545 batting average with one triple and two home runs while also being hit by two pitches to boost her on base percentage to .615 for the series. In addition to her 14 total bases and four runs scored, the Fort Collins, Colo., native drove in four runs to add to her team-leading season total of 36 RBIs. On the defensive end, Reisman started all four games in the series at first base and recorded 27 putouts without making an error for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
  • The RMAC All-Academic Team for the 2022 softball season was released on Thursday, April 21, with redshirt junior Sawyer Brewster headlining a group of nine softball student-athletes. In addition to Brewster being named to the All-Academic First Team, Braelyne Crenshaw, Courtnie Heller, Morgan Hernandez-Belew, Solana Martinez, Mia Perez, Laxi Rayburn, Peyton Reisman, and Maddie Unrein garnered recognition on the honor roll.
THE SERIES
  • The Mountain Lions hold a record of 53-57 all-time against CSU Pueblo but are 12-4 in their last four series with the ThunderWolves dating back to the 2017 season.
SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
  • The ThunderWolves are coming off a series split against Adams State over the weekend that pushed their overall record to 20-21 and their conference record to 16-20.
  • CSU Pueblo has been a solid offensive team throughout the season as they have recorded the fifth-highest team batting average in the conference at .307 and score an average of 5.24 runs per game.
  • The duo of sophomore Katelynn Ralston and senior Isabel Griego have terrorized opponent pitching all season as they each boast batting averages north of .400. Ralston carries a team-leading .437 batting average that ranks second in the conference to go along with 14 doubles, four home runs and 34 RBIs. Griego ranks just behind Ralston with the third-highest batting average in the RMAC at .423 while adding 32 runs scored and 14 RBIs.
  • Senior catcher Hannah Hackney has provided a power presence in the ThunderWolves lineup as she leads the team with ten home runs and 40 RBIs.
  • The ThunderWolves have also been extremely active on the bases, leading the conference with 92 total stolen bases. Griego is the team leader in the category with 30 stolen bags on the year, followed by Raelynn Rogers with 17 and Delaney Barela with 14.
  • Inside the circle, CSU Pueblo has pitched to the sixth-best ERA in the RMAC with a mark of 4.95 and rank seventh in the conference with a WHIP of 1.80.
  • Senior Taylor Strupp has been the ThunderWolves most effective pitcher this season with a 3.32 ERA across 84.1 innings pitched with 35 strikeouts. Sophomore Sophia Lishner leads the team with 87.1 innings pitched and has recorded a 6.41 ERA.
HOT TAKES
  • Offensively, the Mountain Lions have posted a .306 batting average and are scoring an average of 5.30 runs per game. UCCS has excelled with hitting the ball to the gaps and over the fence as they rank second in the conference with 1.82 doubles per game and third with 48 total home runs.
  • The UCCS offense also holds the fourth highest slugging percentage (.502) and on base percentage (.377) in the RMAC.
  • With four games remaining in the regular season, the Mountain Lions have already surpassed last season's home run total (45). Their 48 home runs as a team rank as the eighth most in program history in a single season.
  • Infielder Sawyer Brewster has led the Mountain Lions offensively throughout the season, holding the team lead for batting average (.398), slugging percentage (.789), on base percentage (.484), runs (33), hits (53), home runs (13) and total bases (105).
  • The redshirt junior also sits among the top-ten hitters in the RMAC for batting average (6th), doubles (T7th), home runs (T3rd), OBP (5th), and SLG (6th).
  • Freshman catcher Paige White is having a stellar start to her collegiate career as she boasts a .331 batting average while ranking second on the team with ten home runs and 35 RBIs.
  • Peyton Reisman has started each of the Mountain Lion's 44 games at first base and leads the team with 36 RBIs. The redshirt junior has also clubbed nine home runs and has swung to a .289 batting average.
  • Shortstop Solana Martinez ranks second on the team with her .354 batting average and 52 hits while adding 12 doubles, a pair of triples and three home runs.
  • Redshirt sophomore Morgan Hernandez-Belew has been a doubles-machine out of the leadoff spot as she paces the squad with 14 doubles to go along with a .291 batting average, six home runs and 23 RBIs.
  • The UCCS pitching staff has been rounding into form of late, lowering their cumulative ERA to 4.37 for the season, which ranks as the fourth-best mark in the conference.
  • Mountain Lion pitchers have combined to record a total of 256 strikeouts as a team, which ranks as the fifth most in single season in program history. The program high for a season is 321 that was established by the 2011 team.
  • Redshirt junior Braelyne Crenshaw has put together a career-year as she leads the staff with 127.0 innings pitched, a 3.91 ERA and 123 strikeouts. In 21 starts this season, Crenshaw is tied for the team lead with eight wins and has tossed a career-high 12 complete games.
  • With her 123 punchouts this season, Crenshaw now sits in fourth place all-time in the UCCS record book with 285 in her career.
  • Freshman Mackenzie Rutkoff has turned in a solid freshman season inside the circle, posting a 4.38 ERA with a team-low 1.38 WHIP. In 54.1 innings pitched, the Ramona, Calif., native has recorded 52 strikeouts and just 13 walks for a 4.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio that ranks fourth in the conference.
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH RICKI ROTHBAUER-STUBBS
  • Ricki Rothbauer-Stubbs, who picked up her 200th career Division II victory last season with a 9-7 win over Chadron State on March 8, is currently in 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
  • The weather in Pueblo, Colo., for Friday and Saturday is expected to be beautiful with temperatures staying in the mid-70s throughout the series.
UPCOMING GAMES
  • The top-six teams in the conference standings will qualify for the postseason RMAC Tournament taking place on May 5-7. Entering the series with the ThunderWolves, UCCS sits in fourth place in the conference standings and holds a four-game lead over seventh place Colorado School of Mines for a playoff spot.
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.  
 
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