SOFTBALL SEASON RECAP

• The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team finished the 2022 season fifth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) with a 27-24 overall record and a 24-16 record in conference play. With a .600 winning percentage within the conference, UCCS earned the No. 5 seed in the RMAC Tournament for their first postseason appearance since the 2019 season. Their 27 wins overall marked the most wins in a single season since they won 28 games during the 2019 season, and the team's .529 overall winning percentage was the highest since the 2014 team compiled a 27-19 record for a .587 winning percentage. The Mountain Lions also enjoyed the friendly confines of Mountain Lion Field, where they played 30 of their 51 games and recorded an impressive 19-11 record.
• UCCS began their season at home with a non-conference doubleheader against Cal Poly Humboldt on Feb. 4 and managed to come away with a split of the two-game series including a 13-5 run-rule victory in the opening game of the season. The following weekend, the Mountain Lions made their way to Lubbock, Texas, to close out their non-conference schedule with four games at the LCU Softball Classic on Feb. 12-13. On the first day of the tournament, UCCS ran into some tough pitching as they were no-hit in a 2-0 defeat by Oklahoma Baptist University, but quickly bounced back to win the second game of the day by a score of 4-2 over University of Nebraska Kearney. Day two of the tournament did not fall in the favor of the Mountain Lions as they dropped the first game of the day against Eastern New Mexico University before taking a defeat at the hands of the No. 4 nationally ranked team at the time, West Texas A&M University.
• With their overall record sitting at 2-4 at the conclusion of non-conference play, the Mountain Lions welcomed Chadron State College into Mountain Lion Field for the first RMAC conference action of the season on Feb. 26-27. UCCS wound up taking three of the four games from the Eagles to start league play on a high note. Junior pitcher Lexi Rayburn was a catalyst inside the circle throughout the series, tossing a pair of complete game wins while allowing just one earned run and striking out 12 batters in 14.0 innings pitched.
• For the second conference series of the season, UCCS was slated to hit the road to battle Black Hills State University, but frigid weather in Spearfish, S.D., resulted in the series being relocated to UCCS. The location change did not affect the Mountain Lions as they took care of business by winning their second consecutive conference series to open the season, taking three of four games from the Yellowjackets, and moving their conference record to 6-2.
• Regis University was the next team on the docket for UCCS, and the Rangers entered the third week of conference play red-hot with a perfect 8-0 RMAC record after having swept Adams State University and New Mexico Highlands University the previous two weekends. After dropping the opening game of the series, 4-1, the Mountain Lions edged out a tight 4-3 victory to even the series and hand the Rangers their first conference loss of the season. The second day of the series featured a pair of hard-fought extra-inning games, with the Rangers taking the first game, 6-4, in nine innings and the Mountain Lions forcing a series split with an 8-7 walk-off victory in the eighth inning of game two.
• Weather became an issue once again for week four of the conference season as the Mountain Lion's away series with Colorado School of Mines was forced to be shifted to Mountain Lion Field due to excessive snow totals in the Golden, Colo., area. Playing at home for the fourth consecutive weekend, UCCS managed to earn a series split with the Orediggers and move their conference record to 10-6.
• After dropping a pair of mid-week non-conference games against Colorado Christian University on Mar. 23, the Mountain Lions returned home once again for the weekend and put on a stellar performance against Adams State, sweeping all four games of the series to improve to 14-6 in the conference. Redshirt junior Sawyer Brewster was named the RMAC Player of the Week on Mar. 29 after reaching base in 12 of her 14 plate appearances against the Grizzlies while hitting an incredible .818 with three doubles, three walks, one home run, and four RBIs in the series.
• The next weekend (Apr. 2-3), UCCS headed out on their first conference road trip of the season as they made their way to Durango, Colo., to take on the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks. The Mountain Lion bats went silent during the first two games of the series, dropping both games while plating just one total run. The offense bounced back nicely to close out the series as UCCS salvaged a split with the Skyhawks by earning 9-0 and 8-7 wins in the final two games of the set.
• At 16-8 and sitting in third place after six weeks of RMAC conference action, UCCS ran into a tough portion of their schedule as they were slated to take on fourth-place Metropolitan State University Denver on the road before returning home to play first-place Colorado Mesa University. The ball did not fall in the favor of UCCS during the first doubleheader against the Roadrunners with MSU Denver taking both games via walk-off hits in their final at-bats. After winning the opening game of the second doubleheader against MSU Denver in an extra inning, 11-10 thriller, UCCS dropped the final game of the set for a 3-1 series loss. The following weekend against CMU featured more tight games, but it was the Mavericks who came out on top in each of the four games to go home with a sweep and drop the Mountain Lion's conference record to 17-15 with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
• The Mountain Lions rebounded in a big way from their tough stretch as they went on to sweep New Mexico Highlands in a four-game series the next weekend to get back to six games over .500 in conference play at 21-15. UCCS was led by redshirt junior Peyton Reisman, who collected RMAC Player of the Week honors on Apr. 26 after recording a .545 batting average, .615 on base percentage, one triple, and two home runs in 13 plate appearances in the series.
• With a playoff spot all but locked up heading into the final series of the regular season against Colorado State University Pueblo, the Mountain Lions continued to roll as they took three of four games against the ThunderWolves to finish the season fifth in the conference with a 24-16 RMAC record.
• As the No. 5 seed in the RMAC Tournament, UCCS drew fourth-seeded MSU Denver in the opening round of the bracket and, despite a late rally in which the Mountain Lions scored twice in the seventh inning, fell to the Roadrunners by a score of 4-3.
• With the opening round loss, UCCS moved to the loser's bracket of the tournament to take on Regis in an elimination game. The Mountain Lions managed to scratch across a pair of runs against RMAC Freshman of the Year Kylie Harpman in the second inning, and those runs turned out to be all that was needed for UCCS pitching as Rayburn (6.0 IP, W) and junior Gabrielle Cronin (1.0 IP, SV) held the Rangers to just one run to advance in the tournament with a 2-1 victory.
• Next up, UCCS was tasked with facing the No. 1 seed on the bracket, Colorado Mesa, in yet another elimination game on the second day of the RMAC Tournament. Despite a solo home run from freshman Paige White and a valiant effort inside the circle by Braelyne Crenshaw, the Mountain Lion's tournament run came to an end with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Mavericks.

AWARD WINNERS
Sawyer Brewster: RMAC Player of the Week (3/29), RMAC All-Academic First Team, All-RMAC Honorable Mention
Braelyne Crenshaw: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, All-RMAC Honorable Mention
Courtnie Heller: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, All-RMAC Honorable Mention
Morgan Hernandez-Belew: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Bryn Horton: All-RMAC Honorable Mention
Solana Martinez: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Mia Perez: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Lexi Rayburn: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Peyton Reisman: RMAC Player of the Week (4/26), RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Maddie Unrein: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Paige White: All-RMAC Honorable Mention, RMAC All-Tournament Team
 
STAT LEADERS

• The UCCS pitching staff put together a strong season inside the circle, posting the fourth lowest team ERA in the conference at 4.14 while also ranking fifth in the RMAC at limiting baserunners with a 1.64 team WHIP.
• In 338.1 total innings pitched, Mountain Lion pitchers combined to strikeout 288 hitters while walking 150 for the sixth-best K-BB ratio in the conference at 1.92.
• Redshirt junior Braelyne Crenshaw was the leader of the staff throughout the season, making 26 appearances on the rubber (25 starts) to record a 9-14 record with a career-best 3.78 ERA. Crenshaw was a workhorse all season, recording career-highs with 15 complete games and 150.0 innings pitched while also establishing a personal best with 136 strikeouts. The Aurora, Colo., native finished the season ranked third in the RMAC for both complete games and total strikeouts.
• Junior Lexi Rayburn served as the game two starter for a majority of the season and led the team with her 10-6 record while turning in a 4.36 ERA and 78 strikeouts across 98.0 innings pitched.
• In her first season at the collegiate level, freshman Mackenzie Rutkoff made 19 appearances (five starts) and was solid across 57.1 innings pitched, posting a 4.40 ERA and 53 strikeouts while recording a team-low 1.41 WHIP. The native of Ramona, Calif., also finished her debut season ranked fifth in the conference with a 3.79 K-BB ratio (53K-14BB).
• The Mountain Lion's also fielded a dynamic offense throughout the 2022 season, ranking among the top half of the conference in nearly every major offensive category. UCCS finished the season with the fifth-ranked team batting average (.305), fourth-ranked on base percentage (.378), fourth-ranked slugging percentage (.495) and the fifth most total runs scored with 268.
• Extra base hits played a huge role in the Mountain Lion's offensive success as they ended the season ranked second in the conference with 1.76 doubles per game and third with 1.08 home runs per game. Each of those marks also ranked favorably at the national level as UCCS finished the year 22^nd in the nation for both categories.
• Redshirt junior Sawyer Brewster experienced a breakout season at the plate as she led UCCS in most offensive categories while establishing career-bests across the board. Brewster finished the season as the team leader with her .394 batting average, .475 on base percentage, 1.223 OPS, .748 slugging percentage, 39 runs scored, 16 doubles, and 116 total bases.
• The Burnsville, Minn., native's numbers also translated well to the conference leaderboard, where she finished the season fourth in doubles, tied for fifth in home runs, sixth in batting average and on base percentage, and seventh in slugging percentage.
• Freshman Paige White also impressed in her first season at the collegiate level, posting a .352 batting average while leading the team with 44 RBIs and tying for the team lead with 13 home runs. The first-year catcher was also among the most difficult hitters to strikeout in the conference as she struck out just eight times in 165 at-bats, or once every 20.6 at bats.
• Junior Solana Martinez put together yet another solid season at the shortstop position as she led the team with 62 hits for the second highest batting average on the team at .363. Martinez also added 14 doubles, two triples and four home runs in 171 at bats to boost her slugging percentage to a tie for third on the team at .538.
• Matching Martinez with a .538 slugging percentage of her own was redshirt junior Peyton Reisman, who reached the mark by recording 19 extra base hits throughout the season, including eight doubles, one triple and ten home runs. Reisman was also exceptional in the field as an every game starter at first base, committing just seven errors in 315 total chances for a .978 fielding percentage.
• A redshirt sophomore from Broomfield, Colo., Morgan Hernandez-Belew started all 51 games at second base for the Mountain Lions and provided some power out of the leadoff spot in the lineup, registering 21 extra base hits with 14 doubles, one triple and six home runs to go with a .274 batting average.
• Sophomore Mia Perez started 50 games for UCCS and did her job as the primary No. 2 hitter in the lineup as she led the team with 29 walks and posted a solid .386 on base percentage. Perez also created havoc on the basepaths as she stole nine bags in 12 attempts.
• In 42 games played, including 27 starts, redshirt senior Courtnie Heller consistently put together strong battles at the plate as she reached base in 39 of her 89 plate appearances to rank second on the team with a .438 on base percentage.
• Outfielder Bryn Horton was another Mountain Lion who put together a career year in 2022 as she recorded the best batting average (.301) and on base percentage (.392) of her four-year career in the black and gold.
• Freshman Brianna Jennings was primarily utilized as a baserunning weapon off the bench for her debut season with the Mountain Lions and went on to lead the team with 12 stolen bases in 14 attempts

HOT TAKES

• The 288 total strikeouts recorded by Mountain Lion pitching was the second most in program history behind the 2011 team that struck out 321 hitters. UCCS pitchers also posted the third best K/7 mark in school history with 5.96 strikeouts per seven innings (288K-388.1 IP), with the top mark in program history also coming from the 2011 squad at 6.75 (321K-333 IP).
• For Crenshaw, it was her third consecutive season leading the team in strikeouts, and her 136 strikeouts this season ranked as the ninth most in a single season by any pitcher in program history.
• With 298 strikeouts in her career, Crenshaw ranks fourth in program history for the category, and will enter the 2023 season sitting 24 strikeouts behind Becca Smith (322) for the third spot.  The all-time program leader in strikeouts is Amber Colton with 547.
• In her third start of the season and ninth start of her career on Feb. 26 against Chadron State, Rayburn tossed her first collegiate complete game shutout with a seven-inning, one-hit, masterpiece against the Eagles.
• The Mountain Lions scored a season high 14 runs and recorded a season best 18 hits on Mar. 29 against Colorado School of Mines and on Apr. 30 against CSU Pueblo. 
• Brewster finishes her career with 27 home runs, which ranks just outside the top-ten in program history. She ranks eighth in school history with .206 home runs per game (27 in 131 games).
• Three Mountain Lions surpassed the 100-hit milestone during the 2022 season, including Brewster (111 total), Reisman (138 total), Martinez (132 total)
• Martinez (18), White (17) and Brewster (16) led the team in multi-hit games, while Brewster and Martinez each recorded a pair of four-hit games.
• White, the team leader in the RBI category with 44, contributed 15 games with multiple RBIs and had four games in which she posted four runs batted in.
• Brewster was the only player to record as many as five RBIs in a game, which she did in an 8-7 win over Regis on Mar. 13.
• Reisman recorded a team-long 11 game hitting streak from Mar. 13 to Mar. 27, going 16-37 (.432) in the stretch with one double, four home runs and 12 RBIs.

2023 SEASON OUTLOOK

• Head coach Ricki Rothbauer-Stubbs is set to return for her eighth season at the helm of the UCCS Softball program and will return a familiar group for the 2023 season as the team is set to graduate just two seniors. "We don't stand to lose much," said Rothbauer-Stubbs. "We've had some big contributors who want to stay and continue to be part of the team and continue contributing on and off the field."
• With much of the team's nucleus returning for the 2023 season, Rothbauer-Stubbs actively "went after pitching and catching with versatility" for her incoming recruiting class and has succeeded to this point in signing five versatile players, including Autumn Kunze, Jayden Paulsen, Brynna Frey, Molly Sherwood, and Ella Ebert.
• With a winning season and conference tournament appearance in the books, Rothbauer-Stubbs and the UCCS Softball program will look to continue building on their successes on and off the field this fall. "It'll be about growing this culture," stated Rothbauer-Stubbs. "We were so fortunate to work with Dr. Roberta Kraus all year to be able to develop a chemistry where the kids could compete together and cooperate at the same time. Now it's about pushing that envelope even farther and figuring out how we can compete, hold ourselves to a higher standard, bounce back when things don't go our way, and learn to finish things out. All of that mental longevity and mental endurance is what we're working on in our fall because our kids are excited to come back and play, and when you have kids that are excited and motivated to play together, that's really exciting and makes for a fun fall."