COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team opened their series against Colorado State University Pueblo on Saturday with a pair of walk-off wins, both of which coming with redshirt senior
Courtnie Heller at the plate.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Game One: UCCS 6, CSUP 5 | Final Game Two: UCCS 11, CSUP 3 (six innings)
Records: UCCS (13-28, 10-22 RMAC), CSUP (14-27, 9-23 RMAC)
Location: Mountain Lion Field | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions move to 58-58 all-time against the Thunderwolves.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- After a quiet start to the series-opening game that saw both teams go scoreless in the first two innings of play, the Thunderwolves drew first blood in the top of the third frame with a leadoff home run from Caitlyn Cole giving them a 1-0 lead.
- In the top of the fifth inning, Cole was once again at the center of the action as she drew a walk to start the inning and promptly stole second base to get into scoring position. With two outs in the frame, Ashley Tosh drove a double to center field, bringing Cole in to score and giving CSU Pueblo a 2-0 advantage.
- The tide began to turn in the bottom half of the fifth inning when the UCCS offense, which had been largely silenced across the first four innings of play, broke out to score four runs and take their first lead of the ballgame. With two outs and runners on the corners, junior Maddie Unrein broke through with a two-RBI double that evened the game at two. Sophomore Lexi Wagner was the next batter to the plate, and she wasted little time hammering a two-run shot over the left field fence that made it a 4-2 game in favor of the Mountain Lions.
- With her team now trailing for the first time in the game, Cole continued her impactful day in the top of the sixth inning as she hit a two-out, two-run home run that brought the game back to even at four runs apiece.
- The Mountain Lions would regain the advantage in the bottom of the sixth inning as sophomore Kelsey Bell drew a bases-loaded walk that pushed the score to 5-4. After the run-scoring walk to Bell, CSU Pueblo managed to limit the damage to just one run, striking out Morgan Hernandez-Belew and getting Maddie Unrein to pop out to shortstop to end the inning.
- Needing just three outs to secure the win, the Mountain Lions quickly ran into trouble in the top of the seventh inning as Marissa Robertson led off the inning with a double that put the tying run into scoring position. Robertson would come across to score on the very next at-bat as an errant throw on a bunt attempt allowed her to come around from second and even the game at five. UCCS would retire the next three batters in order to send the game to the bottom of the seventh inning still tied.
- With one out in the bottom of the frame Heller came up in the clutch with a walk-off solo home run to center field that gave the Mountain Lions a 6-5 victory over the Thunderwolves in game one of the series.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME ONE
- Despite coming out on top with the victory, UCCS was outhit by CSU Pueblo 8-7.
- Heller was on base in three of her four plate appearances, going 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and her fifth home run of the season.
- Unrein and Wagner tied for the team-lead with two RBIs apiece, with Unrein going 1-for-4 with a double and Wagner also going 1-for-4 while blasting her team-leading 11th home run of the season.
- Bell showed a good eye in the series-opener, drawing a pair of walks in her three trips to plate, including the bases-loaded RBI walk in the sixth inning.
- Redshirt senior Braelyne Crenshaw drew her 20th start of the season inside the circle and pitched effectively across 4.2 innings of work, allowing just two earned runs and striking out three hitters.
- Sophomore Mackenzie Rutkoff (3-4) finished out the game on the rubber and earned her third win of the season after surrendering three runs (two earned) in 2.1 innings pitched.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
- The Mountain Lions broke out the bats much earlier in game two of the series, putting five runs on the scoreboard in their half of the second inning to take an early 5-0 lead. After a walk from Solana Martinez and double from Reisman put runners on second and third with one out, Bell ripped a single to the right side to bring home the first run of the game before an RBI fielder's choice by Hernandez-Belew pushed the lead to 2-0. Unrein was next up to the dish, and she unloaded a deep, three-run home run to left center field that extended the lead to five runs.
- UCCS found themselves in another prime run-scoring spot in the bottom of the fourth inning as they loaded the bases with one out in the frame. Martinez and Reisman would cash in all three runners with back-to-back singles, stretching the UCCS lead to 8-0.
- After CSU Pueblo managed to plate three runs in the top of the fifth inning to avoid the run-rule going into effect, the Mountain Lions rallied for three runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth inning with a bases-loaded walk from Heller closing out an 11-3 run-rule victory and a doubleheader sweep.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME TWO
- The Mountain Lions had 21 baserunners in the second game of the series with 13 hits and eight walks.
- Unrein put together a 2-for-5 line in the game with a home run and three RBIs, while Bell and Hernandez-Belew also had strong games with a pair of RBIs each.
- Heller continued to be an on-base machine, reaching first in four of her five plate appearances with a single and three walks.
- Martinez and Reisman also got involved in the offensive action as they each posted two-hit games with one RBI apiece.
- Senior Lexi Rayburn (3-5) started the game inside the circle for the Mountain Lions, earning her third win of the season after allowing just two earned runs across five innings pitched.
- Freshman Autumn Kunze tossed the final inning of the ballgame, allowing just one hit across one inning of work.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The walk-off wins for the Mountain Lions mark the third and fourth of the season, with the first coming in the home-opener against University of Nebraska Kearney on Feb. 12 and the second coming on March 12 against Regis University.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will close out their series against the Thunderwolves tomorrow with another doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. from Mountain Lion Field.
SOCIAL
Twitter – @GoMountainLions
Instagram – @gomountainlions
Facebook – GoMountainLions
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.
