SPEARFISH, S.D. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team closed the regular season on Sunday afternoon against Black Hills State University as they dropped the first game of the doubleheader by a score of 3-2 before ending the campaign with a 5-3 win over the Yellow Jackets.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Game One: UCCS 2, BHSU 3 | Final Game Two: UCCS 5, BHSU 3
Records: UCCS (14-37, 11-31 RMAC), BHSU (8-36, 8-36 RMAC)
Location: Yellow Jacket Field | Spearfish, S.D.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions move to 31-9 all-time against the Yellow Jackets.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- Following a scoreless first inning from both teams, junior Maddie Unrein put the Mountain Lions on the board in the top of the second frame with a solo home run over the center field fence.
- With the score still at 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning, redshirt senior Peyton Reisman doubled the Mountain Lion's advantage with another solo home run to center field, her fourth long ball of the season.
- In the bottom half of the frame, the Yellow Jackets managed to get their first two hitters in the inning on base with a pair of singles before taking advantage of an error at second base by Morgan Hernandez-Belew that allowed both runners to score and tied the game at two runs apiece.
- Two innings later in the top of the sixth frame, Black Hills State would grab their first lead of the ballgame as Shayla Tuschen came through with a one-out double before being brought in to score on an RBI single by Gianna Haley.
- Now trailing by a score of 3-2 with just three outs left to play, the Mountain Lions received a leadoff single from Cassidy Hubner to put the tying run on the basepaths to begin the top of the seventh. Brianna Jennings entered the game as a pinch runner for Hubner and would eventually move to third base after a sacrifice bunt and a fly ball to right field, bringing up Lexi Wagner with a chance to even the game. Wagner would put up a battle in her at-bat, but ultimately swung through strike three to end the ballgame with BHSU earning their third consecutive victory in the series by a score of 3-2.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME ONE
- The Mountain Lions posted six hits in the third game of the series, including a pair from Unrein.
- UCCS also hit two home runs in the ballgame, with Unrein hitting her eighth of the season and Reisman hitting her fourth.
- Freshman Autumn Kunze started the game inside the circle and took her eighth loss of the season despite an outstanding pitching performance in which she allowed just three runs (one earned) and five hits across six innings.
- For a second consecutive day, the Mountain Lions were unable to muster much offense against BHSU's Shayla Tuschen, who tossed seven complete innings and limited UCCS to just six hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
- The Mountain Lions once again took an early lead in the final game of the series as freshman Molly Sherwood drove in Jennings with an infield groundout to give UCCS a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
- Black Hills State battled back in the bottom of the third inning to score a pair of runs on a single to right field by Gianna Haley, moving them into a 2-1 lead after three innings of action.
- After a leadoff walk in the top of the sixth inning was moved over to third base with a pair of groundouts, Sherwood came through with her second RBI of the game as she hit a two-out single to right field that tied the game at two runs apiece.
- An RBI single by BHSU's Bayleigh Hubbard in the bottom half of the frame would help the Yellow Jackets regain a 3-2 lead, but they were unable to hold the lead in the top of the seventh as Wagner and Hernandez-Belew hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game at three. After a single from Martinez gave UCCS a 4-3 lead, BHSU's defense committed a pair of errors that allowed another run to score and pushed the Mountain Lion's advantage to 5-3 heading to the home half of the seventh.
- The Mountain Lion's game two starting pitcher Braelyne Crenshaw managed to breeze through the Yellow Jackets order in the bottom half of the frame to earn the victory as UCCS ended the season on a high note with a 5-3 comeback win.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME TWO
- UCCS recorded eight hits in the series and season finale, with five of them coming out of the top three spots in the batting order.
- Hernandez-Belew and Martinez paced the Mountain Lions with a pair of hits each, while Sherwood led the team with her two RBIs.
- Crenshaw picked up her third win of the season as she tossed a complete seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) with seven strikeouts.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With seven strikeouts today, Crenshaw surpassed 400 for her career and will hang up her cleats ranked third all-time in program history with 401 career strikeouts across five seasons.
- Heller finishes the season ranked as the team leader in batting average (.306) and on-base percentage (.462), while Wagner ends the year pacing the Mountain Lions in hits (40), home runs (12), RBIs (34), and total bases (85).
- Punctuated by a solid outing in the first game of today's doubleheader, Kunze completes her freshman season as the team leader on the pitching staff with four wins and a 4.27 ERA.
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.
