COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team opened their home schedule on Thursday afternoon with a non-conference doubleheader against Northwestern Oklahoma State University and saw junior
Lexi Wagner provide some heroics in the first game of the day with a walk-off grand slam that lifted the Mountain Lions to a 6-4 win over the Rangers.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Game 1: UCCS 6, NWOSU 4| Game 2: UCCS 1, NWOSU 10 (5 Innings)
Records: UCCS (3-6, 0-0 RMAC), NWOSU (6-4, 0-0 GAC)
Location: Mountain Lion Field | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: Today's doubleheader was just the second time the Mountain Lions had encountered the Rangers, with the first being a 6-3 win on Feb. 16, 2019.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- The Mountain Lions and Rangers had a quiet start to the first game of Thursday's non-conference doubleheader with the offenses of both teams going scoreless over the first two innings of action.
- The scoring would get started in the top of the third inning as NWOSU managed to manufacture a run after Tatum Winters earned a leadoff walk against UCCS starting pitcher Autumn Kunze. After being moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt and then to third base on a single from Avery Clark, Winters was brought across the plate on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rachel Sherwood to give the Rangers a 1-0 advantage.
- Winters continued to be a catalyst for the Rangers in her next trip to the plate in the top of the fifth inning as she led off the frame with a home run over the left field fence to push Northwestern Oklahoma's lead to 2-0.
- After being largely shut down over the first four innings by NWOSU pitcher Hannah Howell, the Mountain Lion offense began to show some signs of life in the home half of the fifth as Gianna Pancost led off the inning with a double that was followed directly by a walk from Katelyn Kilgore. A sacrifice bunt from Maddie Unrein would move the runners to second and third with just one out, but Howell managed to maintain her shutout as she retired Alyssa Gutierrez and Jennavieve Goldsworth for the final two outs of the inning.
- Still trailing by two runs, the Mountain Lions found themselves with another strong scoring opportunity in the bottom of the sixth inning when pinch-hitter Sydney King came off the bench and led off the frame with a single through the left side. After a groundout advanced King to second base, Jacquelynn Siefken roped a line drive double into right center field that brought King across the plate and cut the deficit to 2-1. Following the RBI double, Jacqueline Berkowitz entered the game to pinch-run for Siefken and immediately moved to third base on a wild pitch. Just a couple pitches later, Laynee Case lifted a fly ball to right field that was deep enough for Berkowitz to tag up and score from third base, evening the ballgame at two runs apiece.
- After having just surrendered the lead inside the circle in the bottom of the sixth, Howell came up clutch inside the batter's box for the Rangers in the top of the seventh as she clubbed a two-run home run that helped Northwestern Oklahoma State regain a two-run advantage, 4-2.
- Once again facing a two-run deficit, the Mountain Lions wasted little time getting a rally going in the bottom of the seventh frame against a new pitcher for NWOSU, Molly Dolan. Kilgore and Unrein opened the inning with back-to-back walks, which forced Rangers' head coach Casady Webb to make a quick switch inside the circle, bringing Ireland Caro into the game to attempt to protect the lead. Caro would promptly issue a walk to the first batter she faced, Gutierrez, to load the bases for pinch-hitter Lexi Wagner. After seeing a couple pitches in her first plate appearance of the day, Wagner connected on the third pitch she saw from Caro and sent it flying over the left center field fence for a walk off grand slam that pushed UCCS to a 6-4 win.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME ONE
- UCCS tallied seven hits in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader, with Siefken and Pancost each recording a pair. Siefken and Pancost both went 2-for-3 at the dish with both recording their first doubles of the season.
- Wagner's walk-off grand slam off the bench marked her first home run of the season along with her first four RBIs of the campaign.
- The Mountain Lions also showed a patient eye at the dish as they drew four walks in game one, including two from Kilgore.
- Kunze (3-1) earned her third win of the season inside the circle as she went the distance for UCCS, tossing seven complete innings while allowing four earned runs and striking out six batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
- After both teams went down in order in the first inning of game two, the Rangers exploded for five runs in the top of the second against UCCS starting pitcher Mackenzie Rutkoff to put the Mountain Lions in an early hole. A two-RBI single from Rosemary Rivera got the scoring started before a three-run home run off the bat of Gabrielle Sanchez extended the deficit to 5-0.
- Northwestern Oklahoma State added to their lead in the top of the third inning, this time against relief pitcher Kailey Bond, who had entered the game inside the circle for UCCS after Sanchez's home run in the second. Sherwood opened the frame for the Rangers with a double into left center field and, after being moved to third base on a ground out, came across to score on a passed ball to make it a 6-0 game in favor of NWOSU.
- The top of the fifth inning saw the Rangers continue their offensive success as they strung together four singles and took advantage of an error at shortstop by Case to plate four more runs and extend their advantage to 10-0. The Mountain Lion offense, which had struggled to solve NWOSU pitcher Kathryn Jones over the first four innings of the game, managed to scratch across a run in the bottom of the fifth inning as Kilgore started the frame with a double and came in to score on an RBI groundout by Unrein, but it was not enough as the game ended via the run rule with the Rangers claiming a 10-1 victory and a split of the doubleheader.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME TWO
- The Mountain Lions recorded six hits in the second game of the afternoon, with Kilgore and Pancost each providing multi-hit efforts. Of their six total hits, four of them were of the extra-base variety as Kilgore collected a pair of doubles while Pancost and Hailey Busshart also added doubles of their own.
- Rutkoff (0-2) drew the start inside the circle for UCCS and struggled through 1.1 innings pitched, allowing five hits and five earned runs while taking her second loss of the season.
- Bond entered the game in relief of Rutkoff in the second inning and went on to throw the final 3.2 innings of the ballgame, surrendering five runs (three earned) while striking out two batters.
- Jones made her season debut for the Rangers and earned her first win of the season as she tossed five innings of one-run softball while allowing six hits and striking out two hitters.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Prior to today's walk-off winner, the Mountain Lion's last such win came on April 15, 2023, in a 6-5 win over Colorado State University Pueblo.
- A pair of freshmen had strong performances for UCCS this afternoon as Pancost went a combined 4-for-5 with two doubles across the doubleheader and Kilgore posted a 2-for-3 line with a pair of doubles and two walks on the day.
UP NEXT
- With today's doubleheader marking the end of the non-conference slate, the Mountain Lions will now turn their attention to the RMAC schedule as they welcome New Mexico Highlands University into Mountain Lion Field on Sunday and Monday, Feb. 18-19, for a four-game conference series.
SOCIAL
Twitter – @GoMountainLions
Instagram – @gomountainlions
Facebook – GoMountainLions
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
