COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team dominated from start to finish in game one of their doubleheader against Black Hills State University Saturday afternoon as
Autumn Kunze logged just 51 pitches to toss a complete game shutout in five innings, 9-0. Game two would see the Mountain Lions maintain control throughout the game and come out on top 5-2 to grab the first two games of the series against BHSU.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Game 1: UCCS 9, BHSU 0 (5 Innings) | Game 2: UCCS 5, BHSU 2
Records: UCCS (8-7, 5-1 RMAC), BHSU (1-10, 0-6 RMAC)
Location: Mountain Lion Field | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions improve to 33-9 in their all-time series record against the Yellow Jackets after Saturday's games.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- Neither team jumped out to a hot start in the first inning as the Yellow Jackets and Mountain Lions each grabbed a single in the opening frame. BHSU couldn't get anything going in the top of the second, but UCCS managed to grab the lead after Maddie Unrein singled home Jacqueline Berkowitz, who had singled earlier in the inning giving the Mountain Lions an early 1-0 lead.
- Autumn Kunze started to get in a groove in the top of the third as she set down the Yellow Jackets one-two-three including a strikeout on the last batter. The bottom of the third saw UCCS explode as they went on to score five runs in the inning which was capped off by Izzy Giroux who smacked a two-run home run way over the left field wall to see the Mountain Lions up 6-0.
- Another Kunze three up three down in the top of the fourth would spark UCCS to add on three more runs in the bottom of the inning as Gianna Pancost put one into the gap for a double. This was then followed by a two RBI single from Berkowitz as Pancost and Alyssa Gutierrez came around to score. Jennavieve Goldsworth followed that with a double of her own scoring Berkowitz from second to give UCCS a commanding 9-0 lead.
- Kunze who made short work of the Yellow Jackets all afternoon, set them down easily in the top of the fifth and the Mountain Lions would go on to win in a 9-0 dominant performance.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME ONE
- Berkowitz had herself a day in game one as she went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate while driving in three runners and scoring three times herself.
- Kunze finished with only three hits allowed, one hit by pitch, zero walks, and two strike outs in her five innings of shutout work.
- UCCS had their bats going in game one as they had 10 hits compared to BHSU's three. The Mountain Lions also played a clean game defensively as they committed zero errors while the Yellow Jackets coughed it up three separate times.
- Kunze is now 5-1 on the season while opposing BHSU pitcher Shayla Tuschen falls to 1-3.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
- The Yellow Jackets would respond to the dominant performance from UCCS right away in game two as they grabbed an early 1-0 lead after a throwing error. The Mountain Lions displayed a quick memory as Hailey Busshart would send a drive deep to center field to drive herself and Alyssa Gutierrez in with a two-run bomb putting UCCS up 2-1 after the first inning.
- Game two starter, Kailey Bond, would throw a clean top of the second and the Mountain Lions would take advantage as Izzy Giroux doubled to right center to score both Jennavieve Goldsworth and Katelyn Kilgore to grow UCCS' lead to 4-1 after two innings played.
- The Mountain Lions would tack on another run in the bottom of the fourth as Giroux would score on an infield single from Gutierrez to see UCCS with a controlling 5-1 advantage.
- Aside from a solo homerun from BHSU, the fifth and sixth inning was quite for the Yellow Jackets and Mountain Lions. UCCS then had the chance to close it out in the top of the seventh and would do so as Bond struck out two BHSU batters in the inning and finish this one with a 5-2 score.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME TWO
- Giroux and Busshart drove in two runs each with their extra base hits today as well Gutierrez who drove in one.
- The Mountain Lions collected 11 hits in game two with Gutierrez, Busshart, Berkowitz, and Goldsworth all notching two hits each.
- Bond had an excellent showing in game two as she went the full seven innings with only five hits allowed and one earned run. Bond would walk to batters but also struck out eight in the game.
- Bond collected her third win on the season and Laci Peskey on the other side would receive her fifth loss.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Game one on Saturday afternoon was a quick one as it only lasted for one hour and four minutes.
- Kunze's 51 pitches tallied marks as a career low in a complete game outing for the sophomore pitcher. She has now grabbed four straight winning decisions and has an ERA of 2.69 in 41.2 innings pitched.
- With multiple hits in both games, Berkowitz has now extended her hitting streak to five games. For the double header she put together a 5-for-6 line at the plate with three RBIs.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions continue their four-game series tomorrow with Black Hills State University beginning at 11 a.m. at Mountain Lion Field, Colorado Springs, Colo.
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.
