DENVER, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team snapped a 12-game slide on Thursday with a doubleheader split against Regis University as
Autumn Kunze pitched the Mountain Lions to a 1-0 win in the first game of the day before dropping game two by a score of 11-7.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Game 1: UCCS 1, RU 0 | Game 2: UCCS 7, RU 11
Records: UCCS (12-23, 9-17 RMAC), RU (20-14, 16-8 RMAC)
Location: Regis Softball Field | Denver, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions move to 50-92 all-time against the Rangers.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- The first four innings of Thursday's series-opening matchup between the Mountain Lions and Rangers went quickly with the starting pitchers for both teams keeping the scoreboard empty. For UCCS, sophomore Autumn Kunze took the ball and limited Regis to just four baserunners across the opening four frames with six strikeouts, while Kylie Harpman was also stellar inside the circle to begin the game for the Rangers as she limited the Mountain Lions to just three baserunners with four punchouts.
- In the top of the fifth inning, UCCS finally broke the scoreless tie with freshman catcher Katelyn Kilgore hooking a solo home run over the right field fence to give the Mountain Lions a 1-0 advantage. The single run from Kilgore's home run proved to be more than enough for Kunze as she went on to pitch three more scoreless innings to finish off her third complete game shutout of the season and lead UCCS to a one-run victory.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME ONE
- The Mountain Lions recorded five hits in the opening game of the series, with Izzy Giroux posting a pair of hits and Kilgore, Hailey Busshart, and Laynee Case each tallying one.
- Kilgore's first home run of the season accounted for the lone run of the game.
- Kunze pitched a gem inside the circle as she tossed seven shutout innings while surrendering just three hits and two walks alongside a season-high eight strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
- After the slow offensive showing in game one of the doubleheader, both teams came out swinging to start the second game of the twin bill. The Mountain Lions struck first in the top of the first inning as Alyssa Gutierrez led off the ballgame with a triple to left center field and was brought home to score on an infield single by Jacqueline Berkowitz. After a wild pitch and an error on a ground ball by Gianna Pancost, UCCS added another run with Berkowitz coming in to score on the mishap for a 2-0 Mountain Lions lead.
- In the bottom half of the first frame, the Rangers found an offensive groove as their first three batters reached base against UCCS starting pitcher Kailey Bond before a two-RBI double from Sydney Young evened the game at two runs apiece.
- After plating a run in the bottom of the third inning to take their first lead of the day, the Rangers broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth frame as they strung together three hits and a walk to plate three runs and take a 6-2 lead.
- The Mountain Lions cut into their deficit in the top of the fifth inning as they used some aggressive baserunning and clutch hitting to plate three runs and bring the game within a run. Singles from Case and Berkowitz put runners on first and third base with two outs in the inning and wound up scoring a run with Berkowitz stealing second base on an obstruction call that allowed Case to score and make it a 6-3 game. After the obstruction call extended the inning, UCCS brought in two more runs with RBI singles from Pancost and Giroux bringing the score to 6-5.
- With their lead now at just one run, Regis once again broke out the bats in the top of the fifth inning as they took advantage of a pair of errors alongside three hits and two walks to score four runs and extend their lead to 10-5.
- Once again, the Mountain Lions battled back in the top of the sixth inning to narrow the game as a two-out, RBI triple from Laynee Case and an RBI single by Alyssa Gutierrez cut the deficit to 10-7.
- The Rangers, however, added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single from Jessica Isbell and held the Mountain Lions scoreless in the top half of the seventh frame to secure a split of the doubleheader with an 11-7 win.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME TWO
- UCCS tallied nine hits in game two of the doubleheader with three student-athletes recording two-hit games, including Gutierrez, Berkowitz, and Case.
- The Mountain Lions had a pair of extra-base hits, with Gutierrez hitting her second triple of the season and Case recording her first triple of the campaign.
- Gutierrez also swiped her team-leading tenth bag of the season and is now a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts.
- Bond struggled in her start inside the circle, allowing six runs (five earned) across four innings pitched. Caydee Farnworth followed Bond into the game out of the bullpen and surrendered four runs (two earned) in one-third of an inning pitched, while Mackenzie Rutkoff tossed the final 1.2 innings, allowing just one earned run.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Kunze finishes the day ranked tied for eighth in the conference with eight complete games and tied for second with three shutouts this season.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will close their series against the Rangers tomorrow with another doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. from Regis Softball 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 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
