LOS LUNAS, N.M. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team kicked off their 2025 campaign on Friday with a pair of wins at the South Central Regional Crossover tournament in Los Lunas, N.M., as they put forth an offensive explosion in a 17-1 run-rule victory over Sul Ross State University before securing an exhilarating 10-9 comeback extra-inning win over Eastern New Mexico University in the nightcap.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Game 1: UCCS 17, SRSU 1 (5 Innings) | Game 2: UCCS 10, ENMU 9 (8 Innings)
Records: UCCS (2-0, 0-0 RMAC), SRU (0-2, 0-0 LSC), ENMU (1-1, 0-0 LSC)
Game 1 Location: Los Lunas Sports Complex – Field 1 | Los Lunas, N.M.
Game 2 Location: Los Lunas Sports Complex – Field 2 | Los Lunas, N.M.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions improve to 1-0 all-time against Sul Ross State and 7-8 all-time against Eastern New Mexico.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE – SUL ROSS STATE

• The Mountain Lions hit the ground running in their season-opener as the offense staked freshman starting pitcher Hannah Hunt to an early lead with four runs in the top of the first inning. Jacqueline Berkowitz kicked off the first inning rally by reaching base on an error by the SRSU pitcher and a hit barrage followed as back-to-back singles from Gianna Pancost and Jacquelynn Siefken led to the first run of the ballgame. Jennavieve Goldsworth promptly added to the lead with a two-RBI triple into the left-center field gap before being brought home to score on a sacrifice fly from Laynee Case.
• After Hunt made quick work of the Lobos in the bottom half of the first frame, UCCS continued to extend their advantage in the top of the second inning as Katelyn Kilgore led off with a single into left field and stole second base before being brought around to score on an RBI double by Mackenzie Scott.
• With the lead still sitting at 5-0 after three full innings, the Mountain Lions went back to work on the offensive end in the top of the fourth and, after a pair of defensive errors by Sul Ross and a single by Berkowitz, quickly found themselves in a bases loaded situation with nobody out in the frame. UCCS took full advantage of the situation with RBI singles from Siefken and Halley Redd, an RBI double from Case, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Goldsworth resulting in four more runs and a 9-0 advantage.
• UCCS fully broke the game open in the top of the fifth inning when they strung together six hits, a walk, a hit batter, and two defensive errors to plate eight more runs and claim a 17-0 lead. Freshman Abby Covington got the scoring started in the frame with a pinch-hit, two-run bomb over the left field fence before fellow first-year player Brooke Bornitz plated another run with an RBI triple. After Bornitz came into score on a passed ball, the Mountain Lions loaded the bases once again and saw all three runners come across home plate on a three-RBI triple into center field from freshman Tayler McCombs. The Mountain Lions went on to add one more run to their tally in the frame as Covington launched an RBI-double to deep right field that scored McCombs from third.
• With a sizeable cushion to work with, Hunt finished off the bottom of the fifth inning with just a single run allowed as the Mountain Lions secured a 17-1 run-rule victory to open the campaign.

STATS FROM GAME ONE – SUL ROSS STATE

• The Mountain Lion bats were hot to open the season as the team pounded out a total of 14 hits with 13 different players recording at least one hit and three players notching multi-hit performances, including Redd (2-for-4), Siefken (2-for-3), and Berkowitz (2-for-3).
• Goldsworth, McCombs, and Covington paced the team with three RBIs apiece, while Case and Siefken both tallied two.
• UCCS clubbed eight extra-base hits in the ballgame including a home run from Covington, triples from Goldsworth, Bornitz, and McCombs, and doubles by Scott, Redd, Case, and Covington.
• Hunt (1-0) engineered an excellent collegiate debut performance inside the circle as she picked up the win after tossing five innings and allowing just one earned run. The freshman hurler needed just 71 pitches to complete her outing, allowing just three hits and zero walks with four strikeouts.

HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO – EASTERN NEW MEXICO

• The start of the Mountain Lions' second game of the day told a much different story than the first as UCCS was held scoreless with just two hits to speak of across the first four innings of play against Eastern New Mexico. Meanwhile, the Greyhounds grabbed an early lead with an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning against UCCS starting pitcher Autumn Kunze before piecing together five hits and four runs in the third inning to take control of a 5-0 lead after three frames.
• The momentum shifted in favor of the Mountain Lions in the top of the fifth inning when ENMU starting pitcher Jordan Rivera, who had been magnificent to that point in the ballgame, lost control of her pitches. After getting a strikeout to begin the frame, Rivera dealt a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch around another strikeout to gift UCCS a bases-loaded situation with two outs in the inning. Junior transfer Katie Steinmetz stepped to the dish and worked a full count before making Rivera pay in the biggest way with a grand slam over the left field fence that cut the UCCS deficit to 5-4.
• After Steinmetz's home run, Rivera continued to struggle with her control as she issued two more walks before being lifted from the game for relief pitcher Maggie Smith. Case gave Smith a rude welcome into the contest as she promptly lined a triple into the left center field gap to score a pair of runs. Case would wind up scoring on the play due to a throwing error by the Greyhounds' shortstop, giving the Mountain Lions a 7-5 lead. UCCS threatened to add more runs to their lead in the frame as singles by Gutierrez and Halley Redd and a walk by Scott loaded the bases once again, but pinch-hitter Edyn Lopez grounded out to end the frame without any additional damage.
• Now holding a lead for the first time in the game, Kunze went back to work inside the circle in the bottom of the fifth inning and ran into some trouble as a pair of walks and a single gave Eastern New Mexico a bases-loaded opportunity with two outs in the frame. Fortunately for the Mountain Lions, Kunze managed to clamp down and get an inning-ending strikeout of Ashley Burns to keep the advantage at two runs.
• Pancost helped the Mountain Lions extend the lead in the top of the sixth inning with a leadoff home run that pushed the score to 8-5. Following Pancost's home run, the Mountain Lions went on to load the bases in the frame with a double by Steinmetz, an error by the ENMU pitcher, and a single by Redd, but ultimately did not come away with any additional runs as their advantage remained at three.
• The bottom of the sixth inning saw Kunze dig herself into another quick hole as she allowed a leadoff single followed by back-to-back hit batters to load the bases with nobody out. The third-year pitcher did well to manage the situation, however as she retired three of the next four batters on a pair of infield outs and a strikeout while allowing just one of the runners to come across to score.
• The Mountain Lions headed to the top of the seventh inning looking for some insurance runs as they clung to an 8-6 lead and the first two batters in the frame delivered with Scott and Kennedy Usher both reaching base on singles. After a strikeout and a walk loaded the bases for the Mountain Lions with one out in the frame, Covington lifted a fly ball that was deep enough for Scott to tag up from third base and score for a 9-6 advantage.
• Kunze returned to the circle for the bottom of the seventh inning looking to protect the team's three-run lead, but the Greyhounds had other ideas as the first two batters of the frame reached base on a walk and a fielder's choice before Aylene Lucero and Christina Meneses smacked back-to-back doubles to plate a trio of runs and bring the game even at nine runs apiece. Kunze buckled down from that point forward as she managed to retire the next three batters to send the game to extra innings.
• The top of the eighth inning began with a runner on second base for UCCS under the international tiebreaker rule, and the runner was quickly moved to third on a single up the middle by Goldsworth. During the next at-bat, Goldsworth broke for second on a stolen base attempt and the throw down to the bag by the ENMU catcher sailed into center field, allowing the runner on third to come across the plate for a 10-9 UCCS lead.
• After the Mountain Lion offense went quietly for the remainder of their half of the eighth, freshman Lauren Falk entered the game in the bottom of the frame looking to earn a save in her collegiate debut. The Greyhounds put down a successful sacrifice bunt to begin the inning, which moved their runner over to third base with one out. With the tying run just 60 feet away, Falk managed to get a strikeout and a ground out to keep the runner at third and secure the extra inning win for UCCS.

STATS FROM GAME TWO – EASTERN NEW MEXICO

• The Mountain Lions kept the bats rolling in the second game of the day, collecting 13 hits while drawing seven walks and taking two hit-by-pitches.
• Eight of UCCS' nine starters recorded at least one hit in the game, with four student-athletes tallying multi-hit performances, including Redd (3-for-5), Gutierrez (2-3), Steinmetz (2-for-4), and Case (2-for-5).
• Steinmetz led the squad with four RBIs, all of which coming on her game-changing grand slam in the top of the fifth inning.
• Kunze (1-0) picked up the win despite an uneven performance across seven innings in which she surrendered nine runs (eight earned) while allowing 13 hits, five walks, and two hit batters. The junior pitcher logged career-highs with 11 strikeouts and 173 pitches.
• Falk collected the save in her first collegiate appearance as she recorded the final three outs of the ballgame with one strikeout.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The 17 runs scored by the Mountain Lions in their first game of the day against Sul Ross State marked the largest single-game offensive output from the team since they scored 19 runs in a victory over New Mexico Highlands University on April 25, 2021.
• UCCS moves to 2-0 for the first time since the 2016 season.  
• With 11 strikeouts during her outing in the second game of the day against Eastern New Mexico, Kunze moves into a tie for 10th all-time in program history with 181 in her career. 

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions will wrap up the South Central Regional Crossover tournament tomorrow as they take on Western New Mexico University at 10 a.m. on Field 1 of the Los Lunas Sports Complex before moving over to Field 3 to clash with No. 13 nationally ranked West Texas A&M University at 3 p.m.

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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.   Read Full Article