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UCCS Athletics

Softball Season Recap

2025 UCCS Softball Season Recap

5/28/2025 12:00:00 PM

By: David Koehler, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
UCCS SOFTBALL SEASON IN-REVIEW
  • The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team took a sizable leap forward in head coach Dwight Sanders' second year with the program. The Mountain Lions won 14 more games than they did in 2024 as they ended with an overall record of 33-24 and 24-17 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play.
  • UCCS began their season with eight consecutive road games, competing at the South Central Regional Crossover in Los Lunas, N.M., and the West Texas A&M Invitational in Canyon, Texas. The team went 5-3 during those first two weeks of the season and fell by just one run to then No. 13 ranked West Texas A&M University.
  • The Mountain Lions would go on to struggle the next two weeks of the season as they opened RMAC play against Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian University. UCCS went 2-6 with four of those losses resulting from a four-game sweep by CCU.
  • Looking to get back on track, UCCS posted a dominating home stretch as they rattled off eight straight wins over Chadron State College and Fort Lewis College to bump their record to 15-9. The Mountain Lions would go 5-1 in their next six games before getting swept by Colorado Mesa University in four games at home.
  • UCCS bounced back as they went 4-0 against Adams State University on March 28-29 just before their four-game series with Colorado State University Pueblo the next weekend. The Mountain Lions' woes against teams with a winning percentage above .500 continued into the CSU Pueblo series as they dropped all four games with two being by just one run.
  • The Mountain Lions split a competitive four-game series against Black Hills State University on April 12-13 and edged out Regis University in two games the next week to slide back into the win column. UCCS closed out the regular season with a series split against Metropolitan State University Denver and earned their first RMAC Tournament appearance since the 2022 season as the No. 5 seed.
  • UCCS opened tournament play on April 30 by securing a 9-3 victory over CSU Pueblo in their first matchup on the bracket before narrowly dropping their second game by a score of 5-3 agaisnt top seeded CCU.
  • With no more room for error in the double elimination tournament, the Mountain Lions shut out Black Hills State in a 3-0 decision on May 1 to keep their postseason hopes alive. Their next game against No. 3 seeded MSU Denver on May 2 turned into a defensive battle that ended with UCCS on top 3-2 after nine innings of action. Immediately following their victory over the Roadrunners, UCCS drew a semifinal matchup against Colorado Mesa, but the Mountain Lions would watch their strong tournament run come to an end as they fell 7-2 against the Mavericks and came up just one win short of reaching the RMAC Championship game.
AWARD WINNERS
The 2025 season came with 14 different Mountain Lions receiving awards and distinctions:  STATISTICAL LEADERS
  • The Mountain Lions fielded one of the most prolific run-scoring offenses in both the RMAC and NCAA Division II throughout the 2025 campaign as they finished the season with a scoring average of 6.16 runs per game, which ranked third in the conference and 23rd in the nation.
  • UCCS finished the season ranked among the top three offensive teams in the RMAC for multiple statistical categories as they were second overall in total doubles (106), total hits (535), and slugging percentage (.504) and third overall in batting average (.336) and home runs (45). The squad also ranked favorably on the national scale as they finished the season sitting eighth in the nation in total doubles, 11th in total hits, 13th in batting average, 15th in slugging percentage, and 33rd in home runs.
  • Freshman Halley Redd finished her debut season with an impressive .416 batting average that ranked as the second highest mark in the league. The native of Henderson, Nev., also ended the campaign tied for third in the conference in doubles with 17 while ranking fifth in hits (69) and seventh in on-base percentage (.465). As the Mountain Lions' primary shortstop throughout the season, Redd also recorded the fifth-most assists in the league with 120.
  • Tayler McCombs was another standout freshman for the Mountain Lions in 2025 as she posted a .404 batting average in 56 games played that ranked her fifth in the conference. The first-year player also ranked sixth in the league for total doubles (16) and hits (67) while sitting ninth in on-base percentage (.462).
  • Sophomore Laynee Case turned in a spectacular season as a 57-game starter at second base for UCCS as she led the team in home runs (10), RBIs (46), total bases, and stolen bases (13) while recording a .349 batting average and 16 doubles. The infielder from Loveland, Colo., ended the season ranked sixth in the league in doubles, seventh in runs scored (45), and ninth in RBIs.
  • An All-RMAC Second Team selection, sophomore Gianna Pancost had a stellar season for the Mountain Lions as the primary designated player as she tied for the team lead in doubles with 17 while recording a .341 batting average, eight home runs, and 42 RBIs.
  • Inside the circle, Kailey Bond led the pitching staff with a 4.28 ERA on the season as she posted a 10-7 record across 26 appearances. In a team-leading 111.1 innings pitched, the junior hurler led the squad with 89 strikeouts and 10 complete games.
  • Freshman Lauren Falk posted a 4.47 ERA across 47.0 innings pitched in her debut season while leading the RMAC with seven saves. Falk had a strong finish to her first season at the collegiate level, tossing 11.2 scoreless innings across her final five appearances with a win and two saves.
HOT TAKES
  • The Mountain Lions' 33 wins marked the most in a single season by the program since the 2013 campaign. It was also just the sixth time in program history surpassing the 30-win threshold.
  • UCCS secured multiple wins in the RMAC Tournament for the first time since the 2014 season and won three games in the conference tournament for the first time since 2006.  
  • On the offensive side of the ball, UCCS notched the second-most hits in a single season in program history with 535. The Mountain Lions also had the seventh-highest mark on a per-game basis, averaging 9.39 hits per game.
  • The Mountain Lions recorded 77 stolen bases on the year, which ranks as the most in a single season since the 2008 squad swiped 108 bags. Case (13) and Bailey Olerich (11) both reached double digits in stolen bases for the season, while Redd and Alyssa Gutierrez each stole nine bags.
  • Inside the circle, the Mountain Lions had 273 strikeouts throughout the season, which ranks as the fourth most in a single season in program history.
  • Redd and McCombs both finished the season with the most hits in a single season in program history by a player in their freshman season with Redd now ranking first all-time after logging 69 hits and McCombs sitting second all-time after notching 67 hits. Both student-athletes also placed themselves in the top 10 all-time for single season hits as Redd tied for the seventh-most all-time and McCombs tied for the 10th-most all-time.
  • McCombs recorded a 15-game hitting streak from Feb. 16 through March 9, which ranks as the fifth-longest streak in program history. During the span of her streak, the freshman infielder posted a .563 batting average (27-for-48) with seven doubles, two triples, four home runs, and 12 RBIs.
  • Sophomore Mackenzie Scott reached base in each of the 24 games she played before having her season ended prematurely due to a hand injury. In those 24 games, Scott provided an important spark from the leadoff spot in lineup, posting a .397 batting average and .516 on-base percentage with four doubles, four home runs, and 13 RBIs. 
  • With 78 strikeouts during the 2025 campaign, junior Autumn Kunze now has 248 in her career and ranks seventh all-time in the category. Kunze needs just four more strikeouts to move into a tie for sixth place all-time with Stephanie Chitkowski (2014-17) and 37 to move into the top five all-time for the category.
SOCIAL
Twitter - @GoMountainLions 
Instagram - @gomountainlions  
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions 
  
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. 
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