COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Senior Autumn Kunze of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team has been named the Week 12 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Softball Pitcher of the Week, as announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Kunze becomes the second UCCS softball student-athlete to collect a weekly conference award this season, joining two-time honoree Jennavieve Goldsworth, who earned RMAC Softball Player of the Week accolades on Feb. 3 and April 7.
 
A fourth-year player from Chandler, Ariz., Kunze secured the first RMAC Pitcher of the Week accolade of her collegiate career after putting together a dominant weekend inside the circle in which she surrendered just one earned run across 12.2 innings pitched to lead the Mountain Lions to a four-game sweep over Regis University. In three appearances on the rubber, the senior hurler went 2-0 with one save and a miniscule 0.55 ERA while striking out 11 batters and allowing just nine hits, one walk, and two hit batters throughout the weekend. Kunze drew the start inside the circle for the Mountain Lions in the series opener on Friday and went on to allow just one earned run across six innings of work in an 11-1 run-rule victory over the Rangers. She surrendered six hits, one walk, and hit two batters during her outing while striking four hitters to collect her 11^th win of the season. On Saturday, Kunze entered the third game of the series in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Mountain Lions holding a 2-1 lead and proceeded to toss three hitless innings with four strikeouts to secure her fourth save of the campaign. She was called upon in a crucial spot once again in the final game of the series as she entered the contest in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and runners on first and second base with UCCS holding a 5-4 lead. Kunze quickly retired the first two hitters she faced in the fourth inning to preserve the one-run lead and went on to toss three more shutout innings to finish off a 6-4 victory, earning her 12^th win of the season.
 
In her final season as a member of the Mountain Lions, Kunze has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the RMAC as she currently ranks third overall in the conference with a 2.59 ERA across 121.2 innings pitched and 29 appearances. Holding a 12-5 record on the season, Kunze leads all RMAC pitchers with four complete game shutouts and ranks second in the conference with four saves.
 
The Mountain Lions will conclude their regular season slate this weekend as they are set to host Metropolitan State University Denver for a four-game series scheduled to begin on Friday, May 1 with a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. The UCCS Softball team will hold a senior day ceremony following the conclusion of the series on Saturday, May 2, with Kunze being honored as one of six seniors that will be graduating from the program.
 
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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.