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UCCS Athletics

2026 RMAC Softball Tournament Preview

PREVIEW | Mountain Lions Head to Lakewood for 2026 RMAC Softball Tournament

5/6/2026 3:00:00 PM

By: Tyler Tvelia, Sports Information Director
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
  • Coming off a regular season slate in which they posted a 32-21 overall record and 26-18 conference record, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team will make their second consecutive postseason appearance as the No. 5 seed in the 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Softball Tournament.
  • As part of the RMAC's newly adopted single-elimination tournament format, the No. 5 seeded Mountain Lions will take on No. 4 seed Colorado Mesa University in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, May 7 at 12 p.m. inside All Star Park in Lakewood, Colo. The winner of Thursday's quarterfinal clash between the Mountain Lions and Mavericks will advance to the semifinal round on Friday, May 7, where they will meet No. 1 seed and No. 3 nationally ranked Colorado Christian University at 12 p.m.
  • On the opposite side of the bracket, No. 3 seed Metropolitan State University Denver will take on No. 6 seed Colorado School of Mines in the quarterfinal round at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7 with the winner advancing to play No. 2 seed Colorado State University Pueblo in the semifinal round at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8. The two teams that advance through the semifinal round will meet in the RMAC Championship game on Saturday, May 9.
GAME COVERAGE TICKETS
  • All fans will be charged admission and are encouraged to purchase tickets online on the RMAC website.
  • Single Day Ticket Prices:
    • General Admission - $21.00
    • Kids (6-17), Over 65 & Military - $16.00
    • Children 5 and Under – Free
  • Multi Day Ticket Prices:
    • General Admission - $37.74
    • Kids (6-17), Over 65 & Military - $27.54
    • Children 5 and Under – Free
RMAC NETWORK
  • Fans unable to attend in-person will be able to view each game of the RMAC Softball Tournament on the RMAC Network. The conference provides a variety of purchase options for postseason action, including day passes for $15 per day with all championship broadcasts available under existing, or newly purchased subscriptions. A full complement of the purchase options can be found here.
2026 REGULAR SEASON IN REVIEW
  • The Mountain Lions opened the 2026 season with a strong 6-3 record during their non-conference schedule while competing at the South Central Regional Crossover and Southern Colorado Crossover tournaments. In that stretch, two of the team's three losses came against strong regional opponents that are currently ranked inside the top 15 of the latest NFCA National Rankings.
  • UCCS began RMAC play with an inconsistent stretch, going 5-9 over their first 14 conference games, including a four-game sweep at the hands of then-No. 18 nationally ranked Colorado Christian University. After dropping three straight games to close that span, the Mountain Lions found their rhythm and rattled off 13 wins in their next 14 games, including series-sweeps against New Mexico Highlands University and Adams State University and their first three wins against Colorado Mesa University since the 2021 campaign.
  • Following that surge, UCCS saw its momentum slowed by a four-game sweep against CSU Pueblo but responded by finishing the regular season on a strong note, posting an 8-4 record over their final three series to close with a 32-21 overall mark and a 26-18 record in conference play.
AWARD WINNERS
  • The Mountain Lions collected three weekly conference awards during the 2026 softball season:
  • On April 1, Jennavieve Goldsworth and Alyssa Gutierrez were named as two of 118 student-athletes to be listed on the 2026 NFCA Division II Player and Pitcher of the Year Watch List. 2026 NFCA Player of the Year and NFCA/Portolite Pitcher of the Year will be announced on May 27, a day prior to the start of the NCAA Division II National Championships.
  • The conference is set to announce their All-RMAC selections and major awards tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. and will reveal the All-Academic teams on Tuesday, May 12. 
UCCS STATISTICAL LEADERS
  • As a team, the Mountain Lions established themselves as one of the most dynamic offensive units in the RMAC during the regular season, leading the conference in stolen bases (136) while ranking second in batting average (.357), hits (544), runs scored (7.04 per game), slugging percentage (.538), and total runs (373) and third in doubles (97), triples (22), and on-base percentage (.414)
  • The Mountain Lions' offense also ranked among the elite in NCAA Division II across multiple statistical categories. UCCS ranked fourth nationally in hits, fifth in batting average, seventh in total runs, and 10th in stolen bases, while also sitting 11th in slugging percentage, 12th in both scoring and triples, 15th in doubles, and 24th in on-base percentage.
  • Inside the circle, UCCS finished the regular season ranked fifth in the conference with a team ERA of 4.70 and third overall with a WHIP of 1.65. With a total of 254 strikeouts across 351.2 innings pitched, the Mountain Lions' pitching staff led the league with 5.06 strikeouts per seven innings.
  • Junior Jennavieve Goldsworth had a breakout season for the Mountain Lions, earning a pair of RMAC Player of the Week honors and a spot on the 2026 NFCA Player/Pitcher of the Year Watch List. She started all 53 regular season games for the Mountain Lions while splitting time between third base and the outfield, leading the team in batting average (.460), on-base percentage (.521), runs (63), hits (86), doubles (18), total bases (136), and stolen bases (39), while also tying for the team lead in home runs (8) and triples (4). Goldsworth ranked among the RMAC leaders in nearly every major offensive category, leading the conference in stolen bases and finishing among the top three in hits, runs, doubles, batting average, and total bases. On the national stage, she ranks inside the top 25 in NCAA Division II for multiple categories as she currently sits third in hits, sixth in runs, 14th in stolen bases, and 18th in batting average.
  • Another member of the 2026 NFCA Player/Pitcher of the Year Watch List, senior Alyssa Gutierrez has put together an incredible final season for the Mountain Lions appearing in 52 games with 45 starts in the outfield. She led the team in triples (6) while ranking second on the squad in batting average (.440), hits (66), runs (49), on-base percentage (.476), and stolen bases (31). Gutierrez was also flawless on the defensive side of the ball, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with no errors in 69 total chances while recording 68 putouts and one assist. She ended the regular season ranked among the RMAC leaders in stolen bases (4th) and batting average (5th).
  • Sophomore Tayler McCombs composed another stellar season as the Mountain Lions' primary designated player as she closed the regular season ranked third on the team with a .382 batting average across 43 games played. The second-year player has recorded nine doubles, two triples, and four home runs while driving in 32 runs.
  • Laynee Case started all 53 games at the keystone for the Mountain Lions during her junior season and continued to provide steady production in the middle of the lineup, posting a .354 batting average across 175 plate appearances while ranking third on the team in doubles (12) and RBIs (38) and finishing fourth on the squad in triples (3), home runs (7), and stolen bases (11).
  • Junior Gianna Pancost started each of the team's 53 games at first base, posting a .335 batting average across 199 plate appearances while serving as one of the Mountain Lions' most consistent run producers. She leads the team and ranks fifth in the RMAC with 49 RBIs, while sitting tied for the team lead with eight home runs and ranking third on the squad in total bases (96) and walks (19). Pancost also provided value outside of the batter's box, going a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts while maintaining a .971 fielding percentage with 298 putouts and eight assists in 315 total defensive chances at first base.
  • Senior Katie Steinmetz and freshman Addy Baxter split time as the Mountain Lions' primary catchers throughout the season with both players providing exceptional offensive production. In 47 games and 20 starts behind the dish, Steinmetz posted a .390 batting average and tied for the team lead with eight home runs while also accruing seven doubles, a triple, and 28 RBIs. Baxter also emerged as a solid backstop during her first collegiate season, appearing in 33 games and making 29 starts while posting a .317 batting average with seven doubles, four triples, three home runs, and 17 RBIs.
  • Sophomore Halley Redd continued to be a mainstay at shortstop in her sophomore season as she started all 53 regular season contests and posted a .370 batting average with 13 doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 31 RBIs.
  • Senior Autumn Kunze developed into the ace of the pitching staff during her fourth and final season at UCCS as she led the team in innings pitched (126.2), ERA (2.60), WHIP (1.25), wins (13), saves (4), and strikeouts (92). Kunze delivered nine complete games on the campaign, including an RMAC-leading four complete game shutouts, and finished the regular season ranked fourth among qualified pitchers in ERA and tied for fourth in WHIP.
  • Senior Kailey Bond also served as a key piece of the Mountain Lions' pitching staff as she finished second on the squad with a 4.52 ERA across 86.2 innings pitched, going 9-7 with one save and 57 strikeouts.
SCOUTING NO. 4 COLORADO MESA
  • Colorado Mesa secured the No. 4 seed in the tournament after finishing the regular season with a 28-24 overall record and a 27-17 mark in RMAC play. While the Mountain Lions took three of four meetings during the regular season, the Mavericks closed the year on a strong run as they won their final six games, including a pivotal series sweep of Black Hills State.
  • On the offensive side of the ball, Colorado Mesa finished the regular season ranked sixth in the conference with a .321 batting average but scored the fourth-most runs per game in the league at 5.98. The Mavericks offense relied heavily on the long ball during the regular season as they launched 60 home runs, which ranked second in the RMAC and eighth in NCAA Division II.
  • Junior infielder Cailynn Parsons finished the regular season as the Mavericks' team-leader in batting average with a .423 mark across 43 games played, while freshman Molli Magana and redshirt sophomore Khloe Kubitschek provided much of the team's firepower with Magana recording 13 home runs and 41 RBIs and Kubitschek notching 10 home runs and 42 RBIs.
  • On the pitching rubber, the Mavericks posted the sixth-best team ERA in the conference at 4.82. Junior Sophia Tassinari anchored the pitching staff for Colorado Mesa as she recorded a 3.62 ERA across a team-leading 166.1 innings pitched, holding a 15-13 record with 63 strikeouts. Senior Marisa Nehm also tossed 132.2 innings for the Mavericks, going 12-7 with a 5.86 ERA and 26 strikeouts.
  • Defensively, Colorado Mesa finished the regular season ranked 10th in the conference with a .951 fielding percentage. However, the Mavericks led the RMAC and NCAA Division II with 36 double plays turned on the season.
SCOUTING NO. 1 COLORADO CHRISTIAN
  • Colorado Christian finished the 2026 campaign with a 52-4 overall record and a 42-2 conference record as they secured the No. 1 seed in the tournament and landed at No. 6 in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Cougars opened their conference slate with 10 consecutive series sweeps before suffering their first two RMAC contests in the final series of the regular season at CSU Pueblo.
  • The Mountain Lions took on Colorado Christian for a four-game regular season set on Feb. 27-28 and dropped all four games despite scoring 14 total runs in the series against the Cougars' exceptional pitching staff.
  • The Cougars fielded one of the most prolific offenses in the conference and the nation throughout the regular season as they led the league and ranked top five in NCAA Division II in batting average (.379), hits (600), home runs (68), and scoring (8.43 runs/gm).
  • Colorado Christian has four different players hitting over .400 on the season, led by sophomore infielder Kat Hanson with an RMAC-leading .488 batting average to go along with 19 doubles, four triple, 13 home runs, and 64 RBIs. Senior utility player Arriana Wright sits atop the RMAC leaderboard in home runs with 17 while holding a .409 batting average, while freshman Maya Schroeder (.417) and senior Leah Garcia (.408) have also been major contributors.
  • Sophomore Felesha LePenske emerged as one of the top two-way players in the conference this season as she posted a .373 batting average with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs at the dish while notching a 21-1 record and a 2.77 ERA inside the circle.
  • With the help of LePenske's contributions on the rubber, the Cougars posted a team ERA of 2.76 during the regular season, surrendering just 143 earned runs across 363.0 innings pitched. Junior Elyse McMullin led the team with a 1.59 ERA on the season, going 11-0 across a total of 75 innings pitched with four complete game shutouts. Junior Hannah Espinoza also provided a tough at-bat for opposing offenses as she registered a 2.00 ERA across 56.0 innings pitched, while sophomore Lisa Liddell rounded out the staff by providing 99.0 solid innings pitched with a 3.39 ERA.
SCOUTING NO. 2 CSU PUEBLO
  • No. 2 seed CSU Pueblo finished the regular season with a 38-16 overall record and a 34-10 record in the RMAC. The ThunderWolves posted a 19-game winning streak from March 14 through April 18 that included a four-game series sweep of the Mountain Lions on April 10-11.
  • On the offensive side of the ball, CSU Pueblo finished the regular season ranked fifth in the conference with a .329 team batting average and sixth with an average of 5.85 runs scored per game. The ThunderWolves found their power stroke this season as they led the conference and ranked third in the nation with 109 doubles while sitting fourth in the league with 46 home runs.
  • For a second straight year, senior utility player Caitlyn Cole was the top offensive threat for the ThunderWolves as she posted a .422 batting average with 16 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs, and 35 RBIs during the regular season. Alongside Cole's production, CSU Pueblo had a balanced lineup with six additional starters hitting above .300 and five additional players driving in at least 30 runs.
  • Senior McKenna James showcased her talents on both sides of the ball throughout the season as she posted a .316 batting average with 11 doubles, five home runs, and 43 RBIs at the plate while finishing second in the RMAC with a pristine 1.63 ERA inside the circle across 180.1 innings pitched. James was a workhorse for the ThunderWolves as she tossed 20 complete games, including five shutouts, and struck out 127 batters.
  • With the help of James' exceptional numbers inside the circle, CSU Pueblo's pitching staff led the RMAC with a 2.51 team ERA for the season. The trio of Kayli Cooper, Eva Miller-Sanchez, and Jaylah Rivera filled out the rest of the staff for the ThunderWolves with Cooper posting a 2.96 ERA in 56.2 innings, Miller-Sanchez recording a 3.81 ERA in 75.1 innings, and Rivera registering a 3.87 ERA in 50.2 innings.
SCOUTING NO. 3 MSU DENVER
  • MSU Denver posted a 35-29 overall record and a 28-16 conference record this season and held onto the No. 3 seed with a series split against the Mountain Lions in the final series of the regular season.
  • The Roadrunners put together another strong offensive campaign as they ended the regular season ranked third in the conference with a .338 batting average, 55 home runs, and 6.13 runs scored per game.
  • Senior Cheyenne Prieto was at the forefront of the Roadrunners' offensive success as she posted an incredible .476 batting average with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, and 45 RBIs. Sophomore Neila Fee and freshman Victoria Pearson both made strong contributions with batting averages north of .360, while junior Brooklyn Enny notched a .347 batting average with 10 doubles, 13 home runs, and a team-leading 46 RBIs.
  • Inside the circle, MSU Denver notched the fourth-lowest ERA in the conference at 4.65. Junior Natalie Romero led the pitching staff throughout the season as she posted a 14-9 record with a 3.93 ERA across 139.0 innings pitched. Freshman Kianna Butler tossed 102.1 innings with a 4.51 ERA in her debut season, while senior Samantha Mader registered a 5.23 ERA in 77.2 innings.
SCOUTING NO. 6 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
  • Colorado School of Mines secured the No. 6 seed in the tournament after posting a 26-28 overall record and a 22-22 conference record this season. The Mountain Lions and Orediggers were pitted against each other in the first conference series of the season with the teams splitting the four-game series in Golden.
  • Mines had a strong offensive season as they finished the year ranked fourth in the conference with a .336 batting average while scoring the fifth most runs per game at 5.91. The Orediggers led the conference and all of NCAA Division II in triples by a wide margin with 40 during the regular season.
  • The Orediggers were also very active on the basepaths as they ranked third in the conference with 122 stolen bases, led by junior outfielder Kellan Ton with 37 steals in 41 attempts.
  • In addition to her prowess on the bases, Ton was also one of the Orediggers' top offensive players as she posted a .435 batting average and recorded 80 hits. Senior outfielder Kendall Aragon was one of the top power threats in the Mines lineup as she recorded a .425 batting average with 13 doubles, 12 triples, three home runs, and 49 RBIs.
  • Inside the circle, Mines pitching staff posted the third-lowest ERA in the conference at 4.35. Freshman Rylee Church anchored the staff with a 3.37 ERA across 81.0 innings pitched, while freshman Madyson Ortiz logged a 3.87 ERA across 69.2 innings. Redshirt senior Taylor Wayne led the team with 112.0 innings pitched as she notched a 4.38 ERA with seven complete games.
HOT TAKES
  • The Mountain Lions reached the 30-win threshold for the second consecutive season and the sixth time in program history. The UCCS Softball program has now recorded 30+ wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the mid-2000s when the team achieved the milestone in four straight campaigns from 2004-07.
  • UCCS notched 544 hits during the regular season, which sits just two away from the single-season program record of 546 that was established during the 2007 season.
  • The Mountain Lions have recorded 10+ hits in 29 of their 53 games this season, and their average of 10.26 hits per game would be a new program record if it holds through the tournament.
  • The Mountain Lions' 21 hits in their 13-3 victory over Colorado Mesa on March 29 are tied for the third most in a single game in program history.
  • With three hits in the Mountain Lions' final regular season doubleheader of the year against MSU Denver, Goldsworth established a new program record for hits in a single season with 86. The previous record was held by Stacy Haney, who recorded 84 hits during the 2007 season.
  • Goldsworth now has 170 hits across the first three seasons of her collegiate career and sits just 23 hits away from cracking into the top 10 in program history for the category. The all-time program record for hits is currently held by Brittni Carlson, who recorded 234 hits across her four-year career from 2003-06.
  • The Mountain Lions have two of the toughest batters to strikeout in all of NCAA Division II in their lineup as Steinmetz has struck out just one time in 93 plate appearances this season and Goldsworth has struck out just three times in 220 plate appearances. As a team, UCCS has recorded more walks (154) than strikeouts (112) throughout the campaign.
  • UCCS had a pair of impressive reached base streaks throughout the regular season as McCombs got on base in 30 consecutive games from March 7 through May 1 and Goldsworth reached in 24 consecutive games from Feb. 27 through April 3.
  • UCCS' senior pitcher duo of Autumn Kunze and Kailey Bond both etched their names into the UCCS softball record book this season with Kunze ranking fourth all-time in program history with 340 strikeouts and Bond ranking 10th all-time with 199 career strikeouts. 
  • The Mountain Lions were one of just five teams in NCAA Division II to turn a triple play during the regular season.  
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH DWIGHT SANDERS
  • The 2026 season marks Dwight Sanders' third season at the helm of the UCCS softball team. Since taking over the program before the start of the 2024 season, Sanders has led the Mountain Lions to an 84-77 overall record with a 66-61 record in conference play. Under Sanders' leadership, the Mountain Lions have recorded back-to-back 30-win seasons, marking the first time the program has reached the milestone since achieving the feat in four consecutive seasons from 2004-07.
WEATHER
  • Despite a midweek snowstorm that moved through the area on Tuesday and Wednesday, the forecast in Lakewood, Colo., is expected to improve significantly for the remainder of the week, with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s projected throughout all three days of the tournament.
UPCOMING GAMES
  • The winner of Thursday's game featuring the Mountain Lions and Mavericks will advance to the semifinal round of the tournament for a matchup against No. 1 seed Colorado Christian at 12 p.m. on Friday, May 8.  
SOCIAL 
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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.  
 
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