LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The No. 5 seed University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team hung on to win a tight 6-5 ballgame over No. 4 seed Colorado Mesa University in the quarterfinal round of the 2026 RMAC Softball Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: (5) UCCS 6, (4) CMU 5
Records: UCCS (33-20, 26-17 RMAC), CMU (28-25, 27-17 RMAC)
Location: All Star Park | Lakewood, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions improve to 41-111 all-time and 4-1 this season against the Mavericks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After having plenty of success against CMU starting pitcher Sophia Tassinari during their regular season series in Grand Junction at the end of March, UCCS maintained their momentum against the Mavericks' righty in the top of the first inning on Thursday as Jennavieve Goldsworth and Alyssa Gutierrez led off the frame with back-to-back singles to set the table for an RBI double off the bat of Gianna Pancost that have the Mountain Lions an early 1-0 lead and put a pair of runners in scoring position with nobody out. After Katie Steinmetz cashed in one of the runners with an RBI groundout back to the pitcher, Tayler McCombs laced a double down the left field line that brought home Pancost for a 3-0 lead.
- Facing an early three-run deficit, the Mavericks quickly put together a threat in the home half of the first inning against Mountain Lion starting pitcher Autumn Kunze as Molly Magana led off with a double to center field. Following a sacrifice bunt from Cailynn Parsons that moved Magana to third base, Kunze issued back-to-back walks, resulting in a bases loaded opportunity for Colorado Mesa with just one out in the frame. Fortunately for the Mountain Lions, Kunze managed to quickly regain her control as she got a strikeout and a pop-up to keep the Mavericks off the scoreboard.
- The Mountain Lions continued to find success against Tassinari in the top of the second inning as Laynee Case opened the frame with an infield single and immediately moved over to third on a double into the left center field gap by Brooke Bornitz. Tassinari managed to limit the damage in the inning to just one run, however, as a sacrifice fly by Gutierrez brought Case across home plate for a 4-0 UCCS advantage.
- Following a shaky first inning, Kunze settled into the game over the next few innings as she held the Mavericks to just one run through four innings of play, with the lone CMU run coming on a solo home run by TK Landes in the bottom of the second. Tassinari also found some rhythm after surrendering four runs across her first two innings of work as she set the Mountain Lions down in order in the third inning and worked around a pair of singles in the fourth to keep the game at 4-1 after four complete frames.
- UCCS got back to their scoring ways in the top of the fifth inning as Pancost led off with a hard-hit double to left center field and quickly advanced to third on a single up the middle by Steinmetz. McCombs stepped up to the plate next and delivered a sacrifice fly to left field, bringing Pancost across to the fifth run of the game for the Mountain Lions. With the lead now at four runs, Kunze went back to work in the bottom of the fifth and rapidly found herself in trouble as a single by Magana and double by Parsons put a pair of runners in scoring position with just one out in the inning. The Mountain Lions' senior hurler got the next batter to pop up on the infield for the second out of the frame but couldn't escape the trouble as April Neill grounded a two-out, two-run single into left field that cut UCCS' lead to 5-3.
- In the top of the sixth, Colorado Mesa turned the ball over to Marisa Nehm inside the circle and she retired two of the first three Mountain Lions she faced before an error at shortstop prolonged the inning. Steinmetz took full advantage of the extra opportunity as she stepped up and lined an RBI single to center field that pushed the UCCS lead back to 6-3. The Mavericks once again turned to their bench in the bottom of the sixth frame as CMU head coach Mercedes Bohte called upon pinch-hitter Ava Stephens to lead off the inning, and Stephens rewarded her skipper for the decision as she ripped the first pitch she saw against Kunze into the left center field gap for a double. Kunze retired the next two hitters on a strikeout and a pop-up, but the Mavericks displayed their two-out magic for a second straight inning as Landes brought Stephens home with an RBI single up the middle to cut the score to 6-4.
- After a scoreless inning for the Mountain Lions in the top of the seventh, the Mavericks continued their comeback effort in the home half of the final inning as Makayla Westmoreland placed a one-out triple to right field and quickly came home to score on an RBI single by Neill, cutting the UCCS lead to just one run and signaling the end of the afternoon for Kunze. UCCS head coach Dwight Sanders handed the ball to Kailey Bond in relief, and the Mountain Lions' senior pitcher surrendered a single to the first batter she faced but managed to retire the next two Maverick hitters to preserve a 6-5 win for UCCS.
STATS FROM THE GAME
- The Mountain Lions recorded 12 hits in their first playoff game of the season, while the Mavericks nearly matched them with 11 hits of their own.
- Goldsworth went 3-for-4 for the Mountain Lions out of the leadoff spot, while Pancost, Steinmetz, and Bornitz each recorded two hits in the contest.
- Steinmetz and McCombs both drove in a pair of runs, with Pancost and Gutierrez rounding out the scoring with one RBI apiece.
- Kunze (14-5) drew the start inside the circle and collected her 14th win of the season, allowing five earned runs across 6.1 innings pitched with four strikeouts.
- Bond entered the game in the seventh inning and converted her second save of the season as she recorded the final two outs of the game while protecting the Mountain Lions' one-run lead.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With 12 hits in today's quarterfinal game, the Mountain Lions broke the single season program record for hits with a total of 556 on the year. The previous record of 546 hits was established during the 2007 season.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will take on No. 1 seed and No. 6 nationally ranked Colorado Christian University in the semifinal round of the 2026 RMAC Softball Tournament tomorrow at 12 p.m. inside All Star Park in Lakewood, Colo.
SOCIAL
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