LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team was eliminated from contention in the 2026 RMAC Softball Tournament on Friday afternoon as they suffered a 6-3 defeat at the hands of No. 1 seed and No. 6 nationally ranked Colorado Christian University.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: (5) UCCS 3, (1) CCU 6
Records: UCCS (33-22, 26-17 RMAC), CCU (53-4, 42-2 RMAC)
Location: All Star Park | Lakewood, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions fall to 14-33 all-time against the Cougars.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After the Mountain Lions went quietly in the top of the first inning against CCU starting pitcher Felesha LePenske, the Cougars found some quick momentum on the offensive side of the ball in the home half of the first as UCCS starting pitcher Kailey Bond issued a pair of walks and a single to the first three batters to load the bases with nobody out. After hitting the next batter to bring across Colorado Christian's first run of the game, Bond induced a lineout to center field off the bat of Leah Garcia that brought home another run and went down as the first out of the inning. Following another walk that loaded the bases once again, Bond managed to generate a pair of ground outs to get out of the inning with just one more run scoring, keeping the deficit at 3-0.
- Despite a handful of hard-hit balls, the Mountain Lions were held off the scoreboard in the top of the second inning and sent a new pitcher to the circle for the bottom half of the frame as Autumn Kunze took the rubber and worked a clean inning to keep the Cougars lead at three.
- UCCS carried that momentum into the top of the third inning as Laynee Case led off the frame with a single into right field before Brooke Bornitz connected on a two-run home run over the left field fence that cut the deficit to 3-2. The Mountain Lions threatened for more in the inning as Jennavieve Goldsworth and Alyssa Gutierrez followed Bornitz's home run with back-to-back singles, but LePenske settled back into the game and retired the next three hitters to squash the rally.
- The Cougars got one of the runs back in bottom half of the third inning as Peyton Marvel hit a two-out, RBI single to extend their lead to 4-2. Kunze managed to escape the third without any further damage and went on to toss a scoreless frame in the fourth inning to keep the game within two runs after four complete innings.
- With Kunze keeping the game close, Goldsworth sparked a small rally for the Mountain Lions in the top of the fifth inning as she led off the frame with a triple down the right field line and came across to score two batters later on an RBI groundout by Gianna Pancost.
- The Mountain Lions' one-run deficit was short-lived, however, as the Cougars received a one-out, two-run home run from Garcia in the bottom half of the fifth to push the score to 6-3. Needing at least three runs to keep their tournament hopes alive, UCCS managed just a pair of singles against LePenske across the final two innings of the ballgame as the Cougars finished off a 6-3 win to advance to the RMAC Championship game.
STATS FROM THE GAME
- UCCS outhit CCU 8-6 in their RMAC Semifinal game, but the Cougars drew six walks to just one for the Mountain Lions.
- Goldsworth went 3-for-4 with a triple out of the leadoff spot, while Case added a pair of hits.
- Bornitz launched her second home run of the season and drove in two of the Mountain Lions' three runs.
- Bond (9-8) suffered her eighth loss of the season, allowing three earned runs across one inning pitched while giving up one hit, three walks, and one hit batter.
- Kunze tossed the final five innings of the game for UCCS and allowed three earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out two hitters.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Goldsworth, who entered the weekend ranked third in the country for hits, went 6-for-8 in the Mountain Lions' pair of tournament games and finished the season with a single-season program record 92 hits.
SOCIAL
Twitter – @GoMountainLions
Instagram – @gomountainlions
Facebook – GoMountainLions
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.
