The NMHU Softball team won both games of their final double header against the Mountain Lions of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, on 4/1, at Brandt Field. With the two victories, the Cowgirls earned a split of the four game series against UCCS. Despite going down by three runs in the first inning, the Cowgirls rallied back in game one with four runs in the third and fourth innings to take the 8-4 victory. In game two, the Cowgirls came back in the bottom of the sixth inning to capture the one-run victory by the final score of 10-9. With the wins against the Mountain Lions, the Cowgirls, led by Head Coach Shellie Broyles, improve to a 13-15 record in the RMAC and 19-21 in overall play.
Just like in Saturday's double headers, the Mountain Lions jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning of game one on Sunday. UCCS got three runs on three hits in the top of the first inning. It looked as if the Cowgirls' offense was going to struggle again against UCCS until the bottom of the third inning. They picked up four runs on two hits in the third. With two outs and runners on first and second, a Mountain Lions' error allowed
Brittany Potter to reach second base and
Krista Mattice and
Erica Wieck both crossed home plate. Then, with Potter on third base after a passed ball at home plate,
Shelby Watts stepped up to the plate and smashed the ball over the left-field wall for a two-run homerun. After three innings of play the Cowgirls had their first lead of the series, 4-3.
The Cowgirls' offense continued to put up runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Molly McDougall hit an RBI single down the right-field line, scoring
Lynette Directo from second base.
Katie Kerr hit a single, advancing McDougall to second base. Then
Erica Wieck hit an RBI double down the left-field line, scoring McDougall.
Katie Kerr would cross home plate on a throwing error by the UCCS catcher and
Erica Wieck would advance to third base.
Krista Mattice added another run to the scoreboard when she hit a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing
Erica Wieck to score. After the four run fourth inning the Cowgirls were in the lead 8-3. The Mountain Lions managed to get another run in the top of the seventh inning, but Cowgirls pitcher
Jessica Brink closed out the inning to secure the 8-4 victory.
Jessica Brink (5-4) was credited with the win in game one for the Cowgirls. She threw a complete seven innings from the pitcher's circle and faced 34 batters. Brink allowed four runs on 11 hits, but only three of her runs were earned. She struck out four batters and walked two.
The Cowgirls' offense redeemed themselves from their poor performance on Saturday. They combined for a .296 team batting average, with eight runs from eight hits, including a homerun and two doubles.
Brittany Potter,
Shelby Watts, and
Erica Wieck were the offensive leaders in the game for the Cowgirls. Potter finished 2-3 at the plate, with two RBIs and a run scored. Watts was 1-3 in the batter's box, with two RBIs, a run scored and a two-run homerun that gave the Cowgirls the lead in the third inning. Wieck was 1-4 on the day with two runs scored, an RBI and a double.
Once again the Mountain Lions jumped out to an early lead in the first inning of game two on Sunday. They picked up three runs from three hits to take the 3-0 lead. The Cowgirls managed to score a run in the bottom of the second as
Tess Oliphant crossed home plate on a passed ball by the UCCS catcher. The Cowgirls took the lead in the bottom of the third inning with four runs off three hits. With the bases loaded,
Lynette Directo hit an RBI single to left field that scored
Shelby Watts from third. Then
Molly McDougall stepped up to the plate and drove a ball to the fence in right-center field for a three-RBI double, scoring
Tess Oliphant,
Roxanne Avalos, and
Lynette Directo. After three innings of play the Cowgirls were in the lead 5-3.
The Mountain Lions rallied back in a big way in the top of the fourth inning, scoring five runs on four hits and two Cowgirls' errors. With UCCS holding an 8-5 lead, the Cowgirls stormed back in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring two runs on two hits.
Katie Kerr hit a two-RBI single down the right-field line that scored
Lynette Directo and
Tess Oliphant, putting the Cowgirls within one run of the Mountain Lions. UCCS picked up another run in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 9-7.
The Cowgirls' offense wasn't going to finish the game on a bad note and they rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning to score three runs.
Tess Oliphant hit an RBI single down the left-field line, scoring Britanny Potter. Then
Lynette Directo hit a pop up behind the UCCS second baseman that got caught up in the wind and fell into shallow right field. Oliphant was first to cross home plate and as the Mountain Lion outfielders wildly chased the ball to the fence,
Lynette Directo sped around all the bases and scored the winning run.
Jessica Brink shut down the Mountain Lions in the top of the seventh and the Cowgirls won the game 10-9 in dramatic fashion.
Jenelle Klassen got the start for the Cowgirls in game two. She threw one inning from the pitcher's circle and faced nine batters. Klassen allowed three runs on three hits and walked three batters.
Erica Wieck came on to relieve Klassen in the second inning. She threw two innings for the Cowgirls and faced 14 batters. Wieck allowed four runs on five hits, but only three of the runs were earned. Wieck struck out four batters and walked two.
Jessica Brink (6-4) recorded her second win of the day when she was brought on to relieve Wieck in the fourth inning. She threw four innings from the pitcher's circle and faced 18 batters. Brink allowed two runs on two hits and struck out two batters.
The Cowgirls' offense kept pace with the Mountain Lions in a high scoring second game of the day. They combined for a .357 team batting average, with 10 runs on 10 hits and hit two doubles.
Tess Oliphant,
Lynette Directo, and
Brittany Potter were the offensive leaders for the Cowgirls in game two. Oliphant finished the game 2-2 at the plate. She drew two walks, scored four runs and had one RBI. Directo was 2-4 from the batter's box with three RBIs and three runs scored. Potter went 2-4 at the plate with a double and a run scored.
The Cowgirls' offense finally came alive on Sunday after struggling mightily against the Mountain Lions on Saturday. They scored 18 total runs in both games on Sunday off of 18 hits.
Jessica Brink (6-4) recorded both wins on Sunday for the Cowgirls. She was outstanding in her 11 innings from the pitcher's circle today, with six strikeouts. The Cowgirls are currently in ninth place in the RMAC, one spot out of playoff contention.
The Cowgirls will continue conference action again, on 4/6-7, as they travel to Pueblo, Colo., for a four game series against the Thunderwolves of CSU-Pueblo. The Thunderwolves are currently in second place in the RMAC with a 16-8 conference record and 18-10 in overall play. Game one on Saturday, 4/6, is set to start at 12 pm. Game one on Sunday, 4/7, will begin at 11 am. Game two on both days will begin shortly after the completion of game one. If you can't make it up to Pueblo to watch the Cowgirls in action, you can watch the Live Stats
HERE.
Click
HERE For Complete Game One Stats
Click
HERE For Complete Game Two Stats
GO COWGIRLS!!!
