LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The New Mexico Highlands Softball Team (5-11, 1-6 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) travels to Lakewood, Colo., for the first of three RMAC pods. Hosted by Colorado Christian (8-9, 4-2 RMAC), the Cowgirls will also battle Metro State (8-4, 4-3 RMAC).
Highlands will play four games on the weekend, two against each other participant in the pod. The Cowgirls begin the weekend Sunday (March 9) against Metro State at 1 p.m., and will follow with a battle against Colorado Christian at 3 p.m. On Monday (March 10), Highlands takes on Metro State at 10 a.m. before finishing the weekend against Colorado Christian at noon.
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Hitting for Power
It certainly was an offensive explosion for the Cowgirls in their first home conference weekend against Regis (March 1-2). Only playing three games instead of four, Highlands took the series opener 7-0 before wrapping up play on Saturday with a 16-6 loss. They lost the series finale in a heartbreaker, 15-14, in eight innings.
Against the Rangers, Highlands hit .366 with eight doubles, seven home runs and even a triple with 27 RBI's and 27 runs scored. Redshirt freshman
Annie Reynolds had a big weekend in the leadoff spot, hitting two home runs (a solo shot and a three-run bomb) in her first two at-bats of the series. In three games, Reynolds went 6-for-12 (.500) with seven runs scored, seven RBI's, two home runs, a triple and a double.
Three other Cowgirls hit .500 for the weekend. Junior
Jessica Brink (6-for-12) junior
Jacquelyn Wood (5-for-10) and senior
Dominique Padilla (5-for-10) joined Reynolds. Sophomore
Dekota Monarrez added a bases-clearing double in game two and a two-run home run in game three while freshman
Katelyn Bates hit a grand slam in game three.
Scouting Metro State
The Roadrunners enter the weekend as the only team in the RMAC with a winning record. Three different Metro State hitters have a hitting streak of nine or more games as Kaylynn Harmon is hitting .485 (16-for-33) with 10 runs and eight RBI's over her current 10-game hitting streak. Susie Oury has also hit safely in 10 straight games as she is batting .432 with 16 runs and 12 RBIs over that time frame. Mary Towner is batting .583 (21-for-36) with 16 RBIs over her current nine-game hitting streak.
It will be tough sledding and may be a long weekend in Lakewood as all three teams like to hit and score runs. Metro State is second in the conference as a team with a .356 batting average while leading the conference with 99 runs scored on the year. It also leads the RMAC with a .532 slugging percentage, 10 points higher than Highlands. Meanwhile Metro State is middle of the road in the conference, directly behind the Cowgirls, with a 5.38 ERA.
Metro State was picked to finish sixth in the conference.
Scouting Colorado Christian
The Cougars may see the scoreboard light up like a Christmas tree this weekend. While Colorado Christian is middle of the road in the conference with a .271 batting average, it is second in the conference with 98 runs scored and leads the RMAC with 87 RBI's. The Cougars barely have better in the circle than Highlands and Metro State with a 5.27 ERA.
Individually, Jessica Romine leads Colorado Christian with a .345 ERA with 20 hits in 58 at-bats with 13 RBI's and 13 runs scored. Mariah Bledsoe paces the Cougars in the circle, holding a 4-5 record and a 4.21 ERA.
The Cougars were picked fourth in the RMAC.
Next Up
The Cowgirls return home next weekend (March 15-16) for a four-game series with Colorado Mesa. First pitch of the series is set for Saturday at noon.
