Softball opened their RMAC season at home with a pair of wins and a pair of losses against Colorado School of Mines on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17 after winter weather pushed the series back a day. 

Softball wins game 1 (15-5), loses game 2 (14-8) on Feb. 16 

In the first game of the series, the Mountain Lions crushed the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers. In the first inning, a double from catcher and first basewomen Katie Steinmetz allowed for scores from outfielder Jacqueline Berkowitz and catcher/outfielder Mackenize Scott to tie the score, 2-2. UCCS scored 3 times in the second inning to the Orediggers’ 1, putting the score at 5-3. After the third inning, the score was 6-5, UCCS just barely in the lead.  

The fourth inning saw the Orediggers leave two players on base. Heading into the bottom of the fourth, UCCS slammed 4 home runs. Two home runs from Scott, and one apiece from catcher Gianna Pancost and pitcher Taylor McCombs gave the Mountain Lions 9 points in the fourth for a 10-pt lead, 15-5. UCCS won with the 8-run mercy rule after the Orediggers failed to score at the top of the fifth. 

Both teams got off to strong starts in the second game on Feb. 16, each scoring 4 points in the first inning. After the first, UCCS wouldn’t score again until the fifth inning when infielder Laynee Case scored, closing the Orediggers’ lead, 7-5. In the sixth inning, the Orediggers scored just once to bring the score to 8-5, with UCCS failing to score in the bottom of the sixth.  

A home run from Berkowitz in the seventh inning allowed baserunners Bailey Olerich and Jennavieve Goldsworth to score alongside Berkowitz, quickly putting up 3 points to tie the game, 8-8. At the top of the eighth inning, the Orediggers scored 6 points after a trio of home runs to clinch the victory, 14-8. 

Softball narrowly win game 1 (14-13), drops game 2 (15-4) on Feb. 17 

In the first game on Monday, the Mountain Lions were stuck watching the Orediggers build up a 5-0 lead until the bottom of the third inning, when a trio of singles helped the Mountain Lions tie the game, 5-5. UCCS was the only team to score in the fourth inning after a home run from Pancost, 6-5.  

In the fifth, a home run from Mines with the bases loaded allowed the Orediggers to put up a 4-point lead over UCCS, 9-5. UCCS retaliated in the bottom of the fifth by scoring 3 points of their own, 9-8. At the top of the seventh inning, the Orediggers were still up by just 1 point, 12-11. The Orediggers were only allowed 1 point by the UCCS defense in the seventh, and a trio of singles in the bottom of the seventh helped the Mountain Lions to their second win of the series, 14-13. 

The Mountain Lions struggled in the second game Monday afternoon. They didn’t get on the scoreboard until the bottom of the fifth inning which started with the Orediggers having a 15-0 lead with the 8-run mercy rule in effect. The 4 points scored by the Mountain Lions did not bring the Orediggers lead down to less than 8 points, so the Orediggers were awarded the victory at the conclusion of the fifth inning, 15-4. 

The Mountain Lions play next in a 4-game weekend series at Colorado Christian on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23. 

Infielder #2 Jennavieve Goldsworth at bat on Feb. 16. Photo by Josiah Dolan.