Game 1: CSU-Pueblo
13, New Mexico Highlands 3
Game 2: CSU-Pueblo
17, New Mexico Highlands 10
LAS VEGAS, N.M. - Senior centerfielder Ashley Aldrich
(Sr., Sahuarita, Ariz.) turned in one of the finest
days in CSU-Pueblo softball history Saturday, knocking in a
school-record nine runs as the Pack scored 17-10 and 13-3 wins over
New Mexico Highlands.
Aldrich connected on two homers - the first a three-run shot in
the fourth inning, and the second a grand slam in the 5th inning,
the first Pack grand salami of the season - as the ThunderWolves
looked to keep ahead of New Mexico Highlands in a wild second game
of the Saturday doubleheader.
Aldrich's first shot opened up an 8-4 Pack lead in the fourth
inning. But after Highlands put up four runs in the bottom of
the fourth to tie the game at 8, Aldrich's fifth inning grand slam
lifted the ThunderWolves to a 12-8 lead that the Pack would hold
for the rest of the game.
Aldrich's 9-RBI game breaks a 13-year-old ThunderWolf record,
breaking the mark of 7 RBI in a game, set by Katie Suer in
1996.
Leadoff hitter Janine Tyler (Sr.,
Pueblo, Colo.) was about as effective as you can get in
the one-hole, going 6-for-7 over the two games, scoring seven runs
and connecting on two homers of her own. Her first shot, a
leadoff solo bomb to start the game, was followed by a
second-inning three-run home run.
Two-hole hitter Kelly Purcell (Jr.,
Las Vegas, Nev.) was no slouch either, going 3-for-5 and
scoring four runs while designated player Justine Bosio (Fr.,
Santa Barbara, Calif.) went 2-for-4 in the Pack's first
game, drilling a double and hitting a two-run homer, logging 4 RBI.
But more important than Aldrich's individual heroics, the Pack,
which lost six games off their schedule during the past three weeks
due to weather, showed that they were more resting than getting
rusty, as the ThunderWolves put up a combined 24 hits over the two
games.
The wins give the ThunderWolves a full two game lead over Adams
State in the RMAC Western Division standings. The Pack, now
sitting at 18-8 in RMAC play (compared to Adams State's 14-8 mark)
have a magic number of eight to win the division.
