BY Andres Madrid
PUEBLO, Colo. - (GoThunderWolves.com - April 26, 2014) - In the final regular season series of the season, the Colorado State University-Pueblo softball team opened a big weekend playing host to Metro State, which entered Saturday atop the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings.
That is no longer the case as the Pack seized control of the RMAC lead and their own destiny thanks to come-from-behind 5-3 and 8-7 wins, the second of which came after the Pack erased an early 7-0 lead.
The ThunderWolves now lead the RMAC standings by percentage points with a 22-10 conference record and can win the regular season title and the right to host next weekend's RMAC Tournament with two more Senior Day wins over the Roadrunners on Sunday.
Metro State, now 19-10 in conference play, dropped to fourth place in the RMAC standings behind Colorado Mesa (26-12 RMAC) and Chadron State (23-11 RMAC), which both went 3-1 in Friday and Saturday series that were moved up a day because of poor weather forecasts.
Metro State can not win the crown, which would go to Colorado Mesa if the Pack can not sweep the Sunday doubleheader and 4-game weekend series.
The Pack came out rocking in game one, getting two hits, both singles, from Jasmine Vogel (Jr., Oceanside, Calif.) and Alexa Snyder (Jr., Pueblo, Colo.) to lead off the bottom of the first. However, they would leave both on as the game went into the third inning scoreless before Snyder reached on an error by the Roadrunner shortstop, stole second base and later scored on a wild pitch. With the bases loaded in the same inning, Moriah Turney (Fr., Brighton, Colo.) was hit by the pitch, collecting the RBI and giving the Pack the 2-0 lead.
Metro State would cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth, scoring the lone run on a passed ball.
The Roadrunners would then take a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning on a lead off walk, followed by a double to centerfield and an sacrifice fly, giving the visiting team a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning.
However, the Pack offense would then come alive, as they would score three times in the bottom half of the inning, gathering five of their eight hits overall.
Pinch-hitting for the Pack with one out in that sixth-inning barrage, Brittany Styger (Sr., Kent, Wash.) doubled down the left field line. Follwoing a fly-out the next four hitters for the Pack would all reach base, with Vogel, Snyder, and Dora Hernandez (So., Benton City, Wash.), each hitting singles before clean-up hitter Ariel Lopez (Jr., Fontana, Calif.) doubled to right centerfield to give the Pack the lead for good, 5-3.
A 1-2-3 top of the seventh for the Pack would clinch the win.
Kelli Henry (Jr., Monument, Calif.) who had another solid outing in the circle for the Pack, went the distance, giving up three runs on five hits in picking up her ninth win of the season.
In game two, the Roadrunners quickly jumped on starting pitcher Madison Wolfe (So., Oxnard, Calif.) tagging her for seven runs on six hits in just three innings.
However, CSU-Pueblo would bounce back in a big way.
In the home half of the third inning, the Pack would capitalize on Roadrunner mistakes, getting themselves on the board 7-2.
Three more runs in the next inning would cut into the lead even more as the ThunderWolves gathered three more runs on four hits in the fourth.
After both teams went scoreless in the fitth and sixth inning, the stage would be set for another exciting finish for the Pack.
Styger would lead off the bottom of the seventh inning with her third hit of the day, advancing to second on a sacrafice bunt. Vogel would then step up with her third hit when she doubled to left field, scoring Styger. Snyder then singled through the left side, scoring Vogel, to tie the game at 7.
An error and walked batter would load the bases for the Pack with two outs. Pack third baseman Lacey Chesser (Sr., Oxnard, Calif.) singled in the game winning run and her third RBI of the game for the 8-7 win.
Samantha Avii (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) who came on to pitch to start the fourth inning, picked up the win, improving her record to 5-2.
Sunday's doubleheader between the two teams is set to begin at 11 a.m. Weather forecasts call for a 40 percent chance of showers in the early morning before that percentage drops to 20 by game time. However, high winds of 28-32 miles per hour are also expected.
