PUEBLO, Colo. (March 21, 2016) — Playing in a make-up doubleheader due to inclement weather Saturday, the Colorado State University-Pueblo softball team fell 5-1 and 11-4 to Colorado Mesa University at Rawlings Softball Complex.
The Pack (6-25 overall, 5-15 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference), as they did in Sunday's 12-inning doubleheader finale, hung tough with the RMAC leading Mavericks (20-7 overall, 19-1 RMAC) in the first game Monday.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the second inning, CSU-Pueblo scored the equalizer in the home-half of the third as senior Dora Hernandez (Benton City, Wash.) slapped an RBI single through the right side of the infield, scoring junior Moriah Turney (Brighton, Colo.) who had reached on a one-out single.
Unfortunately for the Pack, their bats laid dormant the rest of the way as the Mavericks limited them to two hits the rest of the way, while breaking the game open with a four-run sixth inning.
The crooked number put up by Colorado Mesa was a rough end to an otherwise strong outing by senior pitcher Madison Wolfe (Oxnard, Calif.), who had limited the Mavericks to six hits prior to the sixth inning.
Colorado Mesa stayed hot at the plate in game two, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after the top of the first inning.
The ThunderWolves answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first, receiving solo homeruns from Turney and Wolfe to make the score 5-2. For Turney, the homerun marked her second long ball of the season. As for Wolfe, who hit a homerun in Sunday's nightcap, the homerun was her team-high sixth of the season.
CSU-Pueblo was unable to build off the momentum, however, as the Mavericks tacked on two insurance runs in the second inning, one in the third, and three runs in the fourth inning to balloon their lead to 11-2.
The Pack concluded the game's scoring with a run in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Turney collected her second RBI with a single that score freshman Shelby Bennett (Norco, Calif.). Bennett got into the act the next inning as she drilled an RBI double to score Hernandez to pull the Pack within seven at 11-4.
In the circle, junior Lexie Martindale (Pueblo, Colo.) was solid in relief as she pitched five innings, allowed three runs on six hits, and struck out a season-high seven hitters. Martindale entered the contest with 13 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings.
The Pack will now turn their attention toward an eight-game road swing, starting with a doubleheader Friday against Colorado School of Mines. Start times are set for 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. in Golden.
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado State University – Pueblo competes in 22 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
