PUEBLO, Colo. (February 26, 2022) - Colorado State University Pueblo softball earned a split of a doubleheader Saturday in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener versus Colorado School of Mines. The Pack won game one in walk-off fashion, 5-3 and suffered their first loss of the season, 5-4 in the nightcap.

Taylor Puga (Sr., Pueblo, Colo.) hit her first career walk-off homerun for the ThunderWolves in the series opener.

On the day, Ashley Tosh (Fr., Fremont, Calif.) had a day at the plate going 6-for-8 including one double in her home debut.

Katelynn Ralston (So., Colorado Springs, Colo.) recorded four hits of her own including a game-tying two run homerun in the seventh inning of game one. It is her second homerun of the season.

The ThunderWolves 6-of-7 in stolen base attempts in the two games.

Game one recap:
Mines scored the first run of the ballgame in their first at bat and the ThunderWolves would score their first run of the game in the third inning after manufacturing a run on a RBI-groundout.

The Orediggers regained the lead with another run crossed in the fifth inning off a Pack error that kept the inning alive.

CSM took a 3-1 lead in the the seventh after the second error of the game against the Pack defense.

CSU Pueblo's offense came alive over the last two innings and tied the game in their last at bat. With one out in the seventh, Isabel Griego (Sr., Loveland, Colo.) reached base on a single through the infield and got into scoring position when Ralston slugged the homerun over the right centerfield wall, sending the game into extra innings.

After giving up a triple with one out in the top of the eighth, Pack starting pitcher Taylor Strupp (Sr., San Tan Valley, Ariz.) induced two groundouts to escape with the score unchanged.

In their half of the eighth, CSU Pueblo got the first runner on base and after a sac bunt that failed to get the runner into scoring position and a good defensive play from the Mines catcher, Puga stepped to the plate and crushed the ball in virtually the same spot as the homerun by Ralston for the Pack's first home win of the season.

Strupp improved her record to 2-0.

Game two recap:
In the nightcap, CSU Pueblo recorded ten hits and jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning on RBI-hits by Ralston and Tosh.

Mines responded with two runs of their own in the second, tying the game at two apiece.

The ThunderWolves retook the lead in the fourth inning after a leadoff double by Tosh and she would come around to score on a single up the middle by Puga.

Another tied game occured in the fifth when Mines scored on a passed ball.

The ThunderWolves took a 4-3 lead in their half of the fifth inning on another Tosh RBI-single.

Mines scored single runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings on five hits.

In their last stitch effort in the seventh inning and trailing 5-4, the Pack two runners on base with two outs but the game ended on a flyball out.

Pack starting pitcher Sophia Lishner (So., Gilbert, Ariz.) went the distance and gave up five runs, two earned and scattered ten hits to go with two strikeouts. Lishner falls to 1-1 on the year.

CSU Pueblo (4-1, 1-1 RMAC) will finish the series with Mines on Sunday starting at 11 a.m. at Rawlings Sports Complex.