Trying to break their longest losing streak of the season, the Skyhawks couldn’t tame the Mountain Lions.
Facing the top team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference softball standings, Fort Lewis College (21-23, 17-15 RMAC) fell 6-3 and 5-2 on Friday in the first of two doubleheaders against UC-Colorado Springs (24-12, 20-9 RMAC) this weekend at Aspen Field on the FLC campus.
The losses stretched the Skyhawks’ losing skid to seven games.
“We are never happy when we don’t come away with the wins,” FLC head coach Kira Zeiter said. “We know if we can do a few things different, we can have a different result.”
FLC led the first game of the day 2-1 going into the fifth inning thanks to an Adriana Rosthenhausler double that drove in Kaitlyn Bending in the third inning and a Hayley Bolyard single that scored Myndee Thompson in the fourth.
But the Mountain Lions scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a lead they wouldn’t surrender. Two FLC errors in the inning contributed to the damage, and Nikki Hoffman added a two-run double.
FLC tried to chip back into the game in the bottom of the fifth, but Rosthenhausler, who led off the inning with a single, was caught trying to steal home plate after reaching third on a Chelsea Rodriguez double. Rodriguez later scored on a Thompson groundout to make it 5-3.
The Mountain Lions tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning to secure the 6-3 victory.
Victoria Johnson (9-8) took the loss in the circle in Game 1 for the Skyhawks. She allowed six runs – four earned – on nine hits, four walks and a hit batter. She struck out six in the game.
The two errors in the top of the fifth inning came back to bite the Skyhawks.
“Usually we can pick up our defensive mistakes with the bats. It is something where we just have to stay positive,” Zeiter said.
Rosthenhausler was 2-for-4 with a run batted in. She was the lone Skyhawk with two hits in the first game.
FLC left seven runners on base in the first game and four in the second game, but they all came in big spots when FLC had a chance to tie the game or at least cut into the UCCS lead.
“We are not quite where we want to be right now with the bats. We are getting hits but not timely hits,” Rodriguez said. “That is hurting us a lot. We have to keep working at it, and eventually they will start falling.”
Rodriguez had a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning of the second game of the day, briefly giving the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead. It was her 11th home run of the season.
She was 2-for-3 in the game and scored the only two FLC runs of the game. She scored in the bottom of the fourth inning after doubling and advancing to third on a Jeovanna Rios single. Rios got caught up in a run-down between first and second base and eventually was tagged out, but Rodriguez scored on the play.
Jourdan Hitchings did some damage for UCCS in the second game. She was 2-for-4 in the game with an RBI. Dani Fonseca also added a two-run home run in the top of the fifth for the Mountain Lions, giving them a 5-2 lead.
“I have been here a long time, and we’ve always had a hard time playing here,” UCCS head coach Scott Peterson said of playing at Aspen Field. “It’s always been difficult getting wins here, so it feels really good for us to get these two wins.”
Kiley Raica (7-12) took the loss in the circle for the Skyhawks in the second game. She gave up five runs – four earned – on eight hits and three walks. She struck out two.
Raica said she wasn’t phased going against a quality hitting team in the Mountain Lions.
“I was trying to go at the hitters and let my defense do what they know to do. Strikeouts are a bonus, but that’s not what I’m going for,” she said. “I don’t look at teams. Hitters are hitters, and I am going to go at them no matter what team they play for.”
Jessica Belsterling (10-3) was the winning pitcher for UCCS in the second game, and Korey Kulpins (11-6) earned the win in Game 1.
“I have faced Jessica Belsterling the last four years, and it always has been a challenge,” Rodriguez said.
Peterson was happy with the way his pitchers worked against the Skyhawks, respecting their penchant for power.
“(Rodriguez) is a great player, and the shortstop (Rosthenhausler) is a very nice player,” he said. “We know we can’t leave the ball hanging over the plate. Pitchers have to hit the corners in this league, where there are a lot of home runs hit.”
The two teams are set for another doubleheader, beginning at noon Saturday. The FLC seniors will be honored between the two games as part of senior day, the Skyhawks’ final home games of the season.
Rodriguez hopes her team can find more timely hits when they get back in the batter’s box.
“Hitting is 10-percent skill and 90-percent luck a lot of the time, and we aren’t getting any of that luck,” Rodriguez said. “We have to keep pushing, and it will all come together.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
