Believing they had something to prove, the Fort Lewis College softball team gained everyone’s attention Friday.
The FLC Skyhawks entered the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament as the No. 8 team in the eight-team field. That meant a first-round game against No. 1 Colorado Mesa (27-20, 26-13 RMAC). The Skyhawks (24-27, 20-19 RMAC) weren’t intimidated one bit after splitting four games in the regular season with the Mavericks, and FLC never backed down Friday at Bus Bergman Field in Grand Junction, the home of Colorado Mesa softball.
Trailing 9-8 going to the seventh inning, the Skyhawks scored six times to eventually earn a 14-9 victory and massive upset in the opening round of the tournament.
“We always expected to be in the game, and we are not surprised to come away with the win,” FLC head coach Kira Zeiter said. “We played good softball and were confident in all aspects of the game; the score reflected that.”
After coughing up an 8-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Skyhawks needed one run to stay alive in the top of the seventh. That wasn’t a problem.
Kamali’i Peneku led the inning off with a walk, and Hayley Bolyard dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance Peneku to second base. Bolyard was 2-for-3 with one run scored and an RBI for FLC.
Tehenia Telliano pinch hit for Mariah Stuart, and Telliano reached on a throwing error. Stuart re-entered the game to run at first, and she stole second base to give FLC runners on second and third with one out.
Nine-hole hitter Kaitlyn Bending then delivered a two-run single to give FLC a 10-9 lead. Bending was 2-for-3 with three runs batted in and a run scored in the game.
“I can’t take all the credit. It was more about the whole team helping us get in the situation where I could come up with the hit,” Bending said of her go-ahead single. “After going down, we all stayed positive and happy about the situation. It worked out, because we all hit the ball and came through with the hits we needed.”
After Bending’s big single, Missy Fundora hit a two-run homer, her eighth of the season, to give the Skyhawks a 12-9 lead.
“Missy has had a ton of power at the plate this year, and nobody expected that coming in,” Zeiter said of her leadoff hitter. “It is so nice to see her continuing that, especially when she put the icing on the cake to give us some insurance runs.”
FLC shortstop Adriana Rosthenhausler, who was 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored, continued the rally with a single, and third baseman Chelsea Rodriguez reached on a dropped third strike to give the Skyhawks runners on first and third, still with only one out. Jeovonna Rios, who had a solo homer in the fifth inning, then hit a sacrifice fly to score Rosthenhausler, and a single by Myndee Thompson scored Rodriguez to complete the FLC rally.
Victoria Johnson allowed a leadoff single to Mesa in the bottom of the seventh, but she closed out the game from there to earn the win in the circle.
“Going out there in the seventh inning, I just thought ‘This is it. This is the moment I’ve lived for,’” Johnson said. “I knew I had to do my best because the team did their best to get us the lead back.”
Johnson (9-11) started the game in the circle for FLC before being relieved in the fifth inning by Kiley Raica. Raica struggled and gave up five runs on seven hits in 1 1/3 innings. Johnson re-entered after Raica faced 12 batters.
Johnson totaled 5 2/3 innings of work. She allowed four runs on two hits and five walks while striking out three.
“I knew I was facing a good team and knew I had to get the job done. It made it easier with such a good team behind me to support me,” Johnson said. “Getting the win is a huge confidence booster because we’ve shown everybody that doubted us we deserve to be here.”
FLC played a clean game with no errors defensively, while Mesa committed six fielding errors in the game, leading to seven FLC runs. The Skyhawks tallied 12 hits, and the Mavericks had nine.
Mesa’s Makayla Kovac, the RMAC Player of the Year, was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, three runs scored and four RBIs.
Jessica Severinsen, the RMAC Co-Pitcher of the Year, pitched 5 1/3 innings for Mesa. She allowed nine runs on eight hits but only three runs were earned. Ashley Pulido took the loss for the Mavericks. She pitched 1 2/3 innings and gave up five runs – four earned – on four hits and one walk.
Thanks to the win, FLC avoided playing an elimination game late Thursday night against No. 5 Adams State. Instead, the Skyhawks will take on No. 4 Metro State (27-14, 21-11 RMAC) in a winner’s bracket game at 10:45 a.m. Friday. The Roadrunners advanced with a 4-1 win against No. 5 Adams State early Thursday morning.
Win or lose, the Skyhawks will play two games Friday.
The Skyhawks lost to Metro State 2-1 and 9-1 on April 12.
“Our team knows it doesn’t matter what seed anyone is this weekend. Anyone can win this tournament,” Zeiter said. “We didn’t worry about the No. 1 in front of Mesa, and we don’t care about the No. 8 in front of us. We are excited to get a shot at Metro.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
