It took until Game 4 of a four-game series for the Fort Lewis College bats to warm up, but they were hard to contain once they did.
After losing the first game of a Saturday doubleheader 3-2, the Skyhawks (23-27, 19-19 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) took Chadron State (27-21, 23-11 RMAC) into extra innings in the series finale. Powered by three home runs in the top of the ninth inning, FLC scored seven times to claim a 12-5 victory and finish the regular season on a high note.
“It’s a very exciting way to end the year, and our confidence should be sky high after a win like that,” FLC head coach Kira Zeiter said.
Leading 5-4 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Skyhawks allowed the tying run when Courtney Lechler delivered a single to score Shea Graham.
The game remained tied 5-5 until the top of the ninth inning when Missy Fundora hit a three-run homer to score Kaitlyn Bending and Mariah Stuart. It was Fundora’s seventh homer of the year.
Chelsea Rodriguez followed with a two-run homer to score Adriana Rosthenhausler, and Jeovonna Rios went back-to-back with a solo homer of her own. Rodriguez’s homer was her 12th of the season, and Rios hit her fourth.
FLC had 17 hits in the fourth game of the series after combining for just seven in the first three games.
Rosthenhausler was 4-for-6 in the game, and Rodriguez and Stuart both were 3-for-4. Rios finished the game 2-for-4, and Fundora went 2-for-6.
“We strung together a bunch of really nice line-drive hits,” Zeiter said. “Everyone in the lineup was able to contribute and come up with clutch hits, and that’s the feeling we want to take into the conference tournament.”
Kiley Raica (9-13) pitched all nine innings to earn the win in the circle for FLC. She gave up five runs – four earned – on nine hits and only one walk. She hit one batter with a pitch but struck out six in the game.
“After (we gave up the tying run) we brought it in as a team and said, ‘Hey, we’re still in this game. There’s no reason to panic. Stay calm, play our game, and have a good feeling,’” Zeiter said. “Kiley pitched great the rest of the way.”
FLC scored its only two runs of the first game Saturday in the first inning. A Rios single scored Rosthenhausler, then a Myndee Thompson single brought Rios around to home plate.
Chadron State answered with one run in the bottom of the first, fourth and fifth innings.
Victoria Johnson (9-11) took the loss in that game. All three runs were earned on five hits, eight walks and three hit batters. She did have seven strikeouts in the game.
Kylee Polsley (16-6) earned the win for Chadron State, her second in as many days against FLC. One day after one-hitting the Skyhawks, she allowed only four hits.
FLC is locked into the RMAC Tournament and either will have the No. 7 or 8 seed, depending on how Regis’ (20-26, 19-17 RMAC) games with UC-Colorado Springs (25-15, 21-12 RMAC) turn out Sunday.
“The conference season was very exciting as a whole for all the teams. Everyone’s been so close in terms of wins and losses throughout the entire year,” Zeiter said. “Going into the tournament, it will be interesting. We are in it to win it, and after our win in the fourth game this weekend, we have a good feeling.”
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