The bats of Fort Lewis College couldn’t be cooled on a warm day in Durango.
The FLC Skyhawks softball team (14-12, 10-6 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) completed a weekend sweep of the Colorado Christian Cougars (9-14, 5-7 RMAC) on Sunday at Aspen Field on the FLC campus. The Skyhawks picked up a 10-3 win in the first game and a 7-0 win in Game 2 behind a complete game two-hitter thrown by pitcher Kiley Raica.
“We played solid softball in all aspects of the game, and the team should feel good about how we played the last two days,” FLC head coach Kira Zeiter said.
Destinee DeHerrera started the day off in grand fashion when she blasted a grand slam in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1. Her fifth home run of the season scored Missy Fundora, Chelsea Rodriguez and Adriana Rosthenhausler.
“It’s a great momentum boost for the team when right off the bat you are able to put up four runs like that,” Zeiter said. “Everyone can relax and focus on what they need to do and continue to play good softball.”
Myndee Thompson tacked on two more runs for FLC in the bottom of the third inning when she hit her fifth home run of the year to score Rodriguez. Thompson was 2-for-3 with three runs batted in and two runs. Rodriguez was 2-for-2 with three runs and a walk.
The Cougars scored one run in the fourth and fifth innings to cut FLC’s lead to 6-3, but FLC answered with a four-run bottom of the fifth to take a 10-3 lead.
Hayley Bolyard had a two-run single that scored DeHerrera and Thompson. Thompson also had an RBI single in the inning, and designated player Kamali’i Peneku walked with the bases loaded to bring home another run.
“When you have the bats going like that, it helps you keep all the momentum on your side,” Zeiter said.
Victoria Johnson (6-5) picked up the win in the circle for FLC. She pitched five innings and allowed three runs on eight hits while striking out one and walking one.
Olivia Goldberg closed the final two innings of the game and allowed five hits but no runs.
“They did a great job keeping Christian’s batters off balance,” Zeiter said of her two pitchers.
FLC’s dominance of the Cougars continued into the second game of the day. Raica (5-5) pitched a complete game and recorded the first shutout of the season for the Skyhawks. She gave up only two hits while striking out three. She didn’t issue a walk and induced 15 groundball outs.
“She was really relaxed out there, and I could see her really working well with her catcher (Bolyard) to throw to the batters’ weaknesses,” Zeiter said. “Nobody ever really got solid contact on her. She had great command of the fastball and changeup, and the defense was solid behind her.”
Rodriguez had a big game at the plate for FLC. She was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. She hit her eighth home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Rosthenhausler was 3-for-4 in the second game, and she finished the four-game weekend series against the Cougars 10-for-16 with six runs and an RBI.
“She is super high with confidence right now, and we all have confidence in her,” Zeiter said. “With how well she has been hitting the ball, it was only a matter of time for her to have a super breakout weekend.”
FLC scored five runs in the bottom of the second inning. A Rodriguez single with the bases loaded drove home Kaitlyn Bending, and DeHerrera came through with a two-run single to score Fundora and Rosthenhausler. Thompson finished the inning with a two-run double to score DeHerrera and Rodriguez.
FLC added a run in both the fourth and sixth innings. The Skyhawks had 10 hits in the game.
After winning seven of their last eight games, the Skyhawks hope to keep it going next weekend in a pod-series against CSU-Pueblo (9-12, 6-3 RMAC) and New Mexico Highlands (5-16, 1-11 RMAC) in Pueblo.
“I really enjoy playing the pods. We are looking forward to the weekend in Pueblo already,” Zeiter said. “We want to take the momentum for this weekend into those games.”
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