The Fort Lewis College softball team started its four-game home series against the University of Colorado Colorado Springs with a pair of wins Thursday, extending the team’s winning streak to six games.
Fort Lewis won the first game 4-1. The Skyhawks then followed it up with a 9-1 run-rule win in the second game, winning it with a walk-off home run from Izzy Giroux in the sixth inning.
FLC is now 17-18 overall and 15-13 in the Rocky Mountain Athletics Conference while UCCS slipped to 11-26, 8-20.
The teams will play twice more on Friday at Aspen Field, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., to conclude the series.
In Game 1 on Thursday, FLC took the lead right away and never let it go. Alex Tenorio ripped two-out double and scored on a Catheryn Rodman single, putting FLC up 1-0 in the bottom of the first.
The first two Mountain Lions reached base to start the second, but pitcher Amiee Shanks was able to work out of the jam.
In the bottom of the second, Kayla Stone hit a hard line drive at the shortstop and reached when she couldn’t make the play. Cara Daugherty then doubled Stone home to double FLC’s lead.
UCCS answered in the top of the third with a double and RBI single, but Shanks only gave up one more hit and no runs the rest of the way. Shanks picked up her 11th win of the season by striking out four, walking none and giving up six base hits.
FLC added some insurance in the bottom of the fifth. Alyssa Gutierrez singled with one out and then stole second. The next batter, Sloan Shotton, laid down a perfectly-placed bunt and beat the throw to first. Rodman stepped to the plate, after a pop-up out, and singled into left to bring both runners home.
Shanks got three groundouts in the sixth.
An error and a single helped two UCCS players reach in the seventh, but the game ended when Shanks caught a line drive hit back at her.
In Game 2, Stone had a big bat for FLC before Giroux put an exclamation point on the win. Stone stepped up to he plate twice with the bases loaded. Both times, Stone cleared the bases with a double.
Stone’s first 3-RBI double came in the first inning with two outs and Gutierrez, Tenorio and Rodman on.
UCCS scored with sacrifice fly in the top of the second, but pitcher Caydee Farnworth worked out of a couple jams to keep the Mountain Lions from scoring any more.
Sabrina Carrillo walked to start the fourth for FLC. Carillo then stole second and third and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Cara Daugherty, putting FLC up 4-1.
FLC then blew the game open in the fifth. Sienna Mullin walked and then Gutierrez and Shotton both singled to load the bases with no outs. UCCS switched pitchers before Tenorio’s at bat, but an error on a hard-hit ball to third plated Mullin. UCCS got the next two Skyhawks out, but then Stone came through with her second two-out, bases-clearing double.
Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Giroux hit a home run over the center-field fence to end the game early.
Farnworth picked up her fourth win of the season, allowing four hits, five walks but also striking out five.
