A no-hitter made it no contest when it came to picking the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s softball pitcher of the week Tuesday.
Emily Morris, a Fort Lewis College sophomore, picked up the award for the second time this season. The Highlands Ranch product who transferred to FLC after one year at Middlebury College in Vermont also picked up the weekly award after the initial series of the season in Albuquerque.
This week, Morris left no doubt about who the top performer was with the first no-hitter thrown by an RMAC pitcher this season and only the seventh no-hitter in FLC softball history. The feat came on the road Sunday in a 16-0, five-inning win against New Mexico Highlands (7-20, 6-15 RMAC) to help the Skyhawks (13-28, 8-20 RMAC) win the four-game series with three wins. In the win, Morris allowed three walks and worked around the base runners with five strikeouts.
This season, Morris has a 6-7 record in 10 starts and 24 overall appearances inside the pitcher’s circle. She has a 5.41 earned-run average. She has struck out 73 to 42 walks.
Morris and the Skyhawks will take their home Aspen Field for four games Saturday and Sunday against Metro State University-Denver. In a fan promotion event, fans who attend all four games of the series will have a chance to win $25,000. Saturday’s action will start at noon, and Sunday’s games will begin at 11 a.m.
The Fort Lewis College men’s golf team finished tied for 19th out of 23 teams that competed at the Western New Mexico Mustang Intercollegiate tournament after the third-and-final round was completed Tuesday at the Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear, Arizona.
On the par-72 course, the FLC team shot a combined 886, which was 22-over-par.
Colorado School of Mines shot 24-under 840 to win the tournament. The Orediggers were two strokes better than Western Washington and four ahead of Chico State.
Western Washington’s Ethan Castro was the individual champion at 15-under 201. He shot rounds of 65, 67 and 69 to win by two strokes in front of University of Colorado at Colorado Springs’ Jack Duguid. Chico State’s Josh McCollum followed rounds of 68 and 65 with a 71 and finished in third at 12-under.
Eric Neal led the Skyhawks. He shot even par for the tournament after rounds of 73, 71 and 72. That tied for 42nd. Darren Edwards tied for 83rd along with teammate Austin Lienemann, as both shot 6-over 222. Edwards shot 74 in all three rounds, while Lienemann started and finished with rounds of 76 around a 2-under round of 70. Jack Call tied for 107th at 15-over, and Blake Kuzava had a tough final round of 86 to finish at 21-over.
FLC freshman Cristoffer Rudowsky competed as an individual and tied for 102nd. The Cortez product shot rounds of 73, 77 and 78 to finish 12-over.
Next for the Skyhawks is the season-ending RMAC Championship tournament April 20-23 at Ocotillo Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
