A weekend sweep was just what the doctor ordered for the Skyhawks’ postseason hopes.
Fort Lewis College softball completed a four-game sweep of last-place Black Hills State, picking up wins of 8-2 and 10-5 on Sunday in Spearfish, S.D.
“It was very nice to come and play the softball we had expected ourselves to play,” FLC head coach Kira Zeiter said.
The wins moved FLC (17-20, 15-17 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) into seventh place in the conference. The top eight teams qualify for the RMAC Tournament, with the winner of that event going to the NCAA Tournament. Fort Lewis is the defending RMAC Tournament champion.
“We’re not trying to scoreboard watch but focus on how well we’re playing as a team,” Zeiter said.
Kassie Haubert (6-11) threw all seven innings in the 8-2 win, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out seven and walking three.
“She’s been really dominant lately, shutting hitters down, especially in key situations,” Zeiter said of Haubert.
Kaylynn Harmon kept her hot streak going with a home run, three RBIs and a pair of runs scored in a 2-for-3 performance. Mariah Stuart was 2-for-3.
Fort Lewis had to work a little harder to top the Yellow Jackets (4-28, 3-21 RMAC) in the second game. FLC jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first, only to see their lead eventually cut to 5-4 by the end of the third inning. But a five-run fifth ended up being enough for the Skyhawks.
Victoria Johnson (9-7) ended up with the win, allowing five runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. Haubert was stellar in 3 2/3 innings of relief, allowing only one hit.
Kamali’i Peneku was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs driven in and three runs scored. Tehenia Telliano also drove in two runs, while Stuart went 2-for-4.
“It’s huge because we went into the weekend wanting to play good softball,” Zeiter said.
Fort Lewis has just one weekend remaining before the regular season draws to a close. The Skyhawks will host Colorado Christian for four games next weekend. They’ll play the Cougars at noon and 2 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday at Aspen Field.
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