In an afternoon highlighted by offensive firepower and dominant slugging, pitcher Labraida Tenorio stood above all. Tenorio threw a five-inning no-hitter in Game 2 on Saturday for Fort Lewis College, helping the Skyhawks down Adams State University 10-6 and 9-0.
FLC then won the first game on Sunday 7-6, but Adams avoided the sweep with a 5-3 win in the final game of the series.
“Today was a special event with the debut of our spring Nike N7 games,” head coach Dwight Sanders said after Saturday’s wins. “It was very powerful. Our girls used that and got behind it to bounce back. We hit the ball well, our pitchers were in command, and we had a few miscues on defense but thankfully they cleaned it up. It was just a really great day overall between N7 and getting to open our senior's final series at home with a pair of wins. I'm proud of the girls and how far they've come, especially bouncing back from a series that we think we shouldn't have dropped.”
Fort Lewis softball has six players who are tribal members: Ashley Burriel (Navajo), Cara Daugherty (Choctaw), Catheryn Rodman (Muscogee Creek Nation), Isabelle Livreri (Navajo), Sloan Shotton (Otoe-Missouria, Iowa, Kiowa, Wichita, Cheyanne and Caddo) and Labraida Tenorio (Acoma Pueblo and Santo Domingo Pueblo).
Tenorio, a freshman from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, threw the first no-hitter for the Skyhawks since Emily Morris at New Mexico Highlands University in 2019. It took Tenorio just 13 starts, 17 appearances, and 64.2 innings to accomplish the feat.
She struck out the side in the first inning and struck out two more in the second. She finished with six strikeouts while only allowing four batters to reach via bases on balls.
True freshman Sabrina Carrillo had a monster afternoon at the plate. She went 5-for-6 with a home run, three doubles, four runs and six runs batted in. All told, Carrillo was associated with 10 of Fort Lewis' 19 runs on the day.
On Sunday, Cara Daugherty was near-perfect at the plate across both games, finishing 5-for-6 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and two runs batted in.
FLC trailed 4-3 heading into the sixth of Game 1 Sunday, but senior Katie Pippel put the Skyhawks on the board once more with an RBI groundout. After a single from Alyssa Gutierrez, senior Sloan Shotton belted a double to left center to clear the bases and extend the lead in favor of FLC, 7-3.
Adams mounted a comeback, but Amiee Shanks (16-6) forced a pop fly to end the game, securing her 16th win and 15th complete game this season.
The final game was a pitcher’s duel, but Adams scored a pair of late runs to get the split on FLC’s Senior Day. Shotton and Pippel were honored before playing their final home games for the blue and gold.
FLC improved 23-22 overall, 21-17 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference while Adams slipped to 10-37, 7-29.
Next, FLC will play its final four-game RMAC series at league-leading Colorado Christian University (48-4, 38-2) on Friday and Saturday.
Juniors Haley Dostie and Kaylin Vanzant combined for 10 goals to put a bow on a successful home finale for the FLC women's lacrosse team, guiding the Skyhawks to an 18-11 win over CSU Pueblo on Saturday during senior day.
Fort Lewis improved to 3-8, 3-5 while CSU Pueblo dropped to 1-11, 0-8.
Seven different Skyhawks scored against CSU Pueblo, led by Dostie’s six goals. Vanzant followed with four to establish a career-high while Zoi Delgado and Nina Polk and Caprietta Abbadessa chipped in two goals apiece.
Senior goalkeeper Averi Basso went the distance with eight saves and a team-best six ground balls to earn her third win of the season. Senior JoJo Lutz forced a season-high three caused turnovers to go along with three ground balls. Senior Rebecca Kiyokawa came away with a career-high nine draw controls.
Before opening draw and in honor of the inaugural Nike N7 game, Chief Hanley Frost of the Southern Ute Tribe took the field to provide the day's welcome message. Fort Lewis College then honored its four Indigenous student-athletes: JoJo Lutz (Lummi Nation), Nina Polk (Sicangu Lakota Rosebud), Kaylin Vanzant (Muscogee Creek), and Marla Warrior (Seneca Nation).
