SPEARFISH, S.D. – On Senior Day, the Black Hills State University softball team fell to Colorado Christian University in a doubleheader. The Cougars (33-12, 26-6 RMAC) took the first game, 8-4, before the Yellow Jackets (10-27, 7-22 RMAC) dropped game two, 9-0. The Green and Gold seniors – Morgan Smith, Alex Wiley, Katelyn Odle, Jordyn Ballard, and Samantha Gill – were honored prior to first pitch.
CCU 8, BHSU 4
A runner for the Cougars got to third base in the first inning, but the Yellow Jacket defense settled down and escaped the threat without any damage done. In the bottom of the second, BHSU took a 1-0 lead, taking advantage of two CCU errors.
However, the visitors responded in the third inning, scoring six runs on six hits to take a 6-1 lead.
In the bottom of the third, the Yellow Jackets began to chip away. Alex Wiley opened the frame with a double. The bases became loaded via two Cougar errors, before Maddie London stepped to the plate. She drove a ball deep to center field, where the fielder made a catch at the wall, deep enough to let Wiley come across and cut the lead to 6-2.
The Green and Gold picked up two more runs in the fourth inning on a two-RBI double by Wiley. Heading into the seventh inning, CCU led, 6-4. The Cougars would get two insurance runs in the top of the inning, and the Yellow Jackets were unable to get anything going, and ultimately fell, 8-4.
Wiley finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI. Katelyn Odle, Kindall Bethke, Makenzi Strong, Maddi Fidler, and Morgan Smith all tallied hits in the game.
Wiley (3-12) took the loss for the Yellow Jackets. She allowed five runs (four earned) in 2.0 innings. Breanne Henricksen threw the final 5.0 innings, allowing three runs while striking out two.
CCU 9, BHSU 0 (5 innings)
CCU got on the board first in the final game of the series. The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Charlotte Romero RBI single. In the second inning, the Yellow Jackets loaded the bases, but the visitors kept BHSU from scoring.
The Cougars then added two more runs in the third inning, and one in the fourth to lead, 4-0. CCU broke the game open in the fifth inning, scoring five runs on six hits to lead 9-0. With two outs, Bethke and London hit back-to-back singles to threaten, but the home team was unable to bring any runs across.
London was 2-for-3 in the game, while Wiley and Bethke each had a hit as well. Wiley finished her senior day with three hits across the doubleheader.
Crystal Amaral (7-9) took the loss in the circle. She struck out five in 4.0 innings of work while allowing nine runs. Darian Gottfried threw the final 1.0 inning.
The Green and Gold will head to Chadron, Nebraska, for the final series of the regular season. The four game series with Chadron State will be on April 26-27.
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Black Hills State is located in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota, sponsoring 13 NCAA sports with membership in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the NCAA emerging sport of women's triathlon and NIRA rodeo. For all information regarding Yellow Jacket Athletics, please visit BHSUAthletics.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @BHSUAthletics.
---BHSUAthletics.com---
