COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Black Hills State University softball team (2-11, 1-7 RMAC) put up eight runs in the fifth inning in today's Sunday matinee doubleheader against the Mountain Lions of UCCS (9-8, 6-2 RMAC), as a six-run fifth inning in the first game of the day secured the first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) win in the
Ashlyn Englehorn era at BHSU.
GAME 3: BHSU 7, UCCS 4
PITCHING DECISIONS:
Win: Shayla Tuschen (2-3)
Loss: Autumn Kunze (5-2)
Black Hills State used seven unanswered runs, highlighted by a massive six-run fifth inning, to secure the first RMAC win in the Englehorn era Sunday afternoon in Colorado Springs. BHSU got to the same arm today that held them to just three hits in Game 1 yesterday.
Back-to-back hits in the bottom half of the first inning for the Mountain Lions would lead to a pair of early runs as UCCS jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning of play at Mountain Lion Field. UCCS would tack on two more runs in the third inning to double their lead up to 4-0 through three innings of play on a windy Sunday.
The Yellow Jacket bats came alive in the fifth inning, looking to cut into the 4-0 UCCS lead, as the Yellow Jackets would put together six-straight hits to start the inning, forcing a Mountain Lion pitching change during the rally.
A single up the middle for
Gianna Haley (Gr., Arvada, Colo.) put the first hit on the board for BH in Game 3, and that would just be the start. Due up would be
Audrey Fouras (So., Jackson, Wyo.), who would deposit the ball over the wall for the second-straight day to cut the UCCS lead in half at 4-2.
The hit parade would continue as
Taylor Dowden (Jr., Surprise, Ariz.) would single up the middle to start the frame with three-straight hits. A double from
Lily Simmons (So., Frederick, Colo.) down the right field line would cut the Mountain Lion lead to just one and, later, an RBI walk drawn by
Tyler Whitlock (Jr., Erie, Colo.) would draw the game even at 4-4, still with no one down. A passed ball with the bases loaded would give the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the weekend and a sacrifice fly from
Ashlynn Pauwels (Jr., Tallahassee, Fla.) would give BH the 6-4 lead. In the frame, Black Hills State put up six runs on six hits to take their first lead of the weekend.
Off the big inning,
Shayla Tuschen (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) would put the Mountain Lions down in order. Black Hills State would keep the momentum alive to start the sixth inning as Fouras started the inning with a lead-off walk.
Alyssa Wong (R-Fr., San Antonio, Texas) followed that with a deep single to right center field, putting a pair of runners on with just one away.
For the second-straight inning, BH would load the bases for
Kayla Lee (Sr., Kearney, Neb.) to step into the box. A phenomenal at-bat for Lee would see her work an RBI walk to extend the lead to 7-4. UCCS would avoid more damage, limiting the Jackets to just the one run heading to the bottom half of the sixth inning.
Tuschen and the Yellow Jacket defense would keep the Mountain Lions off the scoreboard for the rest of the day, picking up the 7-4 victory to start Day 2 of the four-game series with UCCS.
GAME NOTES
- Audrey Fouras hit her second home run of the weekend in Game 3, a two-run blast to put the Jackets on the board.
- Fouras went 1-for-2 on the day with a pair of walks, two RBI, and the home run.
- It marks her first multi-RBI game of the season and she moves into a three-way tie for second on the team in RBI (5).
- Both Gianna Haley and Alyssa Wong recorded a pair of hits in the win, both marking their second multi-hit games of the season.
- Lily Simmons and Haley both notch doubles in the game, while Wong picks up her second stolen base of the season (2-for-2).
- Tyler Whitlock also worked a pair of walks in the victory, recording an RBI with one of the walks.
- On the day, six Yellow Jackets recorded a hit and five posted an RBI.
- Shayla Tuschen got another start in the circle in Game 3 and picked up her second win of the season (2-3).
- As of Game 3, she has picked up both of the Yellow Jacket wins in the circle.
- She threw a complete game, surrendering four runs on seven hits, also striking out four in the outing.
- The win in Game 3 marks jus the second-ever win in Colorado Springs against the Mountain Lions (25-2, UCCS).
GAME 4: UCCS 4, BHSU 2
PITCHING DECISIONS:
Win: K. Bond (4-1)
Loss: Malaya Coleman (0-3)
The Mountain Lions would threaten in the first inning with the bases loaded, but
Malaya Coleman (So., Johnstown, Colo.) buckled down and worked through the jam to keep the game scoreless after one inning of play.
The first run of the contest came in the third inning with UCCS striking first on a two-out RBI single up the middle to take the 1-0 lead.
The fifth inning proved to be another big inning for the Black Hills State in the final game of the series, putting up a pair runs to take the lead, 2-1. A pair of walks would put two runners on base for BH and with two away, Lee would double to right center field to tie the game at 1-1, scoring Fouras. An RBI single back to the pitcher from Whitlock would score Simmons to give the Yellow Jackets the lead with both walks earlier in the inning coming around to score.
UCCS would respond with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the fifth inning, jumping back out in front, 4-2. That would be all the scoring the two sides would produce, as the Mountain Lions would take the series 3-1 with a 4-2 Game 4 victory.
GAME NOTES
- The top four spots of the BH line-up accounted for all five hits in Game 2, highlighted by two from Tyler Whitlock.
- Whitlock picks up her second multi-hit game of the season for the Yellow Jackets.
- She also picked up a pair of stolen bases as she now sits a perfect 8-for-8 on the season.
- As a team, BH is now 18-for-19 in the stolen base category.
- Both Kayla Lee and Whitlock pick up RBIs in the series finale.
- Malaya Coleman (0-3) made her third start (fifth appearance) of the season in Game 4, throwing six innings and striking out a pair of Mountain Lion hitters.
- All-time, BHSU falls to 34-10 against Colorado, Colorado Springs.
Up Next: The Yellow Jackets will play their first home series of the 2024 season next weekend when they play host to the Thunderwolves of CSU Pueblo (5-14, 3-5 RMAC) on March 1-2.
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