by by Sarah Meier, FLC Assistant Athletic Director
DURANGO, Colo. – March 15, 2015 – The Fort Lewis College softball team suffered their first home loss of the season Sunday morning, 6-1, to Chadron State College before junior pitcherKiley Raica pitched a complete game in the series finale to lead the Skyhawks to a 5-2 win. The Skyhawks won the four game series over the Eagles, 3-1.
“Going 3-1 is a decent weekend to keep us in a solid place in the conference,” said head coach Kira Zeiter. “We give credit to Chadron State – they came to play today. We were fortunate to get the hits we needed to win Game 2, and in Game 1 their pitcher kept us off balance and we did not adjust. That is something we will work on this week in preparation for our pod play next weekend.”
In the series finale, Chadron State led 2-0 after three and half innings. Tristen Gilbert (Navajo Nation) led off for the Skyhawks in the top of the fourth inning and hit a single shot over the center field fence for her fourth home run of the season. Mandy Owens repeated Gilbert, hitting her own solo shot to centerfield for her third homer this season.
Fort Lewis plated three more runs in the bottom of the fourth thanks to Jeovanna Rios‘ three run home run to left field. Rios batted in Kaitlyn Bending and Myndee Thompson to give the Skyhawks a 5-2 lead and the win.
The Skyhawks finished the game with nine hits and all five runs coming off home runs. Raica surrendered two runs on five hits and struck out four batters while throwing 119 pitches. Gilbert tallied three hits and Thompson added two to lead the Skyhawks offense.
In the opening game on Sunday, Rios batted in Thompson for the Skyhawks lone score of the game which came in the bottom of the first inning. Chadron State plated one run in the first and second innings and added two more in the third for a 4-1 lead. They held the Skyhawks scoreless the remainder of the game while adding insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings for the 6-1 win.
Victoria Johnson was the pitcher of record, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits in 2.1 innings of work. Olivia Goldberg finished the game in the circle, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits.
Missy Fundora accounted for two of the Skyhawks five hits.
Fort Lewis (11-12, 9-3 RMAC) will remain home next weekend as they host UCCS and Regis in RMAC pod play.
