UNC softball wins series vs Sacramento State

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics

UNC softball wins series vs Sacramento State

By Adam Ide

Bear News Sportswriter

            The University of Northern Colorado softball team won its series versus Sacramento State, two games to one, at Gloria Rodriguez Field.

            The Bears swept the doubleheader on Friday, winning 12-4 in the first game and 9-8 in the second.

            Valerie Vidal got the win for Northern Colorado in game one, improving her record to 13-5 on the season. Celina Matthias took the loss for the Hornets, falling to 8-4.

            The game ended in the bottom of the sixth inning with the eight-run rule, but not before the two teams played a back-and-forth game.

            Sac State jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first on Mo Spieth’s fielder’s choice RBI. But UNC answered quickly, scoring two of their own in the bottom half. Lauren Paige’s hit by pitch brought in the first run for the Bears, and Jordyn Wiatrak drove in the second with a sacrifice fly.

            Northern Colorado added two more the next inning on an RBI triple by Madi Schmidt and an RBI double by Kaley Garcia. The pair of runs gave UNC a 4-1 advantage.

            The Hornets scored three of their own the next half inning, including two on a double by Suzy Brookshire. Spieth followed with an RBI single, tying the game at 4.

            The Bears added two more in the fourth on a two-run double by Schmidt, putting the Bears back on top 6-4.

            Northern Colorado exploded for six runs two innings later, ending the game. Mady Young began the scoring with a two-run double and Emma Brockmann added an RBI double. Wiatrak drove in another with an RBI single and Sophia Taylor scored on Schmidt’s bases-loaded walk.

            In game two, Chandler Elsner picked up the win and Lauren Paige earned the save, her second of the season. Savanna Corr started for Sac State, but Matthias took the loss again.

            The Hornets again jumped out to an early lead, this time scoring two in the opening frame. Brookshire drove in a run with a fielder’s choice and Sydney Rasmussen drove in another with an RBI single.

            Corr kept the Bears at bay through the first three innings, allowing just two hits. But Northern Colorado erupted in the fourth, scoring eight times to take a commanding lead.

Young’s fielder’s choice brought in the first run for the Bears and Brockmann’s single brought in two, aided by an error. Kenzie Kudrna got an RBI on a bases-loaded walk and Taylor piled it on with a single up the middle. The Bears got four more on hits by Schmidt and Garcia, eventually giving them an 8-2 lead.

Sac State got back in the game in the sixth, scoring four runs and cutting the deficit to just two. Sydnee Strong drove in three of the four with a bases-clearing double and a UNC error allowed the fourth run to score.

UNC added an insurance run in the bottom half on Wiatrak’s RBI single, which proved to be the game winner.

The Hornets threatened in the top of the seventh, getting consecutive sacrifice flys from Brookshire and Spieth, but Paige shut the door and gave the Bears a 9-8 victory.

“I thought we did a good job [Friday] of being resilient, which we talked about since the beginning of our season last fall,” head coach Shana Easley said. “It was good for our offense to get going and hit like we’re capable of hitting.”

In the series finale, Sac State edged out UNC 13-12. Danielle Perry earned the victory for the Hornets and Matthias picked up the save. Paige was charged with the loss, dropping her record to 4-6.

The two teams went scoreless through the first two innings but found their offense in the third inning. The Hornets scored twice in the top half, first on an RBI single by Zamari Hinton. Spieth added another RBI single two batters later, giving the Hornets a 2-0 lead.

The Bears answered with four of their own in the bottom half, started off by Garcia’s two-run home run to left field. Mady Young’s RBI double added another run and she came around to score on an error, giving Northern Colorado a 4-2 advantage.

But the lead was short lived, as Sac State erupted for five runs the next half inning to take a 7-4 lead. Hinton drove in her second run of the day with an infield single and Brookshire delivered the big blow, a bases-clearing double to center field. Rasmussen drove in Brookshire with a double for the fifth run of the inning.

UNC got one back in the bottom half on an RBI double from Schmidt and tied the game the following inning. Brockmann drove in Ally Steiner with a double and Taylor tied the game with an RBI double.

The Bears got four more in the bottom of the sixth, started off again by a Brockmann double, scoring two this time around. The two other runs scored on a wild pitch and an error, giving Northern Colorado an 11-7 lead.

“It was a dog fight from the beginning and it got away from us at the end, but we knew that’s what we were going to get from a team like that,” Brockmann said. “We’ve seen those pitchers so I know what to expect.”

But the lead was short lived, again, as the Hornets countered with six in the top of the seventh to take a 13-11 lead. Strong drove in one with a single and Marissa Maligad added another with an RBI groundout. Brookshire delivered the big blow again, this time in the form of a three-run shot that just stayed fair down the left field line.

“We made the seventh inning a bigger deal than it had to be and we lost our focus,” Easley said.

UNC tried to muster a comeback in the bottom half, but fell short. Rachel Johnson drove in one with an RBI double, but that’s all the Bears would get, falling 13-12.

With the series win, the Bears improve to 20-16 on the season. They host Southern Utah this weekend, beginning with a doubleheader Friday at 1 and 3 p.m.