Last weekend, the lacrosse team secured their first win of the season, beating Lewis University 20-13. The softball team split their series against Regis, winning the second set of the twin doubleheader series.
UCCS women’s golf placed third in the Southwest Minnesota State University Spring Classic and walked away with an individual champion. Mountain Lions baseball ended with one win in their series against Colorado State University Pueblo, with strong offensive performances from multiple players.
Lacrosse
The UCCS women’s lacrosse team earned their first win of the season last week against Lewis university. Leaving the first quarter down 8-3, Lewis quickly closed the gap in the second quarter, entering the second half down by two goals. The Mountain Lions assumed their dominance over the second half, outscoring Lewis 11-6 throughout the final two quarters. UCCS walked away with a 20-13 victory.
Freshman Brielle Fanning led the team with seven points from five goals and two assists. Three other Mountain Lions earned Hat Tricks this game, with junior Julia Patrick scoring five goals, freshman Allie Schell scoring four and sophomore Erica Rivera scoring three.
Lacrosse will open conference play on the road against No. 7 Regis on March 24.
Softball
The softball team split their conference home series versus Regis, losing the first pair of doubleheaders but winning both games on the second day to split the series. The first set of games was slow offensively for the Mountain Lions, with Regis outscoring them 26-8 over the first set of games. UCCS’ only score in the first game was a solo home run from sophomore Paige White.
The second game was better offensively. After a double by redshirt junior Morgan Hernandez-Belew brought junior Mia Perez over the plate, redshirt senior Courtnie Heller smacked a three-run homer to cut Regis’ lead by half. After another eight-run inning from Regis, sophomore Lexi Wagner came to the plate ready for vengeance and knocked another three-run homer over the centerfield fence. Despite the rush, UCCS could not overcome the deficit and lost 16-7.
However, the Mountain Lions returned on day two ready to fight and won both games, splitting the series. Game three was a close contest through each inning, with most of the game spent chasing a one-run lead. Going into the final inning tied 5-5, White came up as the first batter in the bottom of the seventh and knocked her second series home run to seal the game for UCCS.
The final game was a slow battle, with each team trading a one-run lead until the fourth inning when the Mountain Lions went on a hitting spree giving them their final 5-3 lead. Senior pitcher Lexi Rayburn pitched a scoreless final three innings to secure the victory, earning her first collegiate save.
The team will go on the road to face Colorado Mesa in a four-game series March 18-19.
Golf
The women’s golf team traveled to Litchfield Park, Arizona, for the Southwest Minnesota State University Spring Classic, where they walked away with an individual champion and third-place team finish.
Junior Emily Shimkus won an individual tournament victory, finishing first among 55 other golfers with a 147 final score. Of UCCS’ 16 birdies in the competition, Shimkus owned eight of them. Freshman Kaya Kshatriya also had a great showing, coming back from 15th place after the first day to end the contest tied for sixth place.
With the first tournament of their last season in the books, the women’s team will travel to compete in the Dallas Baptist University Invitational from March 20-21.
Baseball
The Mountain Lions baseball team opened their conference play at home this weekend, hosting Colorado State University Pueblo (CSUP) in a four-game series and walking away with one victory in game three. Redshirt sophomore Kasey Campbell had a nasty weekend, hitting two home runs with seven hits and four RBIs.
The second and third match was a split doubleheader, with CSUP winning the first game before UCCS earned their first conference victory, winning 12-4. In the second game, CSUP gained an early lead, up 15-3 at the top of the fourth inning. However, even after a two-RBI double from redshirt sophomore Caleb Stubbings brought the lead down to ten, UCCS could not overcome the deficit, and they lost the second game 16-5.
The Mountain Lions came to life in the third game, though. Going into the bottom of the third inning down 3-2, they scored back-to-back four-run innings to take the lead 10-3. With CSUP only able to give one more run in the competition, UCCS secured their first conference win.
In the final game, UCCS held an early 3-1 lead until the sixth inning. But after an eight-run drive over two innings by CSUP, they could not bounce back, losing the final game 12-4.
The Mountain Lions will hit the road to face Metro State Denver in a four-game series from March 17-19.
Photo from gomountainlions.com.