Scott Kretzmann
ASC Sports
Information Director
Visiting Fort Lewis won the final two contests of a 4-game series over Adams State on Monday at ASC Softball Field, scoring five unanswered in a come-from-behind game one win, 8-6, and then cruising to an 11-1 game two win in five innings.
Adams State, now just 1-7 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play, falls to 3-9 overall this season. The Skyhawks are now 8-9 on the season and 6-2 in league play, having won three games against both ASC and Black Hills State (S.D.) in their first two weekend of league play.
FLC scored a single run in each of the first three innings in game one for a 3-1 advantage, but the Grizzly bats came alive in the fourth.
Senior right fielder Lizzy Schossow (Fort Morgan, Colo.) followed up on a single from junior third baseman Jordan Schoepflin (Arvada, Colo.) with a 2-run home run to bring the score even at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth.
The Grizzlies then banged out three hits in the fifth inning to take their first lead of the day. Junior Brittani Richins (Tremonton, Utah) led the inning off with a single, and came in to score when the next batter, freshman designated player Erica Ecsedy (Saugus, Calif.) hit a double to the gap in left, one of her team leading three hits and three runs batted in Monday.
Ecsedy came around to score herself when junior catcher DJ Consonero (Pueblo West, Colo.) tripled to right. Consonero would score on a wild pitch with two outs in the inning to put ASC ahead 6-3.
But in a scene reminiscent of the Skyhawks’ victory in game one on Sunday, FLC added a pair of runs in the sixth to cut the gap to one run (6-5) and added three runs in their final at-bat to push the score to its final, 8-6.
Freshman Linda Hernandez (Pueblo, Colo.) started game one in the circle, and allowed eight hits and three runs in 4.0 innings before giving way to junior Brandi Lovato (West Valley City, Utah). Lovato pitched the final three innings and was hit with the loss, falling to 1-4 on the season.
Game two was a silent one for the Grizzly bats, while the Skyhawks belted out 13 hits and scored 11 runs, their second most in a game this season.
Freshman Michelle Leyba (Albuquerque, N.M.) was the ASC starter in game two , making just her second career appearance. Leyba allowed six hits and six runs in two innings of work, before giving way to yesterday’s game two winner for ASC, freshman Morgan McWilliams (Edgewood, N.M.).
Leyba kept the Skyhawks in check early, going 1-2-3 in the first and allowing a single run in the second frame, but the game was blown wide open by a 6-run third for FLC. Fort Lewis collected five hits in the inning, including four for extra bases.
Fort Lewis made the score 10-0 with another three in the fourth, before ASC’s lone run of the game came in the bottom of the inning. Richins tripled to center with one out before being driven in by a single from Ecsedy.
FLC’s Olivia Bergman and Kassie Haubert were credited with wins in the pitching circle, improving their records to 1-2 and 3-2 on the season, respectively.
The Grizzlies remain home for their next action, hosting Nebraska-Kearney for an RMAC weekend next Saturday and Sunday, March 10-11. The Lopers, whose first RMAC weekend of the season was cancelled by inclement weather, opened league play by going 1-3 against Colorado Christian on Sunday and Monday, and now own a mark of 4-6 this season.
Action will get underway with a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m., and then on Sunday with another twinbill at 11 a.m.
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