Eric R. Flores
The Paw Print
Adams State College freshman Ashley Pohl (Lake Tapps, Wash.) fired just 51 pitches while giving up just three hits as she recorded her second shutout of the season in Game 1 as the Grizzlies posted their biggest victory of the season, 12-0, over the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks, Sunday here at Aspen Field. The Grizzlies then completed their first doubleheader sweep in nearly a month winning Game 2 of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference twin-bill, 5-3 while jumping right back into contention for a conference tournament spot after taking three of four games in the weekend series.
Adams State (11-19, 10-18 RMAC) was also paced by sophomore Rebecca Lindquist (Fort Collins, Colo.) as she hit two home runs and got five RBI in the Game 1 victory, the Grizzlies’ first run-rule win since Mar. 22.
The game started off quickly for Adams State as the Grizzlies scored two runs in the top of the second inning. The first run came when Lizzy Schossow (Fort Morgan, Colo.), who was hit by a pitch, scored on a single by freshman Selina Pacheco (Denver, Colo.). After two of the Skyhawks’ five total errors, Pacheco then scored the second run
The Grizzlies then scored one run in the top of the third inning as another error allowed junior Jaycee Lovato (Northglenn, Colo.) to score from second base.
The big blow of the game came in the fourth inning as six runs were scored by the Grizzlies. Three of the runs came off the bat of Lindquist, who hit a bomb to left center field to bring in Pohl and freshman Katelyn Lovato (Northglenn, Colo.), who had extended her consecutive game hitting streak record to 30 games with a single up the middle.
Leading 6-0 at the time, junior Sarah Lindquist (Fort Collins, Colo.) then brought Jaycee Lovato around as she hit a bloop-single to center field. Pacheco then hit a fly ball to deep center field where Chelena Coulston made an attempt to catch it. However, the ball dropped after being in the glove and the both Sarah Lindquist and Schossow scored making the score 9-0.
In the fifth inning, Rebecca Lindquist, who had eight RBI over the whole weekend, hit a 2-run homer to the exact same spot as her last to bring Tarah Campagnola (Littleton, Colo.) around. That same hit was followed by a solo shot by Jaycee Lovato, who completed the scoring with her 10th homer of the season.
Meanwhile, Pohl, now 3-3 on the year, was in complete control never allowing a Skyhawk past second base as the Grizzlies racked up 11 hits against the Skyhawks’ Kassie Haubert fell to 5-8.
Katelyn Lovato then extended her hit streak to 31 straight games in the top of the first inning in the second game as she had a slow dribbler to third base. Jaycee Lovato then brought her younger sister home around as she nailed a double over Coulston’s head as the Grizzlies took a quick 1-0 lead. They then tacked on one more run in the inning as Sarah Lindquist hit a single down the right field line to allow Jaycee Lovato to score.
Pohl also started the second game in the circle but had a shaky first inning as Skyhawk second baseman Ashley Hibbs nailed a 2-run homer that was followed by a Kayla Bruner homer that gave Fort Lewis a 3-2 lead.
The Grizzlies then tied the game up at 3 in the top half of the second inning as Pohl had an infield single to score Pacheco who was sitting at third base after three singles in four plays.
With the score tied, Sarah Lindquist took over the pitching duties for Adams State in the bottom of the second inning. She was phenomenal as she shutdown the Skyhawk offense, allowing only four base runners to reach base.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies got the go-ahead run in the top of the third as Pacheco pushed Sarah Lindquist across the plate with a single to left.
The Grizzlies then got their final run of the game in the top of the seventh as junior Brianna Boyd (Littleton, Colo.), a defensive substitution for Jamie Roland (Hesperia, Calif.) in right field, got her first hit of the season, a double to right center field.
Boyd was then pushed across the plate as Pacheco knocked a single centerfield to give Adams State their 5-3 victory margin.
Lindquist, who pitched six innings while striking out two, improved her record to 7-8 while Stephanie Janes fell to 7-10 for the Skyhawks.
Rebecca Lindquist finished the weekend with a .615 batting average as she got tallied eight hits in 13 plate appearances.
The Grizzlies , who are now just a half-game and percentage points behind the Skyhawks (15-25, 14-20 RMAC), will now start a 7-game home stand to finish off the regular season as they host the Colorado State University-Pueblo ThunderWolves in a tripleheader on Wednesday before closing out the regular season with a weekend series against Mesa State. First pitch for Wednesday’s action is scheduled for 11 a.m.
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