The weather was good enough, and Aspen Field served as a welcome home to the Skyhawks.
The Fort Lewis College softball team opened its home schedule with four wins against Black Hills State on Friday and Saturday. The Skyhawks’ opening homestand frequently coincides with winter-weather conditions, and last year’s games were moved south to New Mexico.
This year, FLC anticipated a weekend storm and moved the games up a day, and the Skyhawks were thrilled to play all four games while several other Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams across Colorado saw their games postponed for another weekend.
“The conference as a whole, we all really want to get our games in and play. In the state of Colorado, there’s a lot of circumstances where it doesn’t happen,” FLC head coach Kira Zeiter said. “We’re very fortunate to play all four, especially with how far Black Hills traveled to be here. And, of course, it feels good when we get the job done and pick up wins.”
After picking up a pair of walkoff wins Friday, the Skyhawks (6-9, 4-0 RMAC) made matters a bit easier Saturday, picking up a 7-5 win in Game 1 and an emphatic 12-4 victory in five innings in the weekend finale against the Yellow Jackets (1-8, 0-4 RMAC).
Starting 4-0 in conference games has Zeiter and the Skyhawks confident to begin the long season.
Kiley Raica (2-3) was the winning pitcher for FLC in the second game. She pitched all five innings and allowed seven hits and issued one walk while striking out four. Only two of the Yellow Jackets’ four earns were charged to Raica.
Victoria Johnson (4-3) earned the win in the first game, with Olivia Goldberg finishing the game in the seventh.
Johnson allowed four hits and two earned runs in six innings. She walked four and struck out one and hit one batter. Goldberg was charged with three runs while giving up five hits in the inning of work.
“The pitchers got the job done when they needed to. Give Black Hills credit, they go up to bat, foul off pitches and battle,” Zeiter said. “It was nice our pitchers got key outs in later innings when we needed them, and then our bats could carry us to the win.”
Missy Fundora hit a home run in Game 1 for FLC, and she also added two stolen bases in a 2-for-2 performance at the plate. She drove in two runs and walked.
FLC stole nine bases in the game and 13 combined Saturday.
“I would love for that to be a staple. That’s the way I like to play the game, aggressive,” Zeiter said. “We took advantage of opportunities, and it’s one of those things that can win you a close game down the road.”
Myndee Thompson added two runs batted in with a double as part of a 2-for-3 day at the plate. Nikki Klepfer and Adriana Rosthenhausler had the other two RBIs for FLC.
FLC jumped out to a big lead in Saturday’s second game, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first. Thompson applied pressure on the base paths, leading to a Black Hills State throwing error that scored a run. Thompson later scored on a double off the bat of Lauren Caldwell. Tristen Gilbert followed with a big two-run homer.
“That was the first homer of Tristen’s career,” Zeiter said of the freshman. “Those long balls, it sure is nice when you hit them.”
Thompson went 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs. Jeovonna Rios was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a double, and Kaitlyn Bending, Fundora and Rosthenhausler all added one RBI.
FLC will hit the road next week to play a four-game pod against Colorado Christian and New Mexico Highlands.
“We are ready for some sunshine,” Zeiter said. “It will be nice to play two teams in the four games out there and not just one team four games in a row.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
