Grizzly softball posts 3-1 mark in impressive home opening weekend
ALAMOSA, Colo.—Solid pitching and timely hitting is the name of the game, and the Adams State University Grizzlies softball team got a little of both this weekend en route to a 3-1 finish on the four-game weekend.
After starting the season by dropping four out of five non-conference games, the Grizzlies have been on fire as the conference season has gotten underway, winning five of their last six and moving their overall record to 6-5, while sitting in second place at 5-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Standings.
The Grizzlies hosted the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls and the Fort Lewis Skyhawks this past weekend in a pod format at ASU’s newly revamped softball complex.
Adams State started the weekend off with a Saturday morning matchup against Highlands, with sophomore Kelsey Sellars (Denver, Colo.) getting the start. The Grizzlies posted an 11-6 victory and set the tone for the rest of the weekend.
Sellars was solid in the outing, picking up the win on 6.1IP and giving up a scattered 10 hits that resulted in five earned runs. Sellars really only had one shaky inning, before closing the game with four innings of shutout work.
The Grizzly bats were led by senior centerfielder Katelyn Lovato (Northglenn, Colo.), who went 2-4 in the contest, scoring three runs as well.
Lovato, a three-time All-American and the RMAC Pre-Season Player of the Year, was dynamite on the weekend, finishing 9-14 and scoring 10 runs in the process. Lovato is now batting .525, good for second in the conference.
Jordan Schoepflin (Arvada, Colo.) also helped the Grizzlies at the plate, hitting 2-3 with two RBI’s to provide Sellars with adequate run support.
In the second game of the weekend, the Grizzlies faced off against a tough Fort Lewis squad, taking down the Skyhawks in a thrilling 7-6 finish.
Fort Lewis jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Grizzlies clawed back into the game methodically, scoring in every inning of the game but one.
Lovato was 3-4 with three runs, while leftfielder Erika Ecsedy (Saugus, Calif.) was 2-4 on the day with an RBI. Senior DJ Consonero (Pueblo West, Colo.) also came up big in the Grizzly effort, going 3-3 with an RBI.
Morgan McWilliams (Edgewood, N.M.) got the win for ASU, pitching four shutout innings, giving up just three hits and striking out six.
The Grizzlies would fall to Fort Lewis by a 4-3 final score in the first game on Sunday, before closing out the weekend with a strong 6-3 victory over Highlands.
McWilliams was lights out as she picked up her second win of the weekend in the finale, pitching two innings and giving up just one hit. Lovato and Consonero were 3-4 and 2-3, respectively, from the plate with Consonero picking up two RBI’s.
The Grizzlies played loose and with confidence and momentum in posting their three wins over the weekend. They will look to carry that momentum on the road as they square-off against Colorado Mines next weekend in a four-game set between the RMAC's top two teams.
Action will get underway at noon on Saturday and continue throughout the weekend.
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