Sat. March 18 the Fort Lewis College Softball team faced the Regis University Rangers in a double header in Aztec, NM. The field at FLC is under renovations therefore the team is playing in Aztec for this season. The first game was close, but ended in a loss for the Skyhawks with a final score of 1-2. The second game FLC came back for revenge and won with a final score of 9-2.
The Skyhawks came into this face-off with a record of 0-12 while the Rangers came in with a record of 6-6.
The first game started out slow, but the momentum that the Skyhawks built at the end continued over into the second game.
Senior Mandy Owens wants to keep working on starting the game with energy and keeping it throughout the entire day, she said.
After a close game, the Skyhawks came out on the losing end with a final score of 1-2.
Both teams pitched shutouts until the sixth inning, which was a change of pace compared to last weekend when the Skyhawks surrendered many runs while getting swept by MSU Denver.
Fort Lewis and Regis came out strong defensively, but neither team could get a solid hit off each other. Regis scored the first run in the top of the sixth inning after a runner stole second then was sent home by another hitter.
They followed up with three outs in a row at the bottom of the sixth. They kept their streak of good play going in the top of the seventh inning when they hit a home run off the Skyhawks senior pitcher, Olivia Goldberg.
Fort Lewis finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh inning when sophomore, Gianna Melaragno hit a homerun over center field.
The Skyhawks defense was strong with freshman center fielder, freshman Allison Young, making a diving catch in the second inning. Young continued to make solid plays throughout the game by catching pop flys that went into the outfield.
“Seeing a teammate lay out for a short ball that could easily be a base hit really boosts your confidence knowing you have that defense behind you,” freshman Kelly Decker said.
Young also played a strong game offensively. She started off by hitting a double in the first inning. In the bottom of the fourth inning Young hit a single and went on to steal second base in the next play.
FLC came back with a vengeance in the second game and finished on top with a score of 9-2.
The first inning wrapped up with both teams scoring one run, but the Skyhawks pushed ahead in the second inning when senior Mandy Owens hit a home run which also brought junior Tristen Gilbert home.
The Skyhawks kept the Rangers at bay while building on their score until the sixth inning when the Rangers came back scoring a run, but FLC didn’t let that get under their skin.
Mandy Owens came out in the bottom of the sixth hitting her second home run of the day, which was followed by senior Adriana Rosthenhausler hitting a home run as well.
“The defense was on fire,” Decker said. “The energy was through the roof.”
Elle Facker, the head coach of the Skyhawks, was proud of the hitting and defense work of her team.
“Our defense was on point today. We’ve been waiting to have that day where both hitting and defense mix together,” Fracker said.
She focused this last week on making positive reps with the players and keeping everything light in preparation for today's doubleheader.
“Whatever we did we’re going to try and do that again for next weekend,” she said.
Fort Lewis Softball’s next game is Sun. March 19th in Aztec against Regis.