This weekend was a special one for Colorado Christian University. Big wins, beautiful weather, and boisterous fans assured that for CCU Softball. After three days in Grand Junction, the Cougars returned home the owners of an RMAC sweep – four straight wins over Colorado School of Mines. Of course there was more to the weekend's success than the results, as plenty of memorable moments made up the thread of the series. Among those moments, bold showings in the pitching circle and timely hits from the plate – including a Sarah Rasmussen walk-off grand slam in game three.
 
After twice downing the Orediggers in yesterday's doubleheader, the blue and gold began the day high with momentum. Mines was unwilling to surrender without a battle, however, and they made their resolve clear. Early hits in both games had the visitors up early and often, and left Christian scrambling to rally.
 
Game one started with an early CSM earned run off Cougar pitcher Jennie Winston. The Orediggers would build on that lead in the fifth, hanging four on the board in the inning. Though Colorado Christian had yet to score, they'd answer on their turn in the frame. After earning their first score on a Kristina Billante walk, the Cougars got two more when Michaela Barr singled up the middle to move the score to 5-3. A pair of Sarah Rasmussen and Danielle Romine singles in the sixth tied the game, giving the Christian squad hope for a come-from-behind win in the eleventh hour.
 
Though CCU began the seventh inning with fast back-to-back outs, a magical rally was in the works. After Rylee Halenar and Jessica Romine both reached on singles, Stephanie Tatham loaded the bases, bringing senior Sarah Rasmussen to the plate for the blue and gold.
 
It didn't take long for Rasmussen to find her pitch. In one game-changing flash, the senior drilled a bomb over the left-field fence to give Colorado Christian the instant 9-4 win. It was a huge moment for Rasmussen and the Cougars, who will likely talk about the walk-off grand slam for the rest of the year.
 
Of course, offense is only as good as the defense that backs it up, and on Sunday the defense was anchored by freshman pitcher Tana Feiner. Feiner's efforts from the circle could only be described as clutch, as in three-straight games the Las Vegas native rescued the Cougars before closing the weekend with a complete game win. Feiner finished the series with four victories, totaling eight strikeouts on Sunday and allowing just two earned runs in nine innings of work. Her leadership set the tone for the Cougars' effort in the finale, as Christian cruised to a 6-4 win.
 
CCU owned the lead in game four, going up one in the second inning on a Jessica Romine single to right field. Sister Danielle Romine built on that lead in the fourth, crushing a homer to right center to move the score to 2-0. Mines answered with one in the fifth, but the Cougars strung together Rasmussen and Billante doubles in addition to an Alexa Coffing single to right center to go up 6-1 in their half of that inning. Though Mines would score three more times, Feiner held the Orediggers off when she needed to.
 
"We wouldn't be where we are if we didn't all work as a team," reflected Feiner. "This weekend we were one. Each and every one of us left our hearts on the field."
 
Jessica Romine finished the day with an impressive 7-for-8 showing that included one RBI and four runs, while Rasmussen totaled a team best seven RBI on the day.
 
"This was a really good weekend to get back on track toward our goal of an RMAC championship," explained Jessica Romine at the end of the day. "Winning four conference games was huge! Having last weekend's games cancelled just really gave us motivation to not take any game for granted and to go out with everything we had. Being able to come to Grand Junction and play in my hometown in front of my friends and family was awesome. I was just relaxed in every at-bat and knew that if I did my part and got on base and had quality at-bats that good things would happen. Every game gave us a little challenge and we had to fight all weekend to stay on stop and get the W's. You could really just feel everyone giving it everything they had in all four games. Overall it was a solid weekend of softball. Sundays really are for sweeps!"
 
CCU returns home for the week, where they will prepare for a road series against Regis in Denver in the coming week.