A resilient Colorado Christian Softball squad bounced back from a 7-2 loss at Black Hills State Sunday, rebounding to take the finale 9-0. The split moved the series mark to 3-1 CCU, and gave the Cougars a 14-12 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. Christian's weekend wins have moved the blue and gold into fourth place in RMAC standings with just two weeks remaining on the 2015 regular season schedule.
 
Though the CCU offense had dominated Saturday's doubleheader, the Cougars could not capture their spark in Sunday's opener. Kristina Billante opened the day with a two-run homer to right field, but Christian wouldn't score again against BHSU. The home Yellow Jackets answered back with three-straight home runs, and then scored two more in the bottom of the sixth off a pair of one-RBI singles.
 
Black Hills totaled seven RBI on 11 hits in the contest, while Colorado Christian only produced two runs on seven hits. The loss in the circle went to freshman Tana Feiner, who gave up six earned runs in her six-inning effort.
 
Fortunately, senior Mariah Bledsoe managed a better showing in the final game. The Erie native fanned two BHSU batters, and limited the home team to just two hits without a single run. The win marked the seventh of the year for Bledsoe.
 
"We got the lead in the first game and cruised from there, which didn't end up working in our favor," explained freshman Letty Valenzuela after the 3-1 weekend. "We really bounced back in the second game, though, and played our hearts out...especially Mariah, pitching a shut out game! Knowing your pitcher is feeling good and shutting everyone down just makes playing the game more fun and relaxed."
 
Though their hits weren't big in number in the series finale, CCU did much with the five hits they managed from the plate. On the way to their statement 9-0 win, the Cougars benefited from a Valenzuela grand slam and an Alexa Coffing two-RBI single to left field. Valenzuela and Coffing's shots gave the visitors a 6-0 lead after two – an advantage that would be built upon with a Stephanie Tatham double in the third and another Billante RBI in the fifth.
 
"Coming into this weekend, our main focus was taking things one game at a time," continued Valenzuela. "We knew we needed these wins to boost our record, but also for a spot in playoffs. We have worked so hard to get to this point, and now we're not just relying on certain players to get us wins, but coming together and all contributing at one point or another throughout each game. This just happened to be a good weekend for me & I was really seeing the ball well, as were some of my other teammates."
 
Sunday's win marked the 20^th of the year for Colorado Christian, and the 100^th for CCU Softball and Head Coach Daven Bond. Bond's climb to 100 in four years marks the fastest to the century mark for any coach in Colorado Christian history.
 
The Cougars will close out their home season with a four-game series against Colorado Mesa at Lakewood Park April 18-19.