After making the trek up to South Dakota the day before, the Cougars opened up their weekend in Spearfish with a pair of wins against the Yellow Jackets of Black Hills State.
GAME 1: W 9-1 (5 innings)
The Friday pair was off to a slow start after three innings and no runs scored. But breaking the silence in the top of the fourth, Stephanie Day got the Cougars going after leading off the inning with a single. Day was advanced with a single from Kacie Burger and was then relieved by pinch runner Megan Gordon. Caitlin McCarthy then brought them both home with a 2 RBI double for the first runs of the game. With two outs on the board, Shelby Fusich stepped up and hit a triple to bring home McCarthy. Jamie Romero then reached on an error that scored Fusich, making the score 4-0. The final run of the inning came after Hanna Farmer singled and Kendall Yasui walked to load the bases – followed by Stephanie Day getting hit by the pitch to bring home Romero. The Yellow Jackets landed a single run in the bottom of the inning after hitting a homerun to make the score going into the fifth 5-1.
Playing smart at the plate the first three Cougar batters loaded the bases without a hit to start the fifth. Kacie Burger started it off after she was hit by the pitch, and was followed by Caitlin McCarthy and Carly Perry walking. Shelby Fusich then reached after a fielder's choice that got Burger out at home. Piper Lujan started off a play that brought home 3 more runs after hitting a 2 RBI single then advanced to second after Fusich also made it home on an error. Lujan then advanced to third on a wild pitch and made it home on a ground out from Hanna Farmer to win the game in just five innings with a final score of 9-1.
Jennifer Romero took the win on the mound after only allowing 3 hits and 1 run, bringing her record to 12-5.
GAME 2: W 6-3
Black Hills State bounced back after the run-rule loss to score the first pair of runs of the game, landing 2 in the in the first inning. The Cougars took their lead back in the top of the third and never gave it back. They landed 3 runs in the top of the third after the team hit a multitude of singles. Kendall Yasui was the first to reach after a bunt, followed by a single from Stephanie Day. The third single in a row came from Charlotte Romero which scored Yasui. Kacie Burger was the next to single to bring home Day, and the final single came from Shelby Fusich to score the last run of the inning.
Making the next and final three runs count, three Cougars landed homeruns to close out the game. Stephanie Day was the first and scored the 4th run of the game after hitting one in the top of the fourth. Kacie Burger was the next one to land one in the top of the fifth after a full count, followed by the final one from Carly Perry on the first pitch she saw.
The Yellow Jackets scored one more in the bottom of the sixth to make the final score 6-3, but the Colorado Christian took their 31st win of the season. Makena Martin took the win on the mound after pitching 6 innings.
UP NEXT: Now boasting a conference record of 24-6 and an overall record of 31-12, the Cougars will finish up the series against the Yellow Jackets on April 20th with a double header beginning at 11am. Colorado Christian will then host their final home series of the year in a pod against New Mexico Highlands and Colorado Mesa the weekend of April 26th.
