It was another eventful week for our Cougars Athletics programs! The week started off with softball making history yet again! Abrie Castillo threw a perfect game, which has never been done in CCU softball history, and they wrapped it up with another 4 wins for a 40-3 record. It was also the fastest 40 wins in school history for them! Our track team also continues to make a name for themselves as there were too many personal bests to count, national provisional times, and a new school record for Ashley Vil in the triple jump. The baseball team was in Montana this weekend and battled hard against MSUB. They will be back at home this upcoming weekend though to take on CSU-P.
SOFTBALL RECAP
4/6 LAKEWOOD, CO- It was an historic day at All Star Park on Thursday as CCU swept Black Hills State. Abrie Castillo dazzled as she recorded the first perfect game in Colorado Christian history to lead her team to victory in the second contest of the day. A 7-1 victory in game one secured a sweep of the Yellow Jackets on day one of competition.
GAME ONE
The first contest of the day was tight to start, but Leah Garcia got her team on the board first with an RBI double. BHSU responded the next inning with a run to tie things, but that tie was quickly broken. An error in the fourth scored Sami Edwards before Taylor Olsen scored on a fielders' choice. A bomb to center field went off the outfielders glove from Garcia for a solo shot in the fourth, and CCU held a 4-1 lead heading to the sixth.
The offense found its groove in their last at bats of the game, starting with an RBI double from Kenzie Middleton. Olsen then singled home a run, and Logan Menzies secured a sacrifice fly for an RBI and 7-1 lead that would hold as the final score.
Kali Crandall picked up another complete game victory with 11 strikeouts on just three hits allowed. A balanced offensive effort was led by Garcia with a double and home run to ignite the run scoring.
GAME TWO
The second contest of the day saw something we have never seen before in the history of CCU softball. Abrie Castillo took to the circle, and was nothing short of perfect. The graduate student from Hereford, Texas was magical all game long, not allowing a single base runner as she pitched the first perfect game in Cougars history.
The rare feat was backed up by plenty of run support from the offense, beginning in the first inning with an RBI double from Menzies. Kayla Middleton then singled home two more as the lead stretched to 3-0 after one. Garcia scored from third on a passed ball in the fourth, and Olsen blasted a two-run homer to right center to put the lead to 6-0. The icing on the cake came in the fifth, as Edwards smacked a double into the gap in left center with the bases loaded, scoring all three runners and walking it off 9-0 via run rule.
Castillo used effective placement to put down all 15 Yellow Jackets she faced. The righty picked up at least one strikeout in every inning she pitched, totaling 8 overall on an economical 59 pitches. Castillo forced 5 flyouts, two groundouts and struck out the rest on a special day of softball.
4/7 LAKEWOOD, CO- The pitching for the Cougars continued to be excellent on day two of competition against the Yellow Jackets. Kali Crandall twirled a no-hitter, her second of the season, and CCU rolled to another series sweep.
GAME ONE
The first game of the day was relatively quiet from an offensive perspective as neither team exploded at the plate. Kayla Middleton got the hosts on the board with a two-run homer in the second, and sister Kenzie Middleton later doubled home a run to make it 3-0 in the fifth. Taylor Olsen doubled home Middleton as it stood at 4-0. That is where the score would stand to the end, as CCU notched win number 40 on the season in shutout fashion.
The offense was not the story in the first contest, but rather the pitching of four-time RMAC Pitcher of the Week Kali Crandall. The transfer from Oklahoma Christian was locked in all game, coming a walk in the sixth away from a perfect game as she never allowed BHSU a sliver of hope at the plate. Crandall finished with 13 strikeouts out of the 21 batters she faced as she notched her second no-hitter as a Cougar and fourth in program history.
GAME TWO
The second contest and series finale took on a different complexion from the start. Black Hills State was able to get their bats going immediately, plating three runs in the first inning. CCU responded by taking advantage of an error as Kenzie Middleton scored, and Miki Berg later picked up a sacrifice line out to bring the gap to one. The second inning was when things got out of hand for the visitors entirely.
Kenzie Middleton walked with the bases full to tie it up, and then CCU exploded offensively. Edwards singled in a run, and another defensive error from the Yellow Jackets stung as two more Cougars scored. Logan Menzies then singled home two runs before Leah Garcia did the exact same thing to push the lead to 10-3. CCU was not done yet, as Mikayla Oaks doubled in a run and Kenzie Middleton slapped a double as well to score Oaks. Olsen singled in the 13th run, and a wild pitch allowed Edwards to come home as part of a 12 run inning for Colorado Christian.
After the onslaught by the offense, Samaria Roope entered in with a big lead and never looked back. Kayla Middleton gave her pitcher even more insurance with a solo homer, and a Kenzie Middleton triple put the icing on the cake of an 18-5 victory and series sweep.
Abrie Castillo snagged win number 15 while Roope picked up the save. Kenzie Middleton led the offense with four RBI in the game.
TRACK AND FIELD RECAP
Wichita, KS- The CCU Cougars headed to Wichita Kansas this weekend to open competition at the 75th Annual KT Woodman Classic.The meet consisted of 40 teams from multiple conferences throughout the U.S.
DAY ONE
The Cougars started the day off strong as Trent Cochran quickly set the pace taking 2nd in the 1500m with a time of 3:50. Trent's first 1500m race of the year highlighted day one for the Cougars. Molly Miller also ran the 1500m with a new personal best of 4:47.
Trent wasn't the only Cougar with an amazing performance as freshman, Mateo Luna, added his name to the CCU all-time top ten list in the 800m. He ran a personal best of 1:55.11 taking 9th place. Teammate, Klay Grant, was right behind him with a time of 1:55.68.
Reagan Boling also competed in the 800m for the women and ran just 0.12 off of her personal best.
The Cougars saw many more personal bests including Alayna Wallace in the 5,000m, Tate Fletcher also in the 5,000m, and Noah Burroughs in the 10,000m.
DAY TWO
Ashley Vil's performance in the triple jump highlighted the second day of the meet as her massive jump led to a new school record of 11.15m.
Top of the conference runner, Tyler Bradley, ran another amazing race in the 100m with a time of 10.68, only 0.05 off of his personal best. He continues to be one of the top runners in the RMAC in both the 100m and 200m.
Sprinter, Hannah George, is consistently making a name for herself as she took 7th in the 100m posting a time of 12.25, only .01 off of her personal best.
Tara Smoker also had a great day as she added her name to the CCU all-time top 10 list as the 2nd fastest runner in both the 100m and 200m.
Coach Jon Poag says, "We had a lot of strong performances this weekend. Friday evening produced loads of personal and seasonal bests, and that moment continued on Saturday. Excited to see our athletes improving week after week."
BASEBALL RECAP
4/7 Billings, MT-The Cougars kicked off their series this weekend against Montana State University Billings. The first game was a struggle but they quickly picked up the pace and snagged a win in the second game.
GAME ONE
The Cougars' first game started with a tough loss. They struggled to create any momentum and their offense stalled out in the 30-6 loss. CCU had a hard time early in the game both offensively and pitching. They got down 8-0 in the first 2-innings before scoring two runs in the third inning. The offense couldn't maintain consistent production and the pitching staff struggled all game to keep runs from scoring.
The key highlight of the game for CCU was freshman Dorian Pacheco. The freshman had an outstanding three-hit game. This was the first multi-hit game of his career. CCU looked to regroup and compete hard in game two of the doubleheader.
GAME TWO
Game 2 was a completely different story than game one. While game one was an offensive explosion by MSUB, the Cougars pitched outstandingly in game two, holding them to just two runs. CCU completely flipped the switch and fought hard to win the second game of the doubleheader 6-2.
Jake Gimbel toed the mound for the Cougars and pitched a very impressive game. He threw 6-innings of two-run baseball. He kept MSUB off balance all game while they only racked up four hits against him. To close the game out, head coach Paul Koss selected sophomore pitcher, Chaz Graham, to pitch the last inning. Graham shut down the Yellow Jackets to secure the win.
Offensively, the scoring got started by a booming homerun from Senior outfielder, Gabe Ramos. The Cougars racked up five more add-on runs in the 4th inning which provided all the runs the Cougars needed to split the opening doubleheader for the series.
4/8 BILLINGS, MT – Colorado Christian finished up their series in Montana on Saturday afternoon, closing out the day with two exciting games. The Cougars fought but came up short, and took two more losses from the MSUB Yellowjackets.
GAME ONE
The first game of the day was nine innings filled with action, with a final score total of 9-15. The Yellowjackets were the first on the board after scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the first, but CCU responded in the top of the second with 4 runs to take the lead. The first pair of runs came from Luke Thompson and Aaron Morgan, who singled and walked. Russell Cruz also walked to load the bases for Eli Ludwig, who reached first on an error that also brought home Thompson and Morgan. Cruz then crossed the plate after a single from Frankie Shearn. Capitalizing on another error, Ludwig made it home to put the Cougars ahead at 4-3. MSUB tallied a single run in the bottom of the inning to tie up the game, then caught momentum in the bottom of the third and scored 6 to take the lead.
The next run for Colorado Christian came in the top of the fourth from Aaron Morgan who homered to right center. The net pair of runs for the Cougars came in the fifth. Caden Walton singled, advanced when Jordan Medina walked, then got to third when Luke Thompson reached on a fielder's choice, then scored on a single from Major Maydon. Thompson was right behind him and took advantage of an error to put the Cougars at 7 runs to the Yellowjackets' 10. CCU was unable to score again until the ninth when another error landed them two runs. Eli Ludwig got it started with a single, then advanced to third on an error that got Frankie Shearn on first. Both Ludwig and Shearn made it home thanks to a double from Medina.
GAME TWO
The final game of the series was seven innings of exciting play, which unfortunately ended in a walk-off win for MSUB. Colorado Christian was the first to score, after earning a pair of runs in the first. Saxton Sorenson got the game started with a single, followed by a single from Gabe Ramos, then another single from Jordan Medina that brought home Sorenson. Major Maydon hit another single to bring home Ramos, putting the Cougars up 2-0. The next couple innings were quick for both teams, until the Yellowjackets scored 3 in the bottom of the third. The fourth inning saw both teams only getting 3 batters up. Sneaking in a single run in both the fifth and sixth, MSUB now had a 3-run lead over the Cougars going into the final inning. With the pressure on and a need to score, CCU came into the final inning and had two outs right away. Not letting down, Boedy Flores stepped up and hit a double to ignite some hope back into the team. Sorenson then walked, and Luke Thompson singled to bring home Flores and make it a 2-run game. Next up was Gabe Ramos – who after an 0-1 count homered to right center to put CCU up by 1, 6-5. The Yellowjackets then had their chance and were able to sneak away with the win, after they had 2 outs and a runner on third that was followed by a walk-off homerun to take the game and the series in a thrilling finish.
Next up: This week our softball team will now face their toughest stretch of the season with a trip to MSU Denver to take on the Roadrunners beginning April 14 at 12pm and 2pm MST. The track team will also compete Friday and Saturday as they head to California to compete in the Bryan Klay Invitational on April 14th and 15th. Last but not least, baseball will be back at home for their next series against CSU Pueblo, beginning on Friday, April 14th, at 3pm.
