LAKEWOOD, CO- The Cougars took on the 2-seeded Mavericks from Colorado Mesa on Friday in a highly anticipated matchup of the two top ranked teams in the RMAC Tournament. CCU struck in the first inning and trailed very briefly before striking back and closing out a 4-2 victory to book a spot in the RMAC title game on Saturday.
Colorado Christian started hot as
Peyton Marvel led off the game with a single and
Elyse McMullin immediately brought her home with a double down the right field line. A two-run homer in the second put the Mavericks on top, but the lead would be short lived.
McMullin drew a walk in the third, and
Danae Lopez stepped into the box and roped a triple down the right field line to tie the game at 2-2. Starting in the top of the fourth, Head Coach
Larry Hays made the decision to go to sophomore
Hanna Espinoza in the circle, and the move paid dividends the next four innings.
CMU could not do anything in the fourth, setting the stage for a big bottom half of the inning for the Cougars.
Sarah Dollerschell doubled home
Kat Hanson to put her team ahead 3-2 as the home crowd went wild. Marvel popped a ball high into the air, dropping it between the shortstop and left fielder for an RBI double as Dollerschell raced home for an important insurance run to make it 4-2.
Espinoza continued to deal, setting down the Mavericks quickly in the fifth and stranding two runners on base in the sixth. Leading 4-2 in the top of the seventh, Hanna shut down the top of the CMU lineup, inducing All-American Myah Arrieta to fly out and getting two straight groundouts to shortstop to close a gritty 4-2 win.
Espinoza was clinical in relief of
Emma Duncan, throwing four shutout innings as she stopped a potent Colorado Mesa offense and claimed her third win of the season. Timely hitting and baserunning led to an RBI from four different players in the impressive victory.
The Cougars now advance to the RMAC Tournament title game where they will have a rematch with Colorado Mesa on May 3 at 11 a.m. MST. CCU needs just one win to clinch the title, with CMU needing to defeat the hosts twice to win the RMAC.
