PUEBLO, CO - February 9, 2008 - The Fort Lewis College softball team dropped three games on their 2008 opening day at the CSU-Pueblo spring tournament. The Skyhawks dropped two 3-5 decision to Metro State and CSU-Pueblo and a 2-12 loss to UC-Colorado Springs. The games were non-conference contests as part of the CSU-Pueblo tournament.
In their first game of the day, against first-year program Metro State, the Skyhawks struck first with three runs in the top of the third inning. Barb Duran (Denver, CO/Wheatridge) led off the inning with a homer and Felicia Cruz (Phoenix, AZ/Glendale CC) hit a two-RBI double later in the inning as the only Skyhawk runs of the game. The Skyhawks held on to the 3-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Roadrunners tied the score at three. Just one inning later the Roadrunners grabbed the lead with two runs with two outs. The Skyhawks could not answer with any runs in the top of the seventh as Metro retired the side.
In the second game of the day, the UC-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions opened an early lead scoring nine runs in the bottom off just five hits and two errors. The Mountain Lions added two in the bottom of the second and the Skyhawks scored their only two in the top of the third. Jenna Peters (Pinole, CA/Diablo Valley CC) hit a two-run homer driving in Andrea VanLandinham (Denver, CO/Lakewood) from third base. Fort Lewis went hit-less in the remaining two innings.
The Skyhawks took on host, CSU-Pueblo in their final match of the day. The Thunderwolves opened scoring in the second inning with two runs. They added three in the bottom of the fourth inning, just after the Skyhawks scored their first of the game. Fort Lewis added one more run in each of the next two innings, but a seventh inning comeback was not in store as the Skyhawks dropped their third of the day.
Cruz and Joanna Young (Fontana, CA/Fontana) both went 2-for-6 on the day, while VanLandinham went 3-for-10. Peters drove in three runs, Cruz brought in two and Duran and Stevie Benedict (Hillsboro, OR/College of the Siskiyous) each recorded a RBI of their own.
The Skyhawks hope to turn things around tomorrow in day two of the tournament with a pair of games against Fort Hays State (10 a.m.) and Regis (Noon). A full recap of tomorrow's games will be posted right here on www.goskyhawks.com tomorrow afternoon.
Box Score - Game One
Box Score - Game Two
Box Score - Game Three
