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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Jadyn Gilley 4.24
Bob Bonnar, FLC Athletics
FLC freshman infielder Jadyn Gilley hit a walk-off RBI single in Saturday's Game One win over Black Hills State.
2
Black Hills State BHSB 3-27
3
Winner Fort Lewis College FLCSB 13-20
Black Hills State BHSB
3-27
2
Final
3
Fort Lewis College FLCSB
13-20
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Black Hills State BHSB 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 7 3
Fort Lewis College FLCSB 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 9 1

W: Leavell, Brianna (7-10) L: Crystal Amaral (2-14)

2
Black Hills State BHSB 3-28
4
Winner Fort Lewis College FLCSB 14-20
Black Hills State BHSB
3-28
2
Final
4
Fort Lewis College FLCSB
14-20
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Black Hills State BHSB 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 2
Fort Lewis College FLCSB 2 0 0 1 1 0 X 4 8 3

W: Keahbone, Kendra (6-2) L: Shayla Tuschen (1-2)

Game Recap: Softball | | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Timely hits and two strong starts propel Skyhawks to Saturday sweep of Black Hills

DURANGO, Colorado — With the 2021 regular season whittling down, and in the midst of the playoff hunt, the Fort Lewis College softball team picked up a pair of crucial wins Saturday to open its four-game series against Black Hills State University.

Fort Lewis (14-20 overall, 14-16 RMAC) won Game One in thrilling fashion, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh to walk-off the Yellow Jackets (3-28 overall, 3-28 RMAC) by a 3-2 final. The Skyhawks then came from behind again in Game Two, grinding out a 4-2 victory to conclude the doubleheader.

"We're happy we both games not really playing exactly how we wanted to play today, but we were able to get two wins out of it," said FLC head softball coach, Ashley Reeves.
 
Game One

Down to their final three outs, and facing a 2-1 deficit, the Skyhawks' offense came to life at the right time in Saturday's series opener as they pushed across two runs, including back-to-back two-out RBI singles to earn the walk-off win.

Junior outfielder Kylie Hefley got the rally started with a one-out double to left field. Two batters later, she trotted home on the RBI single from her twin sister McKenna Hefley, tying the ballgame at 2-2.

"It helps that we've been in that situation before," Reeves said of the seventh inning rally. "We just tell the girls to keep competing and that the game is never over until that last out."

The last out never came for the Yellow Jackets as the single from McKenna Hefley was misplayed in left, rolling all the way to the wall and allowing the Skyhawks' infielder to motor all the way to third base on the error. It set the stage for freshman Jadyn Gilley to play hero as she roped the walk-off single into left field the very next at-bat and was mobbed by her teammates behind second base.

"I'm really proud of Jadyn for how well she's performed not only offensively, but defensively, as she played first base and third base for us today. She's stepped up and she has been in a situation like that before, hitting a home run to tie a game against Highlands," Reeves said. "She's one of those kids who is a threat every time she steps in the box and we have the confidence in her that, when she does step in the box, she's going to get it done."

FLC's third run of the ballgame came back in the first inning when senior outfielder Shelby Hotchkiss singled and stole second — one of three stolen bases for the Skyhawks in Game One — before trotting home on a wild pitch two batters later.

In the pitcher's circle, freshman Brianna Leavell (7-10) picked up her seventh win of the season, limiting the Yellow Jackets to two runs — a two-run home run in the fifth — on seven hits while striking out eight.

Kylie Hefley finished 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored, McKenna Hefley was 2-for-4 with a RBI and run scored, while Hotchkiss, Gilley, Leavell, and seniors Hannah Gondini and Pilar Gutierrez all added single to pace the FLC offense.
 
Game Two

In Game Two of the twin bill, the Skyhawks were able to shake off a rough top of the first inning to score four unanswered runs en route to a 4-2 victory.

Fort Lewis answered the initial blow from BHSU with two runs of its own in the home half of the first, courtesy of a two-run home run by McKenna Hefley that scored Hotchkiss. It was the seventh long ball of the season for McKenna and upped her team lead with 31 runs batted in this spring.

"You always want to answer back. Our goal is, 'They score, we score,' and we're always trying to win the inning," Reeves said. "We didn't win the inning, but it was huge to get those two runs back immediately the next half-inning."

The game stayed deadlocked at 2-2 until the fourth inning when the Skyhawks took a 3-2 lead via a RBI single from junior outfielder Azalea Moore that scored Gilley. Both Moore and Gilley finished Game Two 2-for-2 at the plate to lead the Skyhawks' lineup.

FLC would add another insurance run in the fifth inning to make it a 4-2 advantage into the late inning.

It was more than enough run support for right-hander Kendra Keahbone (6-2) as the senior rebounded to toss six straight scoreless innings in her complete-game effort. She earned her sixth win of the season and lowered her team-best earned run average to 2.69 heading into Sunday's series finale.

"She missed a couple of her spots in the first inning, but for the most part Kendra did a great job of commanding her pitches and putting them where we need them," Reeves said.

Keahbone will be one of 10 impact seniors the Skyhawks honor pre-game on Sunday. The Senior Day ceremony is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. prior to the 11 a.m. first pitch of Game Three.

"The 10 graduating seniors, most of them have been here all four years, are definitely deserving of being honored," Reeves said. "We're excited to hopefully send them off with two more wins (Saturday) and get us back to .500 in the RMAC."
 
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