Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Softball celebration 4.9
Bob Bonnar, FLC Athletics
5
New Mexico Highlands NMSB 5-20
10
Winner Fort Lewis College FLCSB 9-16
New Mexico Highlands NMSB
5-20
5
Final
10
Fort Lewis College FLCSB
9-16
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
New Mexico Highlands NMSB 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 10 3
Fort Lewis College FLCSB 0 5 0 3 2 0 X 10 9 1

W: Leavell, Brianna (4-8) L: Samantha Gamboa (0-6)

2
New Mexico Highlands NMSB 5-21
5
Winner Fort Lewis College FLCSB 10-16
New Mexico Highlands NMSB
5-21
2
Final
5
Fort Lewis College FLCSB
10-16
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
New Mexico Highlands NMSB 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 11 1
Fort Lewis College FLCSB 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 5 6 0

W: Leavell, Brianna (5-8) L: Nathalie Blattmann (3-11)

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

Hefley's walk-off grand slam lifts Skyhawks to doubleheader sweep of New Mexico Highlands

DURANGO, Colorado — Playing under the lights for the first time since before the renovation of Aspen Field, the Fort Lewis College softball team duly rewarded those we braved the brisk spring Durango evening.

Fort Lewis (10-16 overall, 10-12 RMAC) swept Friday's twin bill against New Mexico Highlands University (5-21 overall, 5-21 RMAC), scoring 10 unanswered runs to swipe Game One, 10-5. Then had junior McKenna Hefley play hero in Game Two, launching a walk-off grand slam deep into the night in right-center for a 5-2 victory.
 
Game Two

Friday night's fireworks capped a wild seventh inning, which started with New Mexico Highlands taking a 2-1 lead in the top of the frame, and ended with a Skyhawks' dogpile at home plate.

With runners on second and third and two outs, the Cowgirls elected to intentionally walk FLC freshman Brianna Leavell to load the bases and create a force all the way around. McKenna Hefley would soon make them regret the decision.

Down to her last strike, Hefley drove a 1-2 offering from Nathalie Blattmann out to deep right-center to lift the Skyhawks to the doubleheader sweep. It was the second home run of the spring and the four RBI upped her total to 19 entering Saturday; second on the team behind Leavell.

"McKenna wanted to be in that position. They had just walked Bri to get to her and I told her, 'Make them pay for it,'" saidFLC head softball coach, Ashley Reeves. "She definitely did. I was so happy for her and for our team."

Friday's finale started off as a pitcher's duel as senior Kendra Keahbone and Blattmann matched zeroes through the game's first five innings.

The Skyhawks briefly took a 1-0 lead on a solo home run for Kylie Hefley, her fourth of the season, to lead off the sixth.

Kylie Hefley would finish 3-for-4 with the home run and a double to help her twin sister McKenna lead the offense.

New Mexico Highlands answered with the two runs in the top of the seventh, a momentary bump in the road prior to Hefley's heroics.

Leavell picked up the win in the pitcher's circle, striking out three in 1.2 innings of relief. It would be the second win she'd record on the evening, improving her hard-luck record to 5-8 overall on the season.

"I was really proud of Bri and our team for stepping up and getting her a couple wins," Reeves said. "Kendra did a great job in her 5.1 innings keeping us at a 0-0 game and then Bri coming in and closing the door."
 
Game One

Friday's first game got off to a shaky start, with the Skyhawks falling behind 5-0 in the top of the second inning following a grand slam from NMHU outfielder Camrynn Ziegler.

The Skyhawks would quickly answer back with five runs of their own in the home half of the second inning, kick-starting an offensive onslaught of 10 unanswered runs to complete the 10-5, come-from-behind victory.

"We knew NMHU was going to be sneaky and we just told the girls to answer back," Reeves said of the early deficit. "We scored five the next half-inning and made it a 0-0 ballgame again. Then we kept on scoring and it was fun to watch us swing the bats and score runs like that."

Freshman infielder Jadyn Gilley got the comeback started with a solo shot to lead off the second inning; tying Kylie Hefley for second on the team with four home runs.

The floodgates opened as sophomore shortstop Courtney Huff plated a run with a RBI groundout, senior Shelby Hotchkiss drove home two with a double to left, and Leavell brought home Hotchkiss two batters later to tie the game at 5-5.

Leavell launched her team-leading 8th home run of the season two innings later in the fourth to give FLC the lead for good at 7-5. She'd add a sacrifice fly in the fifth to give her a team-high four RBI in the game, while McKenna Hefley and senior Pilar Gutierrez each added RBI knocks as well to round out the FLC scoring.

In the pitcher's circle, Leavell shook off the tough second inning to toss a complete game, striking out six versus two walks in her seven innings of work. She finished the day with nine total strikeouts, upping her RMAC lead to 71 on the season entering play on Saturday.

Fort Lewis will hunt a series sweep on Saturday when the two teams resume the series. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Aspen Field.

"The girls had a ton of fun and were all really excited to play under the lights (Friday). They'd never had a night game during their careers here. It was fun," Reeves said. "But what we told them was we need to come ready (Saturday), come out swinging and get our bats going early. Scoring early and often is the goal tomorrow."
 
Print Friendly Version