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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Leavell & Hefley 5.14
Kylyn Rigsby, CMU Athletics
FLC freshman Brianna Leavell (#14) and junior McKenna Hefley (#3) celebrate after a home run during Friday RMAC Tournament action.
8
CO. School of Mines CSM 22-15-1
9
Winner Fort Lewis College FLCSB 20-22
CO. School of Mines CSM
22-15-1
8
Final
9
Fort Lewis College FLCSB
20-22
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
CO. School of Mines CSM 1 0 0 4 0 1 2 8 11 1
Fort Lewis College FLCSB 2 0 4 2 1 0 X 9 10 2

W: Leavell, Brianna (9-12) L: Kayleigh Krueger (4-4)

1
Fort Lewis College FLCSB 20-23
3
Winner Regis (CO) RUSB 21-16
Fort Lewis College FLCSB
20-23
1
Final
3
Regis (CO) RUSB
21-16
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Fort Lewis College FLCSB 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 6 1
Regis (CO) RUSB 0 0 2 0 0 1 X 3 5 1

W: A. Covington (2-3) L: Leavell, Brianna (9-13) S: M. Loveland (4)

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

Skyhawks make a Friday run, but fall one win shy of RMAC Tournament semi-final

GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado — Backs against the wall, the Fort Lewis College softball team entered Friday's Day Two of the RMAC Tournament hungry for an extended stay in Grand Junction.

The No. 6 seeded Skyhawks were able to accomplish just that, earning the program's first RMAC Tournament victory since 2014 when they downed No. 4 seed Colorado School of Mines to begin the day, grinding out a wild 9-8 victory over the Orediggers.

With the victory in the afternoon, Fort Lewis advanced to Friday night's finale under the lights against No. 5 seed Regis. Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, they were unable to keep the hot hitting going as they fell in a pitcher's duel to Regis, 3-1.

Fort Lewis finishes the season 20-23 overall; a big stride forward for the program after going 16-37 in 2019 and 11-11 overall during a Covid-19 shortened 2020 season.
 
Game One

The Skyhawks slugged their way to victory in their first game on Friday, tying a school record with five home runs — two courtesy of freshman Brianna Leavell — in a back-and-forth against the Orediggers.

Friday marked the third time in program history that FLC has tallied five home runs in a single game. The first time came back on March 7, 2012 on the road against Colorado Mesa University, while the 2021 Skyhawks also accomplished the feat earlier this spring on April 3 when the Skyhawks defeated UCCS, 14-3.

FLC junior outfielder Kylie Hefley got the long ball party started in the bottom of the first inning as she lined a two-run shot to right center — giving her a career-high seven home runs this spring — to make it a 2-1 lead for the Skyhawks.

Kylie Hefley, who finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, would add a RBI double to kick-off a four-run third inning for the Skyhawks. She'd score one batter later via Leavell's first home run of the ball to deep center.

McKenna Hefley capped the inning in style, going back-to-back with Leavell as she yanked her ninth home run of the spring down the left-field line to balloon FLC's lead to 6-1.

The two homers for Leavell gave her a team-leading 10 home runs on the spring, while the trio batting 3-4-5 in the heart of the Skyhawks' order combined to finish 6-for-11 with seven RBI and four home runs in the victory.

Colorado School of Mines (22-15-1 overall) did not go away quietly, striking for four runs of its own in the top of the fourth inning to inch back within run at 6-5.

Fort Lewis answered with two runs in the home-half of the fourth on a big swing from junior catcher Taylor Beaman, who launched her first home run of the spring — and third home run of her career — to give FLC some breathing room again at 8-5.

Leavell's second home run of the game — a solo shot to right center in the fifth inning — upped FLC's lead to 9-5 and prove to be the game-winner as the Orediggers again made a late run back at the Skyhawks, scoring a run in the sixth and two in the seventh before Leavell was able to slam the door in the pitcher's circle.
 
Game Two

Playing in the final game on Friday's slate, and a chance to advance to Saturday's semi-finals, the Skyhawks lost a tight 3-1 ballgame to Regis University.

Fort Lewis out-hit the Rangers (21-16 overall), but were unable to string enough big hits together, leaving seven runners on base.

Regis struck first with two runs in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run home run by Jessi Case. The score remained 2-0 until the top of the fifth when Kylie Hefley grounded out to shortstop, scoring senior Pilar Gutierrez from third.

The next batter, Leavell lined a frozen rope to third that appeared destined to tie the game at 2-2, but Case snagged it on a line for the third out of the inning.

Fort Lewis threatened again in the sixth, with McKenna Hefley leading off the inning with a single and advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Jadyn Gilley. Sophomore shortstop Courtney Huff followed with a slow grounder to the left side that resulted in Hefley being called out for runner interference as she ran toward third. Instead of first and third with one out, the play resulted in the second out and defused the FLC threat.

Regis took advantage of the momentum change, adding an insurance run in the home-half of the sixth to make it a 3-1 advantage.

With the win, Regis advanced to Saturday's semi-final matchup against No. 1 seed Colorado Mesa University.

The Skyhawks will now turn their attention toward the offseason as they look to build off the success in 2021 as the 20 wins — coming in an abbreviated spring season — are the most for a FLC program since the 2014 season.
 
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