FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Drake softball team ended its time in the Rocky Mountain State on Monday afternoon with an extra innings victory over the Colorado State Rams by a score of 9-8.
After the first inning went scoreless, the Bulldogs exploded for a six-run frame in the top of the second to grab the lead. Drake used a trio of RBI doubles from
Lili Gonzalez,
Kiley Kindelspire, and
Ava Curry to produce most of the damage, while
Tatum Aragon chipped in with an RBI base knock.
Colorado State responded in its half of the second inning with two runs of its own off an RBI groundout and single, but the Bulldog lead remained with
Jayme Scheck in the pitchers circle taking over for starter
Ava Husak.
Drake added to its lead in the fourth as Aragon, a Fort Collins native, tallied an RBI double to her good day at the plate. The Bulldogs also added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Gonzalez stepped up and recorded her second double of the day, which brought in
Natalee Watts racing all the way home from first base.
The bottom of the seventh is when it got shaky for Drake, however. Despite owning an 8-2 lead, the Rams went on a furious rally and tied the game up at 8-8. Colorado State started its rally by playing small ball and scored its first two runs off singles. A steal home and an RBI groundout then followed, which made way for a two-run double to bring the scoreboard even at 8-8.
The Bulldogs eventually got out of the jam in the bottom of the seventh after CSU loaded the bases and was threatening to end the game entirely. After multiple defensive switches and a pitching change,
Ashlynn Sheets produced a groundout to end the inning and move the game into extras.
In the eighth, Drake capitalized right away and scored one run off the bat of
Pearson Hall on a sacrifice fly. Kindelspire scored the run after starting the inning on second base and was moved over to third due to a sacrifice bunt from
Frankie Rita.
Hall's sacrifice fly proved to be the game-winning hit as Sheets shutdown the Rams' bats in the home half of the eighth. CSU did get a runner to third using the same sacrifice bunt strategy the Bulldogs used, but Sheets and the Bulldog defense held the runner from scoring to secure the win.
Drake returns home for its next games and welcomes St. Thomas (MN) to Buel Field for a home opening doubleheader on Wednesday, March 11. First pitch of game one against the Tommies is scheduled for 2 p.m. with game two scheduled to start approximately around 4:30 p.m.
