Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 DENVER, Colo.: The Ranger women's softball team swept the first day of their series with the Cowgirls of New Mexico Highlands.
Senior right-hander Nikki Haberkorn put up an all-star performance on the mound in the first game, keeping the Cowgirls to three total hits and one run, while striking out eight in 25 batters faced. The Rangers collected nine hits in the seven inning matchup.
"At practice, we worked on focusing on our at bats, going one pitch at a time," commented Haberkorn. "One thing at a time to help in the big picture; one at bat, one pitch."
The women put up one run in both the first and second innings to start the day. In the first, freshman Rachel Illias singled to second and advanced on a throwing error by the second baseman. She advanced to third on a double from junior Shannon Massine and scored on a single to the shortstop by junior Alyssa Beskid.
The Rangers started the second inning with senior Cassie Long reaching on a walk and advancing to second on a wild pitch. Haberkorn reached then reached on an error by the first baseman and senior Maegan Cooley reached on a fielder's choice that put Haberkorn out at second, while advancing Long to third. Illias singled up the middle to score her teammate.
The women would capitalize again in the fourth, putting up four runs on one hit and four errors, and again in the fifth with a single down the left field line by Cooley.
Illias put in a 3-for-3 performance at the plate with one RBI and one walk. Massine hit 2-for-4 during the game. Four other Rangers had hits, while sophomore Breanna Backlund had two RBIs and Beskid and Cooley also put up an RBI.
The Rangers kept up their strong performances at the plate in the second game to collect 11 hits and 13 runs. They put up four runs in the first and three in the second to go up 7-1 going into the third inning.
The first inning started with Illias singling to the shortstop and stealing second. Backlund singled to third to continue play and Beskid singled through the right side, advancing to second on the throw and scoring Illias. Freshman Taylor Wilcox reached first on a hit by pitch and Long collected an RBI by grounding out to the second baseman. Haberkorn singled down the right field line to score both Wilcox and Beskid before the inning closed.
In the second inning, freshman Breanna Bogdajeiwcz singled through the right side by bunting, and advanced second on a single by Illias. Both women advanced on a bunt by Massine and Bogdajeiwcz scored when Backlund doubled through the left side. Illias and Backlund then scored on a single down the right field line by Beskid.
The Cowgirls closed out the inning after turning the circle over to Erica Wieck. The Cowgirls would score one run in the second and two in both the third and fourth innings to bring the score to 7-5 going into the fifth.
Both teams would not score in the fifth, before the Rangers took over the sixth inning by scoring six runs to take the win. The women scored those six runs on three hits and two Cowgirl errors.
Illias put in another sterling performance at the plate going 3-for-4 in the second game. Backlund recorded a 3-for-3 performance with one walk and one RBI. Beskid went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and one walk while Long collected two RBIs and Haberkorn put up three.
"We've been focusing on being ready for the next pitch and thinking aggressively," stated Illias on the day. "We've been working on situational hitting and getting a lot of reps at practice to get us ready."
Freshman Sydney Gaffin started the game for the Rangers, striking out two and allowing five runs in second hits before freshman Molly Tyler took over the circle. Tyler struck out two and allowed only two hits in her three innings, while walking one.
The Highlands series continues Sunday, March 25th at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
