Bears softball loses first two in UTEP Softball Invitational

BOX SCORE: vs. Cal State Northridge
BOX SCORE: vs. UTEP

EL PASO, Texas -- Northern Colorado's softball team suffered through a pair of lopsided losses Thursday at the UTEP Softball Invitational.

The Bears collected four hits in a 10-1 loss to Cal State Northridge early Thursday afternoon before coming back ito get just two hits in a 9-1 loss to the host Miners.

Senior centerfielder Jessie Scheopflin finished 2-3 in the loss to Northridge, while junior transfer Jessica McNabb was 2-2 in the UTEP loss.

Hillarie Van Otterloo started in the circle for Northern Colorado (3-6) in the opener, and she had decent results the first few innings. CSUN then scored sixth in the fourth (four on Otterloo) to blow the game open.

Kelli Henderson then pitched all five innings in the nightcap, surrendering nine earned runs on seven hits.

The Bears will be back on the diamond tomorrow afternoon in the UTEP Invite. A 2 p.m. game is scheduled against San Jose State, and then Samford will come calling at 4 p.m. Both games are available on Gametracker on the Miners' site (www.utepathletics.cstv.com).