Softball starts season with a pair of losses in El Paso

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Box score (game one) | Box score (game two)

EL PASO, Texas -- Northern Colorado softball got its season and the Mark Montgomery era off to a slow start Thursday, dropping a pair of games to UTEP at Helen of Troy Softball Complex.

Senior Kelli Henderson (0-1) struggled in the circle in game one, surrending 12 runs (eight earned) in a 12-1 run-rule defeat in the Bears' fifth straight season-opening loss.

Northern Colorado (0-2) fared a bit better in the second game, matching zeros with the Miners for three innings before seeing UTEP score two in the fourth, one in the fifth and three in the sixth in a 6-2 loss.

Senior Jamie Juelfs (0-1) allowed just two earned runs in her first start of the season and struck out three and walked none. True-freshman Megan Wilkinson gave up three earned runs in two innings of relief.

Junior Erin Geddis had a solid offensive day in the two games, going 2-for-3 at the plate in game one and compiling three stolen bases on the day after swiping just nine all last season.

Megan Hamilton finished 2-for-2 at the plate in the nightcap, and Erin Wilkinson got her season started off with a two-game hitting streak with a single in game one a double in game two.

Northern Colorado will now retrace its steps and head back north on I-25 to take part Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Hotel Encanto Invitational at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M.

Northern Colorado, which compiled an impressive 7-1 mark during its 2010 fall exhibition schedule, will face the host Aggies on Friday before taking on rival Colorado State on Saturday as well as NMSU again.

The Bears will then end their season-opening road trip against Minnesota on Sunday morning.