@BearsSoftball Gets One Versus Weber on First Day of Series

Friday, April 7

Greeley, CO

1:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

15-23, 0

Weber State University

20-12-1, 0

Weber State

Northern Colorado

4/7/2017 6:39:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Thomas Hoffman, uncbears.com

GAME 1 (PDF) | GAME 2 (PDF)

Greeley, Colo – Facing the number one team in the Big Sky Conference Friday, Northern Colorado Softball won their first of a double-header in dramatic fashion, 4-3. Fate was not on their side in the days' second game, falling 8-0 in five innings.

GAME 1
Quickly the Northern Colarodo defense was tested in the first inning. Weber State's lead-off hitter climbed aboard safely with a single, and swiftly made her way to third. Jayme Reddacliff and the Bears stood tough, however, holding her at bay to keep the Wildcats from scoring.

Erica Dick wasted no time reaching first base on four straight pitches to open up the bottom half of the frame. After Sophia Taylor swapped places with Dick thanks to a fielder's choice, Lauren Paige broke open the scoring with an RBI single.

Back in the circle, Jayme Reddacliff was stellar all afternoon long. The senior pitcher didn't allow another hit until the fourth inning. Even then, UNC's iron woman, Adeline Colidron, caught the runner stealing. It was Coldiron's 14^th runner caught this season, leading the Big Sky Conference by more than five.

Offensively, UNC threats were coming more regular, but Weber State seemed to thwart any attack during the middle innings. The Bears left the bases loaded in the second, two in the fourth and one in the fifth.

In the sixth inning, WSU finally broke its scoring drought off of two hits and a walk, taking the lead 2-1. The Wildcats would add another in the seventh on the first extra-base hit for the away side, extending their advantage 3-1.
Then came the bottom of the seventh inning.
With the top of the order due up, It wasn't exactly desperation time for the Bears just yet. Sophia Taylor singled up the middle with two outs, giving UNC's home run queen and birthday girl, a crack at the dish. On a 2-2 count, Jordyn Wiatrak launched a moonshot to deep left center field, flying over the fence, enticing an uproar from the Northern Colorado faithful and tying the game at three.

Valeria Vidal, who had taken over pitching duties in the seventh frame, came back out to the circle with a renewed focus in the eighth. Two strikeouts and a lineout highlighted one of the quickest innings for UNC all day.

Rachel Johnson got things going in the bottom half of the eighth with a walk, quickly followed by a single for Kaley Garcia, who already had two doubles in prior at-bats. That brought Kelli Kleis to the plate, pinch hitting for Coldiron. Kleis took her 2-2 pitch to deep left center, bouncing it off the wall and bringing in Holtz, running in place of Johnson, and lifting the Bears over the Wildcats, 4-3.

GAME 2

The Wildcats looked to strike quickly after the Bears' heroing victory in game one. Weber struck for two runs on three hits, including a home run to take a quick 2-0 lead.

A quiet second inning, allowed Kleis, the hero from game one, a chance to take the circle in game two. Two more hits, plus an error saw WSU push across two more runs, stretching their lead, 4-0.

Leaving runners on base continued to be an issue for UNC in game two, stranding two more in the third inning, despite garnering two hits in the inning.

In the fourth inning, Fort Colling native, Autumn Anderson got her first crack at the Weber State lineup. A trio of errors as well as some slow rolling ground balls led the Wildcats to four more run. All of the sudden the Bears needed at least one run in the next two innings to extend the contest.

A two-out double from Rachel Johnson showed a spark of life from the UNC offense. However, Garcia wasn't able to bring her home, grounding out to first base to end the inning.

Looking for insurance runs in the fifth inning, the Wildcats loaded the bases in the fifth inning. The Freshman, Anderson was able to force the pop out, though, keeping the deficit at eight.

Rally caps took over the crows on-hand at Gloria Rodriguez field in the fifth, looking for another late-inning spectacle. None would arrive, however, as the Bears went down in order, ending game two, 8-0.

KEY STAT
Team Batting Average – Northern Colorado boasted a team average of .286 at the plate Friday, while the Wildcats hit just .268.

MOST VALUABLE BEAR
Jordyn Wiatrak – The birthday girl hit 2-6 (.333) at the dish today, including the game-tying home run in the seventh inning of game one.

IN THEIR WORDS
Shana Easley, Head Coach
"Jayme gave us a great performance in game one today. Her leadership on the mound gave kept us in the game all afternoon long and luckily we were able to get it done in extras."

"In game two, we were a little tentative at the plate. That pitcher was showing us the same thing all afternoon long and we just weren't able to adjust. If we see her again tomorrow, we'll know what we have to do."

Third Baseman, Jordyn Wiatrak
"She gave me a perfect pitch to hit on the home run. As soon as I hit it, I knew I made good contact, when it went over the fence, I was just happy to put my team in a position to get the win, which Kelli did in the eighth."

NOTABLES
-Kaley Garcia notched two doubles in Friday's contests, with three total hits, and five total bases.
-Freshman Sophia Taylor led the team with two runs. She also had two hits on the afternoon, including a triple.
-Adeline Coldiron threw out her 14^th runner in 2017. She leads the conference in that category and is six clear of the closest competitor.
--Coldiron was also hit for the 10^th time this season. She is just two away from a single-season school record.

UP NEXT
Northern Colorado and Weber State Finish out their series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1pm. Games are free and open to the public.