Recap: @bearssoftball Starts the Day With a Win, Drops Evening Game

Friday, March 2

Fayetteville, AR

5:30 pm

University of Northern Colorado

9-9

University of Arkansas

12-1

Northern Colorado

Arkansas

3/2/2018 10:31:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Northern Colorado defeated Central Connecticut State and lost to Arkansas in the first day of the Razorback Invitational

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo.- Northern Colorado softball split its first two games in the Razorback Invitational, starting out with an 8-3 win over Central Connecticut State and then a 9-0 defeat to Arkansas in six innings.

UNC (9-9) played well in all three aspects of the game against the Blue Devils to earn the win. Against Arkansas, the Bears pitching staff could not control the Razorback lineup and Mary Haff pitched a no-hitter.

Northern Colorado-Central Connecticut State
Valerie Vidal was in the circle for UNC to start the game and pitched against Central Connecticut State's Ashley Antonazzo. The UNC bats got going early against Antonazzo, with Lauren Paige and Jordyn Wiatrak singling in runs to give the Bears a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

UNC broke the game open in the bottom of the second inning after Cheyenne Talmadge, Mady Young, and Madi Schmidt reached base to start the inning.

Kaley Garcia took advantage with a single into left field that scored Talmadge. Wiatrak would deliver another single to center field and Young would come into score for a 4-0 Bear lead. The lineup was not done yet, as Emma Brockman stepped up with a double to right that cleared the bases. UNC scored five runs on five hits and lead the Blue Devils 7-0 and Antonazzo would be taken out of the game.

Vidal was cruising along for the Bears, allowing four baserunners in four innings, but keeping them all from scoring.

In the top of the fifth inning, Kelli Kleis entered the game to relieve Vidal and the Blue Devils put the first two batters on base against her. Lex Debrosse doubled to left field and Central Connecticut St. was on the board, trailing UNC 7-2.

Kleis settled down in the top of the sixth and the lineup gave her another insurance run in the bottom of the inning. Garcia would single, advance to second on a wild pitch from Emily Sargent, steal third base, and finally score on another wild pitch. The Bears had an 8-2 lead going to top of the seventh and the last chance for the Blue Devils.

Central Connecticut St. made noise in the inning, getting a single and a walk to lead-off the inning. Kleis was taken out of the game and Vidal reentered to close out the game. The Blue Devils added a run on a Kerri Dadalski single, but Vidal was able limit the damage to that and UNC won the game 8-3.

Northern Colorado (9-8) played a complete game with eight of nine batters getting a hit. Vidal had another strong outing from both the starter role and in relief. The defense had a solid game with no errors and limiting the Blue Devils from extending any innings.

Northern Colorado-Arkansas
Lauren Paige got the start in the circle for the Bears in game two, opposite of Razorbacks pitcher Haff. The Razorbacks started fast with Hannah McEwen hitting a two-run homer off Paige to give Arkansas a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

Arkansas struck again in the bottom of the second inning, when Haydi Bugarin tripled in another run for a 3-0 Razorback advantage.

Moving to the bottom of the third, Arkansas put runners on second and third with no outs. Kayla Green would step up to the plate and hit a three-run homer and Razorback lead and ballooned to 6-0.

Haff was dominate in circle for Arkansas, allowing one walk in the first three innings to keep the Bears hitters off balance.

Chandler Elsner relived Paige in the bottom of the fourth inning and set the Razorbacks down in straight order. Elsner would continue to be effective in top of the fifth with another one-two-three inning for UNC, to keep the game going.

In the bottom of the seventh, Arkansas would get to Elsner, starting with two hits to put runners on the corners with no outs. A double would would score one run and put the Razorbacks at a 7-0 advantage, looking to end the game. McEwen did just that with her next at bat, singling to bring two runs home and build a 9-0 advantage for Arkansas. The Razorbacks lead allowed the game to end with the eight-run ruling coming into effect.

Haff completed the no-hitter without having to pitch the top of the seventh. She struck out 12 and walked four Bears. UNC lost the second game 9-0 and its record dropped to 9-9 on the season.

In their words
Shana Easley, Head Coach

Game 1
"We came out ready to play and were able to put several runs up quickly to knock their first pitcher out of the game. Kaley had a great game at the plate leading our offense."

Game 2
"We struggled getting into hitters counts against Arkansas' pitcher and were working from behind most of the time in the at bats. Elsner did a nice job quieting their offense in the 4^th and 5^th."

Notes

Kaley Garcia went 3-for-4 against Central Connecticut State, scoring three runs and had one RBI. It was Garcia's second three-hit game of the year and she has a .295 average this season.
Emma Brockmann continues to come up with big hits for the Bears, knocking in three runs on her third double of the season to break the game open. She leads UNC with 13 RBIs this season and has a .278 average.
Valerie Vidal pitched well to start the game against the Blue Devils and came up clutch when she reentered the game to secure the win for UNC. She totaled five innings, no runs, five hits, and four strikeouts, and one walk. Vidal has six wins on the season and a 2.32 ERA.
Jordyn Wiatrak went 2-for-3, with two RBIs and scored one run. Wiatrak is second on the team with 12 RBIs and a .321 batting average.

Next Up
Northern Colorado will be back on the field on Saturday for two more games. The Bears first play Dartmouth at 10 A.M. (MT) and then another game against Central Connecticut State at 12:30 P.M.