@BearsSoftball Begins Conference Play in Home Opener

Northern Colorado softball will finally be at home this weekend as they open their conference schedule at Gloria Rodriguez Field. UNC will open Big Sky play against Weber State with a three-game series against the Wildcats.

This past weekend, the Bears went 1-3 at the Billiken Spring Tournament hosted by Saint Louis University. UNC scored a 6-3, extra-innings win over Nebraska-Omaha.

Valerie Vidal pitched the entire eight-innings in the win over Nebraska-Omaha to earn her fifth win of the season. On the season Vidal has pitched 113.2 innings with eight complete games, with 71 strikeouts and 34 walks.

Emma Brockmann had one of her best tournaments of the season in St. Louis, going five-for-13 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Brockmann hit her first home run of the season against Northern Illinois and had the key, two-run single against Nebraska Omaha to help the Bears win.

Dani Young and Shaena Robinson continued to both add power to the Bears lineup, with each going four-for-13 and a home run. Young hit her second of the season and career, while recording five RBIs and two runs scored. Robinson hit her team-leading third of the year, accounting for her one RBI and she also had two runs scored.

Cheyenne Talmadge had a productive weekend, batting four-for-15 with four runs scored in the four games. Talmadge is second on the team with nine runs scored and third with 17 hits.

Kenzie Kudrna tallied three hits over the weekend in 15 plate appearances. Kurdrna leads UNC with a .296 average on the season, with 25 total hits and 11 runs scored.

UNC will look to take their first step towards qualifying for the Big Sky Tournament this weekend with three games against Weber State.

Scouting the Wildcats

Weber State will open conference play with a 7-17 record, going 0-2 on the road. The Wildcats went 3-2 in the Grand Canyon Tournament this past weekend. In Phoenix, Weber State had two wins over Lehigh(11-2, 13-5) and one against Ohio State(4-0). The Wildcats dropped both games against Grand Canyon, 0-2. Junior Takesha Saltern leads Weber State with a .413 batting average and 13 runs scored and three RBIs. Sophomore Chloe Camarero is the top run producer for the Wildcats with 14 RBIs and also leads the team with six doubles. Senior Tatiana Su'esu'e has been the workhorse in circle, pitching 73.1 innings with a 5.28 ERA and a 4-8 record, while recording 29 strikeouts and 28 walks.

Northern Colorado dropped two-out-of-three games to Weber State during the regular season, but upset the Wildcats in the Big Sky Tournament.

Following the Bears

Northern Colorado will play a double-header against Weber State on Friday, March 22^nd with game one beginning at 1 pm MST and game two scheduled for 3 pm or 30 minutes after completion of the first game. The series will conclude on Saturday, March 23^rd with first pitch scheduled for 12 pm.

All games are free and open to public. Live stats are avalaible through UNCBears.com and follow the games live on Twitter with @BearsSoftball.