Morales, Gonzales Power UNC to First Win of the Season

Saturday, February 8

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

12 p.m. (1 p.m. CST)

University of Northern Colorado

1-3

Louisiana Tech

2-2

Louisiana Tech

Northern Colorado

2/8/2025 3:05:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Morales and Gonzales were named to the PV College Challenge All-Tournament team

By: Brooke Richards, Assistant Director of Strategic Communications

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Northern Colorado secured its first win of the season with an 8-4 victory over Louisiana Tech at Nancy Almaraz Field. The Bears' offense came alive early, plating five runs in the first inning and never looking back.

NORTHERN COLORADO 8, LOUISIANA TECH 4
Pitching: (W) Isabelle DiNapoli (1-1); (L) Anna Martin (0-1)

Northern Colorado wasted no time, striking for five runs in the opening frame. Amailee Morales got things started with a second pitch homer, sending a shot over the centerfield fence to put the Bears on the board. Ella Gonzales followed with a two-run blast of her own, extending the lead to 3-0. Krista Francia capped off the inning with an RBI double down the left line, giving UNC an early 5-0 cushion.

Louisiana Tech responded in the second, cutting into the lead with a pair of runs on back-to-back hits, but Isabelle Dinapoli settled in and worked out of the jam.

In the fourth, UNC extended its lead with two more runs. Morales delivered again, blasting a two-run bomb over centerfield. The Bears added one final insurance run in the sixth when Katie Thomson reached on a Bulldog error and later scored on a wild pitch.

DiNapoli went the distance in the circle, pitching a complete game while allowing four runs on ten hits. She struck out one and walked four.

Defensively, UNC played a clean game with no errors while executing two key double plays.

"It was great to finish the tournament with a win against LA Tech. It's exciting to get to compete against some of the best teams in the country," said Head Coach Dedeann Pendleton-Helm, "We really got better every day and that was the goal for this tournament. We showed strength and progress in every area of our game, hitting defense and pitching and also look forward to continued growth each weekend. I am so proud of what each and every one of these girls do everyday. #OneHeartbeat"

With the win, Northern Colorado improves to 1-3 on the season, while Louisiana Tech drops to 2-2.

PV COLLEGE CHALLENGE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Morales and Gonzales were named to the PV College Challenge All-Tournament Team for Northern Colorado. Gonzales posted an impressive .538 batting average and an .846 slugging percentage over four games, tallying seven hits, including a home run and a double, while driving in five RBIs. Morales contributed five hits, two runs, two home runs, and a double, finishing with a .417 batting average, a perfect 1.000 slugging percentage, and three RBIs.

UP NEXT
The Bears will travel to Las Cruces, N.M., from Feb. 14-15 to compete in the Troy Cox Classic before heading to El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 16 for two games in the Dr. Diana Natalicio Memorial Tournament. Over the three-day span, UNC will face TAMU-CC, New Mexico State, No. 19 Nebraska, Manhattan, and UTEP.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of UNC Athletics, check out the official homepage at uncbears.com. Follow the softball team on X (formerly Twitter) (@UNC_BearsSB), Instagram (@UNC_BearsSB), and Facebook (/UNCBearsSB).