University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, March 28
Greeley, Colo.
2 p.m.
University of Northern Colorado
10-21, 0
9
vs
1
Montana
7-25, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
R
H
E
Montana
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
6
2
Northern Colorado
0
0
0
0
2
7
9
10
0
Photo by: Jesus Ayala, UNC Athletics
Bears Sweep Montana to Open Big Sky Play
3/28/2025 7:25:00 PM | Softball
Bears Dominate Montana with Explosive Offense and Stellar Pitching to Open Big Sky Play
GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado (11-21, 2-0 Big Sky) started conference play with a bang, sweeping a doubleheader against Montana (7-26, 0-2 Big Sky) on Friday at Gloria Rodriguez Field. The Bears claimed a dominant 9-1 run-rule victory in game one before securing a 3-0 shutout win in game two.
GAME 1 | Northern Colorado 9, Montana 1
Pitching: (W) Aiyana Cordero (1-0); L Brianna Lachermeier (2-6)
A slow start quickly turned into an offensive explosion for the Bears, who broke through in the fifth inning before sealing the game with a seven-run outburst in the sixth.
Both teams struggled to get anything going early, with Montana's Brianna Lachermeier and UNC's Isabelle DiNapoli controlling the pace from the circle. The game remained scoreless through four innings before Montana finally broke through in the top of the fifth with a sacrifice fly, putting the Lady Griz up 1-0.
Northern Colorado wasted no time responding. In the bottom half of the inning, Amailee Morales stepped up and delivered the game's biggest swing—a towering two-run home run down the right-field line, giving the Bears a 2-1 lead.
UNC never looked back. The Bears exploded in the sixth inning, stringing together hit after hit to put the game away early. Katie Walling sparked the rally with a clutch RBI double to right-center after a grueling nine-pitch at-bat. Jazzy Longo and Alina Quinney each drove in two more runs, with Quinney's two-RBI single to right officially ending the game via run rule.
On the mound, Aiyana Cordero picked up her first collegiate win in relief, throwing a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Starter DiNapoli was solid in her four-inning start, keeping Montana off balance before handing the ball off to Cordero.
GAME 2 | Northern Colorado 3, Montana 0
Pitching: (W) Anna Wilming (4-8); (L) Grace Haegele (1-5)
Game two showcased a gritty pitching duel, with Anna Wilming leading the charge. The sophomore right-hander delivered a masterful complete-game shutout, allowing just one hits over seven innings while walking three and striking out two.
The Bears got on the board early, capitalizing on a Montana error in the first inning. With two runners on, a misplayed ground ball allowed both runners to score, giving UNC a 2-0 lead before the Lady Griz could settle in.
Runs were hard to come by in the following innings, as both teams struggled to string hits together. Morales once again provided a spark for Northern Colorado, launching her second home run of the day—a solo shot to right field in the fourth inning—to extend the lead to 3-0.
Montana threatened in the later innings, putting runners in scoring position multiple times, but the Bears' defense held strong.
Wilming controlled the game from the circle. She forced eight flyouts and nine groundouts, leaning on her defense to make plays behind her. The Bears executed two double plays with runners in scoring position, preventing Montana from mounting a serious threat.
UP NEXT
The Bears will look to complete the series sweep tomorrow at 12 p.m. at Glorida Rodriguez Field.
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).
GAME 1 | Northern Colorado 9, Montana 1
Pitching: (W) Aiyana Cordero (1-0); L Brianna Lachermeier (2-6)
A slow start quickly turned into an offensive explosion for the Bears, who broke through in the fifth inning before sealing the game with a seven-run outburst in the sixth.
Both teams struggled to get anything going early, with Montana's Brianna Lachermeier and UNC's Isabelle DiNapoli controlling the pace from the circle. The game remained scoreless through four innings before Montana finally broke through in the top of the fifth with a sacrifice fly, putting the Lady Griz up 1-0.
Northern Colorado wasted no time responding. In the bottom half of the inning, Amailee Morales stepped up and delivered the game's biggest swing—a towering two-run home run down the right-field line, giving the Bears a 2-1 lead.
UNC never looked back. The Bears exploded in the sixth inning, stringing together hit after hit to put the game away early. Katie Walling sparked the rally with a clutch RBI double to right-center after a grueling nine-pitch at-bat. Jazzy Longo and Alina Quinney each drove in two more runs, with Quinney's two-RBI single to right officially ending the game via run rule.
On the mound, Aiyana Cordero picked up her first collegiate win in relief, throwing a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Starter DiNapoli was solid in her four-inning start, keeping Montana off balance before handing the ball off to Cordero.
GAME 2 | Northern Colorado 3, Montana 0
Pitching: (W) Anna Wilming (4-8); (L) Grace Haegele (1-5)
Game two showcased a gritty pitching duel, with Anna Wilming leading the charge. The sophomore right-hander delivered a masterful complete-game shutout, allowing just one hits over seven innings while walking three and striking out two.
The Bears got on the board early, capitalizing on a Montana error in the first inning. With two runners on, a misplayed ground ball allowed both runners to score, giving UNC a 2-0 lead before the Lady Griz could settle in.
Runs were hard to come by in the following innings, as both teams struggled to string hits together. Morales once again provided a spark for Northern Colorado, launching her second home run of the day—a solo shot to right field in the fourth inning—to extend the lead to 3-0.
Montana threatened in the later innings, putting runners in scoring position multiple times, but the Bears' defense held strong.
Wilming controlled the game from the circle. She forced eight flyouts and nine groundouts, leaning on her defense to make plays behind her. The Bears executed two double plays with runners in scoring position, preventing Montana from mounting a serious threat.
UP NEXT
The Bears will look to complete the series sweep tomorrow at 12 p.m. at Glorida Rodriguez Field.
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).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cordero, Aiyana (1-0)
L: Lachermeier, Brianna (2-6)
Batting:
RBI: Stanfield, Jessica 1
SF: Stanfield, Jessica 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bonkavich, Breiana 1
CS: Cockhill, Anna 1
HBP: Cockhill, Anna 1 ; Jablonski, Hannah 1
Batting:
2B: Walling, Katie 1 ; Chacon, Nya 1
HR: Morales, Amailee 1
RBI: Walling, Katie 1 ; Morales, Amailee 3 ; Javorsky, Sabrina 1 ; Longo, Jazzy 2 ; Quinney, Alina 2
SF: Morales, Amailee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Walling, Katie 2 ; Morales, Amailee 1 ; Francia, Krista 1 ; Thomson, Katie 1 ; Javorsky, Sabrina 1 ; Longo, Jazzy 1 ; Gaona, Abby 1 ; Gandert, Jaycie 1
SB: Francia, Krista 1
HBP: Walling, Katie 1 ; Gonzales, Ella 1 ; Gaona, Abby 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
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