Morales Breaks Program Doubles Record as Bears Continue Play at Smith Field

Saturday, February 7

Los Angeles, Calif.

1:30 p.m. MST | 12:30 p.m. PST

University of Northern Colorado

1-1

Long Beach State

3-0

Northern Colo.

Long Beach State

Photo by: Ally McCutchen

2/7/2026 10:44:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Brooke Richards, Director of Strategic Communications

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Amailee Morales etched her name into the Northern Colorado softball record book Saturday, breaking the program's career doubles record, as the Bears continued opening-weekend play at Smith Field against Long Beach State and LMU. Northern Colorado fell 10-4 to the Beach before dropping a 7-3 decision to the Lions.

Morales surpassed the previous program mark of 44 doubles during the opener, moving to 45 for her career, and finished the day with multiple extra-base hits while anchoring the Bears' offense.

GAME 1: Long Beach State 10, Northern Colorado 4
Northern Colorado matched Long Beach State with 10 hits, but the Beach used a pair of multi-run innings to pull away.

Long Beach State scored first with a sacrifice fly in the opening frame, but the Bears answered in the second when KK Christie launched a solo home run to left-center to tie the game at 1-1. The Beach responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning and added two more in the third to build a 6-1 advantage.

UNC chipped away in the fifth inning. Morales came home on a defensive miscue before Kenzie Carter drove in another run on a fielder's choice to cut the deficit to 7-3. Long Beach State answered with three runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Northern Colorado added its final run in the sixth when Morales doubled to left-center to score Krista Francia. Christie finished 2-for-4 with a double, home run and two RBIs, while Morales went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.

GAME 2: LMU 7, Northern Colorado 3
LMU struck early in the nightcap, opening the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning before breaking the game open with a four-run second.

Northern Colorado got on the board in the fourth when Katie Thomson tripled to right-center to score Baylie Kakallis, trimming the deficit to 5-1. The Bears added another run in the fifth as Ella Gonzales brought home a run on a fielder's choice.

After KK Christie doubled to open the sixth, Ava Arenz delivered an RBI single up the middle to pull UNC within three, but LMU added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning to secure the win.

Ellyse Hydock provided steady relief for the Bears, working five innings and limiting LMU to two runs over the remainder of the game.

RECORD WATCH: Amailee Morales ranks 1st all-time in doubles (45), 1st in home runs (29) and walks (86), 2nd in RBIs (120, program record is 122), 11th in hits (145), 4th in total bases (281) and 6th in putouts (597), while Ella Gonzales sits 11th in RBIs (76), 11th in walks (50) and 7th in hit by pitch (18) as both continue to climb the Northern Colorado career charts.

DUE UP: The Bears will round off their LA trip tomorrow morning, playing UC Riverside at Easton Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. MST.

FOLLOW THE BEARS: For the latest news and updates on Northern Colorado Softball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @UNC_BearsSB, and on Facebook at /UNCBearsSB.