Northern Colorado softball opened its participation at the Roadrunner Classic in San Antonio, Texas, by splitting two games on Friday. The Bears secured an 8-7 win over Stephen F. Austin before dropping a close 4-3 contest in extra innings to UTSA.
The highlight of the day came from Amailee Morales, who drove in her 123rd career run batted in (RBI), making her Northern Colorado’s all-time leader in that category.
In the first game against Stephen F. Austin, Northern Colorado took an early lead with help from a fielding error and a Katie Walling RBI fielder’s choice. The team extended its advantage with home runs from Hayden Nelson and Kenzie Carter in the fourth inning. Ella Gonzales added another solo homer in the fifth.
Morales delivered a key two-run single up the middle during the sixth inning, bringing her total to 123 career RBIs and setting a new program record. Despite a late rally by Stephen F. Austin, Ellyse Hydock closed out the game for her second save of the season, while Anna Wilming pitched six innings and recorded five strikeouts.
Carter finished with two hits, including a home run and two RBIs. Gonzales and Nelson also contributed home runs as part of an eight-hit performance by the Bears.
In their second game against UTSA, Gonzales homered again to give Northern Colorado an early lead. The Bears increased their advantage through aggressive baserunning and capitalized on errors by UTSA. Krista Francia drew an RBI walk with bases loaded in the fifth inning to make it 3-0.
Pitcher Grace Algrim kept UTSA scoreless until late in the game but gave up three runs in the seventh inning after defensive miscues allowed UTSA to tie it up. In extra innings, Northern Colorado put runners on base but could not score; UTSA won with an RBI single in their half of the eighth.
Gonzales led offensively for UNC with two hits including a home run and scored twice; Morales also had two hits as UNC tallied seven hits overall.
With her performance, Morales now leads Northern Colorado history books not only in RBIs but also doubles (47), home runs (29), and walks (90). She ranks among conference leaders as well: fifth all-time for doubles, tied for tenth for home runs, and sixth for walks within Big Sky Conference history.
Ella Gonzales is now eleventh all-time at UNC for RBIs (81), walks (51), home runs (14), and seventh for times hit by pitch (18).
Northern Colorado will continue tournament play Saturday morning against UMass Lowell at Roadrunner Field starting at 10:30 a.m. Mountain Time. Additional games are scheduled throughout Saturday featuring other tournament teams; live statistics will be available online.
The Rally Starters Club continues to support UNC Softball by providing resources such as training equipment and travel opportunities that enhance student-athlete experiences both on and off the field.
For more information about Northern Colorado Softball or updates throughout the season, visit UNCBears.com or follow @UNC_BearsSB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram or /UNCBearsSB on Facebook.
