Softball keeping it strong threw the tournament

By Brandon Landrum |Staff Writer|

The Coyote softball team finished 3-2 in the Desert Stinger Tournament.

The tournament took place in Las Vegas, NV during the weekend of Feb. 7.

The Coyotes started off against the Orediggers of the Colorado School of Mines and racked up 11 hits in the victory and their pitching was good.

The pitching was led by freshman Cassandra Williams and sophomore Kacey Cota, who only allowed two hits in the whole game.

“The pitching was really good and we backed each other up inning by inning,” said junior pitcher Stephanie Luhmann.

The Coyotes cruised to a 9-0 victory over the Colorado School of Mines on Friday.

On Feb. 7, the women’s softball team played in a doubleheader against Central Washington University and Western Oregon University.

In the first game against Central Washington University, the Coyotes got off to a good start.

Although toward the end, it slipped out of their reach as they suffered a 7-10 loss. In the second game of their doubleheader, the Coyotes looked to redeem themselves against the Wolves of Western Oregon University.

During the game, junior outfielder Victoria Lievanos, junior catcher Tiffany McIntosh, and Williams all hit home runs.

All of the home runs turned out to be big hits, helping the Coyotes edge over the Wolves, winning 6-5.

The Coyotes recorded a season high of 14 hits in this game.

“I feel that the team did really well, hitting has improved, the team chemistry is good and communications is key,” said Lievanos.

On Sunday, the Coyotes played in another doubleheader against Dixie State and University of Mary.

In the first game, the Coyotes started slow against Dixie State’s good pitching.

The Coyotes struggled with two errors and only had three hits throughout the game, eventually leaving them with 0-8.

“Some of the things I think we can improve as a team is fixing errors and getting rid of those bad innings,” said Lievanos.

In the second game, the Coyotes looked to end the Desert Stinger Tournament with a winning record, and the only thing between them and their goal was the University of Mary.

The Coyotes started off good with freshman left fielder Kristin Lopez and junior infielder Nicole Nobbe scoring the games first two runs with a hit from Williams.

The ladies continued their good hitting streak with the team gathering 13 hits in the game and the pitching from Williams and Luhmann led the Coyotes to an 11-3 victory. The Coyotes look to continue their winning streak by using their positive attitude, energy and communication.

“Learned that energy helped the team win and that communication is the key to winning,” said Lopez.

Come out and support the Lady Coyotes in their next game held at home on Tuesday, Feb. 18, against California Baptist University.