UC-Colorado Springs (2-0) vs. Lubbock Christian (5-1)
Saturday, February 14 at 1:30 p.m. CST
Las Vegas, Nev. (Majestic Park)
 
The Lady Chaps continue play in the sixth annual Desert Stinger today at 1:30 p.m. CST by taking on UC-Colorado Springs.
 
Lady Chaps split on Day 1 of Desert Stinger, endure first loss of season
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (February 13, 2015) – The Lady Chaps opened the 2015 Desert Stinger with an offensive-minded 13-5 victory over Regis University Friday afternoon but wound up suffering their first defeat on the year by losing 2-1 in a duel with University of Mary later in the evening.
 
The two games were quite opposite of one another, as LCU (5-1) racked up 14 hits against the Rangers (3-5) but only mustered five versus the Marauders (2-1) to end a 15-game win streak dating to last season.
 
The Lady Chaps made a statement early during their first appearance in the tournament, racking up four runs in their first inning of play. LCU began the day with four consecutive singles by Faith Koria, Sydney Beuthien, Ashton Bell and Jessica Loiacano. The Lady Chaps took advantage of a RU wild pitch and throwing error to end the inning up 4-0.
 
Pitcher Courtney McGee kept the Ranger batters quiet throughout the first two innings by not allowing a hit. A homer by Molly Davison, RBI doubles by Addison Ard and Faith Koria and a Ranger wild pitch produced four more scores for the Lady Chaps, stretching the lead to 8-0 in the third.
 
Regis recorded three straight hits to begin the bottom of third before Carlie Sexton tallied a double to cut the Lady Chap lead to 8-3. LCU added another run in the fourth, helped in part by a pair of Regis errors, to extend the lead to 9-3.
 
RU's Nicole Aviles sent a ball over center field for the Rangers in the fourth, but the Lady Chaps poured on more offensive in the next frame, beginning with a blast from Beuthien that brought Koria around for a score, followed by a Loiacano single and double by Davison and Liz Torres to put LCU in front, 14-3. The Rangers were only able to add one more run to the scoring column, ending the game in a shortened five innings.
 
McGee (3-0) secured the win for LCU, with a trio of strikeouts and five hits.
 
Game two on the day involved considerably less scoring and was controlled by pitching, as 17 total strikeouts were filed, including a dozen by Mary's Nena Dudley.
 
Bell began the contest strong in the circle, forcing a groundout and striking out the next pair of Marauder batters in the top of the first. In the bottom of the frame, Koria singled to shortstop, but was held up as Dudley retired the next three Lady Chaps.
 
The first hit of the contest came in the top of the second on an RBI double by Mary's Julissa Perales to give the Marauders a 2-0 lead. A Beuthien double to right center in the fourth finally put a Lady Chap in scoring position, and walks by Davison and Sammie Murrietta put the winning run on base, but LCU was unable to convert, leaving three deserted.
 
In the sixth, Bell sent a bomb through left center over the scoreboard to pull the Lady Chaps to within 2-1, and a Loiacano walk and Davison single through the left side again put the win within reach for LCU. However, a line drive to shortstop that seemed to have scraped the group before being scooped by a Mary defender, was never clearly signaled by the officials causing confusion for the LCU runners. The play was eventually ruled a groundout double, leaving the Lady Chaps without the opportunity to add to the scoring column.
 
Bell kept the Marauders from adding any runs in the top of the seventh, but Dudley wrapped up the contest by fanning the final three LCU batters.
 
Bell (0-1) suffered her first loss on the season, striking out five and giving up five hits.