Feb. 29, 2008

Loyola Marymount box score
UC Riverside box score

Hillarie Van Otterloo pitched the Northern Colorado softball team to its fourth win of the season Friday, Feb. 29. And she did it against a team that had easily defeated the Bears in three previous wins this year.

Van Otterloo, a junior and the Bears' top pitcher for most of the season, took the ball against Loyola Marymount on Friday, Feb. 29, and didn't need any help from the bullpen in a 1-0 complete-game victory in the first of two games for Northern Colorado during the second day of the UTEP Invitational in El Paso, Texas.

The Bears lost the second game, 9-7 to UC Riverside, but the story for Northern Colorado this day was Van Otterloo (2-4). She struck out two in her seven innings of work and allowed just four hits while walking none. She lowered her season earned-run average to a team-best 4.08 with the effort, and she tied teammate Jamie Juelfs for the team lead in wins (two).

The Bears' lone run in the game came in the fifth inning when center fielder Jessie Schoepflin hit an RBI single to shortstop, scoring first baseman Morgan Dahlman, who reached with a double to center.

Game two
Northern Colorado was down 6-0 to UC Riverside after two innings of its second game of the UTEP Invitational, but it responded with four runs in the third inning and a single run in the fourth to get back in the game.

The Highlanders put three more on the board in the sixth inning, but the Bears made things interesting in their half of the seventh, scoring two.

Freshman Courtney Maihi (0-1) started in the circle for Northern Colorado, but she lasted just one-and-two-thirds of an inning. Freshman Kelli Henderson replaced her in the second inning, but she struggled as well.

Maihi gave up six runs (four earned) on three hits. She struck out one but walked three. Henderson gave up three runs on five hits. She struck out five but walked five.

The Bears' offense excelled in this game after only pushing across one run against Loyola Marymount. Five Northern Colorado players had hits in the game, including Schoepflin, Henderson, Maihi and Jaycee Lovato, who all had two hits. Van Otterloo, playing left field, went one for two. Van Otterloo and Maihi each had two RBIs.

Northern Colorado will continue play in El Paso against Binghamton (9 a.m.) and Georgetown (11 a.m.) in the third and final day of the UTEP Invitational.