Softball: Cheyenne Mountain fends off Coronado rally to win season opener
COLORADO SPRINGS – Sometimes, a deficit can simply be too much to overcome. But in Wednesday’s softball battle between Cheyenne Mountain and Coronado, the Cougars somehow never felt out of the game.
The bats started sizzling in the later innings, but the Red-Tailed Hawks had simply put up too many runs in too short a time and came away with a 15-10 win to open their season. It was a good start for a team looking to greatly improve on its 8-8 record from a year ago.
“I have a lot of strong hitters,” Cheyenne Mountain coach Kelly Cornejos said. “I actually wanted a few more (runs) but I was happy with what we did.”
The Cougars (0-2) overall actually started the game with a little bit of firepower, taking a 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning. But the Hawks (1-0) responded right away. The first three hitters of their half of the inning all got on board and all eventually scored to give them the lead.
It was the second inning where they really started flexing. Lilliana Alvidrez balsted a 3-RBI triple to score Jaylah Rivera, Kyliegh Peebles and Kaleena Jones and push the Hawks lead to 9-4. Rivera and Peebles ended the day scoring four runs apiece.
The offense responded strongly to the Cougars’ ability to put up early runs.
“It was so important,” Rivera said. “If we’re on top of (the pitches) the whole time we’re going to be more likely to come out with the win.”
At one point, the Hawks even had the game-ending run at first base as they led 14-5. But the Cougars got out of the inning and started chipping away at the lead. With plenty of senior leadership on the team, it was no surprise to coach Conrad Gonzales that his girls were willing to fight.
“I lean on my seniors a lot,” he said. “I have five seniors and I lean on them a lot, they make up almost my whole starting infield. I really do lean on them.
They didn’t disappoint.
Taiyah Mooney and Addison Pakenham scored a combined three runs in the game and Ella Leischer added three of her own. The Cougars went into the bottom of the 7th inning trailing 14-6, but a 2-RBI triple from Leischer was followed up by a 2-run home run from Savannah Star and all of a sudden, Coronado had momentum.
“Once you start getting hits, they connect,” Star said. “That really helps everyone else stop playing better.”
But a strikeout and a groundout ended the Cougars’ run as they dropped their second straight game to start the season.
As much as the home run could’ve rattled the Hawks, they were able to stay poised and composed, which could become a huge asset as they get deeper into the season.
“We had to calm down a bit,” Rivera said. “We thought we were just going to win the game and that’s when we started losing it. We just have to lift each other up and fight hard.”
