Niwot swings back into the game with three wins

After suffering a couple losses due an abundance of errors, the Niwot Cougar softball team came back strong this past week with multiple wins.

Since the team’s losses against Longmont and Silver Creek, it won three games against Northridge, Thompson Valley and Greeley Central, some of them blowout victories. On Monday, Sept. 12 the Cougars faced off against Northridge and left with a 14-1 win.

Many Niwot players contributed to the offense with at least two runs, but freshman Reagan Wills led the team with three runs scored. Willis and Madison Kunkel each drove in three runs.

The game started off on the right foot for Niwot with four runs in the first inning. Although the second inning was scoreless, the third inning solidified the win with Niwot scoring nine runs while continuing to shut out Northridge. Niwot scored its last run in the fourth inning and Northridge got its only run in the fifth inning, bringing the game to an early end due to the mercy rule.

Seniors Grace Ladd and Kunkel shared the pitching duties, with Ladd working two innings and Kunkel pitching the last three. Although Ladd only faced seven batters, Kunkel faced 14, giving up five hits.

Niwot — 14-13-1

Northridge — 1-6-4

Niwot hitting (ab-r-h-rbi) — Johnson 4-2-1-2, Rafkin 3-1-1-0, Little 0-0-0-0, Sims 3-0-2-1, Vaughan 4-2-2-2, Noterman 1-0-0-0, C. Law 2-1-0-0, Wills 4-3-3-3, Schriener 0-1-0-0, Ladd 3-0-1-0, A. Law 4-2-1-0, Kunkel 3-2-2-3.

Niwot pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Ladd 2-1-0-0-0-1, Kunkel 3-5-1-0-0-2

The Cougars continued their winning streak when they faced Thompson Valley in a tight contest on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Even though Niwot scored the first four runs in the first three innings of the game, Thompson Valley caught up in the fifth and sixth inning with four runs of its own.

The game came down to the seventh and last inning where Niwot was able to secure one more run, making the final score 5-4 in favor of Niwot. Sophomore Caitlyn Schriener played a strong game scoring two runs for the Cougars.

Freshman Madysun Vaughan, Wills and junior Aleris Law each drove in one run for the team as well. Ladd pitched the full seven innings, facing 26 batters and giving up only two hits.

Niwot — 5-8-3

Thompson Valley — 4-2-3

Niwot hitting (ab-r-h-rbi) — Johnson 4-0-0-0, Rafkin 3-0-1-1, Sims 3-0-1-0, Vaughan 4-1-2-0, Noterman 1-0-0-0, C. Law 2-0-0-0, Wills 3-1-1-0, Schriener 0-2-0-0, Ladd 4-0-2-1, A. Law 2-1-0-0, Kunkel 3-0-1-0

Niwot pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Ladd 7-2-4-2-0-8

Coming off a 2-game winning streak, Niwot next faced Greeley Central on Friday, Sept. 16. The game was another blowout, with the Cougars going home with a 21-1 win against the Wildcats.

The game started with Niwot scoring four runs in the first inning and another 12 runs in the second, while Greeley Central scored once. After another five runs in the third inning the game was stopped early due to the mercy rule.

Niwot now has a 6-6 overall record and 5-3 league record. The team hopes to continue its winning streak as it faces Centaurus Tuesday, Sept 20, followed by a home game, highlight cancer awareness, against Mountain View on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m.

Niwot — 21-16-1

Greeley Central — 1-0-5