Cougar softball tournament and Senior Day close out the season

The Cougars final softball games last Saturday took place on a textbook-perfect October day. Complete with off-field tailgating and a ceremony honoring the seniors, it was by equal turns bright, exciting and sentimental.

The first game of the day took place against the Poudre Valley Impalas. Poudre Valley scored once in the top of the first, and then, when it was the Cougars' turn at bat, shortstop Autumn Rutherford led off with a single and the Cougars went on to score four times.

Poudre Valley continued to fight, tying up the game by the fourth inning. The Cougars scored again to take the lead by a single run and added another in the 5th inning, but the Impalas tied it up at 9-9 with two runs in the 6th.

Scoring continued for both teams, including a home run by the Cougar's Zoie Choicez, but Poudre Valley scored three runs in the 7th inning to take a 12-11 lead. Niwot failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, ending the game.

The second game against the Longmont Trojans included a fun twist, with the seniors playing in the same positions that they playedt in their freshman year. That meant Chociej was behind the plate, Josephine Grayville and Valeria Navarette were in the outfield, and Libny Molina covered second base.

This game didn't start well for the Cougars, as Longmont scored four runs in the top of the first inning. Niwot wasn't able to score, and Longmont added another four runs at the top of the 4th. The trend continued with Niwot unable to catch up and ultimately falling short by a score of 12-0.

After both games, the team, coaches and parents honored the departing seniors. Parents joined the girls at home plate and family groups walked under an arch of bats created by their teammates. Then the players and Head Coach Bobby Matthews honored each in turn, with stories about the seniors' experience on the team.

At the ceremony, Matthews said of the seniors, "The lasting impression you make with us helps the next generation. I consider how you were as freshmen, and I have a better idea of how to coach the next freshman who comes in and reminds me of one of you. There may be a kid coming up that you guys taught one of us how to coach. Thank you for that."

Poudre Valley Impalas 1 0 3 3 0 2 3 - 12

Niwot Cougars 4 3 0 1 1 2 0 - 11

Niwot: (AB, R, H, RBI) Z. Cameron (1B) 3 0 0 0; J. Gravelle (CF) 4 1 2 1; R. Pacheco (RF) 1 0 0 0; Z. Chociej (2B) 4 4 4 4; J. Philofsky (LF) 4 3 3 0; A. Booth (P) 4 2 2 0; J. Hobson (CF) 4 0 1 1; A. Rutherford (SS) 4 1 2 0; S. Amaya (C) 3 0 0 0; S. Paterno 4 0 1 1

Booth (W/L) (IP, H, R, ER, BB, K) L (7 12 12 6 3 6)

Niwot Cougars 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Longmont Trojans 4 0 0 4 0 1 3 12

Niwot: (AB, R, H, RBI) V. Navarrette (O) 1 0 0 0 Z. Cameron (1B) 1 0 0 0; J. Gravelle (0) 3 0 0 0; 1 0 0 0; Z. Chociej (2B) 3 0 1 0; J. Philofsky (LF) 1 0 0 0; A. Booth (P) 3 0 1 0; J. Hobson (O) 3 0 0 0; A. Rutherford (SS) 4 0 2 0; S. Amaya (C) 1 0 0 0; S. Paterno 2 0 0 0; L. Molina (2B) 2 0 0 0

Booth (W/L) (IP, H, R, ER, BB, K) L (7 16 12 4 2 7)