Metro
Insight
Metrospective
audiofiles
Sports
Photo Gallery
Archives

Other Areas
About Us
Staff
Contact MetOnline
Job Application
(PDF File 665K)
Advertising Information
Place Classifieds

Departments
Office of Student Media
Met Report
Met Radio
Metrosphere
Student Handbook

Metro makes mark in Pueblo tourney

By Eric Lansing
lansing@mscd.edu

Metro’s softball team finally hit the diamond Feb. 9 after a 17-year hiatus when they took two out of three games in the Colorado State University- Pueblo Tournament in Pueblo.

“It actually felt great,” Metro head coach Jen Fisher said. “I think the team was so excited to be out there, and they really exceeded my expectations with just how pumped they were to play.”

The players were excited about getting their cleats dirty after eight long months of practice, training and conditioning. They spent most of January cooped up in the Auraria Events Center because of bad weather conditions.

“It felt good, especially after having to be inside for almost a month practicing with really no defense out on the field,” Metro right fielder Danni Hedstrom said.

The Roadrunners’ first game came against Fort Lewis, and they got top-notch pitching from Division I transfer Jessica Fisher. Fisher pitched a complete, seven-inning game allowing three earned runs, while striking out 11 Skyhawks.

On the offensive end, Hedstrom became the first Roadrunner to hit a homerun for the new program, as she contributed two hits, two runs and three RBI including her long ball in the fifth inning that helped her team rally from a 3-0 deficit.

“Danni did awesome,” Fisher said. “I’m real proud of her, but good things happen when you see the ball and you have good at bats. She’s been doing that all year, and she’s really been consistent.”

After Hedstrom’s two-run blast, Metro first baseman Jessica Haab tied the game at three with a sacrifice fly that brought in second baseman Sarah Rusch from third base.

Hedstrom continued her hot hitting in the sixth inning when she tripled home shortstop Amber Roundtree from second base to give the ’Runners the go-ahead run.

Metro went on to get that first win under their belts with a 5-3 win over the Skyhawks.

The following game saw the Roadrunners score 14 runs on 11 hits including four RBI each from Roundtree and right-fielder Ashley Johnson in a 14-1 beatdown of Colorado State University of Pueblo.

But that would be the final win of the tournament for the ’Runners, who dropped the final three games of the tournament, including two games the following day, by a combined score of 25-14. But it was the inspired play from the team that had coach Fisher singing praises for her new squad.

“She was impressed with our performance,” Hedstrom said. “She knows we can do better, and we have a lot of improving to do, but she was impressed. I thought we did really well for our first weekend. We made some mistakes we shouldn’t have made, but we have a lot of growing up to do.”

Hedstrom finished the weekend with two homeruns, six RBI and five runs. She wasn’t the only freshman to make an impact early in the season as Roundtree also contributed six RBI and five runs and freshman shortstop Kailee Vessey drove home four RBI including her first long ball of the year in a 8-6 loss to the University of Colorado- Colorado Springs in the final game of the tournament.

“I feel really good about all of our freshmen,” coach Fisher said. “They performed really well, and they didn’t act like freshmen. Our younger players actually know the game very well, and they are really smart.”

With the first games and wins out of the way, Metro’s new softball team can now focus on the task of just playing the game, making the proper adjustments and working toward the goal of a winning season.

“We’re telling the girls that they are right there,” coach Fisher said. “They know they can compete now, and they’ve seen what’s out there. We were in every game and that was kind of our goal, to just look like we knew what we were doing out there.”