Metro implosion allows Pack to come away with split

Metro State 14, CSU-Pueblo 6
CSU-Pueblo 9, Metro State 8

PUEBLO, Colo. - Try as they might, the mistakes the ThunderWolves kept making Sunday in a doubleheader against Metro State paled in comparison to the gift the Roadrunners gave to the Pack at the end of the series finale.

Metro State pitcher Jessica Fisher uncorked two consecutive wild pitches in the bottom of the seventh inning, which came immediately on the heels of two Roadrunner errors, that gave the Pack a 9-8 win on a silver platter, easing the sting of a 14-6 five-inning loss in the early game.

The barrage came as the ThunderWolves came within one, 8-7, when a Katie Johnson single was extended into a two-base RBI after rightfielder Cari Thompson botched the bounce, allowing Kelly Purcell to score.  Immediately following, Kari Romero reached third baseman Jennessa Tesone dropped a sure lineout, and Ashley Aldrich reached after getting hit by a pitch.

Then came two straight wild pitches, each of which sent runs across the plate. 

The only thing that was missing the pretty red bow and a gift receipt.

Another thing that was missing - a ThunderWolf team that showed they proved to win the game at all, coach Shane Showalter said.

The big seventh inning, which followed a sixth that saw Aldrich go yard on a two-run shot that cut the Roadrunners' then-8-4 advantage to 8-6, were two of the most consistent innings in a largely inconsistent day that saw the Pack give up 22 runs and commit six errors.

"The girls picked it up a level in the sixth and seventh inning," Showalter said, "but overall, we were too inconsistent against an team that was outworking and outhustling us."

Aside from the series' first game Saturday, in which the Pack was dominant in an 8-2 win, the ThunderWolves have been flat, showing lapses in the field, at the plate and in the circle.  The result was a series that, for all intents and purposes, should have been claimed by the Roadrunners three games to one.

"After that first game Saturday, I don't feel like we did much of anything well," Showalter said.  "We just seemed to be a step behind [Metro].  We showed some spurts at times, but we just weren't consistent enough."

After putting up a surprise split, the Pack will go on an eight-game road trip to Nebraska-Kearney next weekend, followed by a trip to Mesa State the following week.  Sunday's split leaves the Pack record at 12-11 overall and 7-7 in RMAC play.