SPEARFISH, S.D. – Black Hills State softball swept its first doubleheader of the season on Saturday, taking down UC Colorado Springs 2-1 and 9-2 on Senior Day
The Yellow Jackets (7-35, 7-35 RMAC) had excellent pitching performances from Shayla Tuschen and Kailey Bond while Gianna Haley had her best day of the season with a pair of home runs.
Game One (W, 2-1)
Tuschen was brilliant in the circle, hurling a complete game and allowing just one run on two hits while striking out four.
Haley went 1-2 with a solo home run, while Kayla Lee finished 1-3 with an RBI single.
Tuschen and Tyler Whitlock also recorded singles in the game.
After a quiet first inning, the Yellow Jackets got on the board first with a Haley solo home run out to left center in the second to lead 1-0 after two.
Tuschen went into cruise control in the circle, allowing just one hit while striking out two over her first five innings of work to keep hold of their 1-0 lead.
BHSU added one in the bottom of the fifth with a Lee RBI single to left center, scoring Lance, and making it a 2-0 advantage.
Tuschen continued to induce weak contact with a 1-2-3 sixth inning. The Mountain Lions got on the board with a solo home run in the seventh before Tuschen retired the side to seal the 2-1 win.
Game Two (W, 9-2)
Bond recorded her first career win, going all seven innings, allowing just two runs on six hits, while striking out three.
Sydney Barner finished the game 1-3 with a two-run double, scoring twice and drawing a walk.
Haley went 1-4 with a three-run home run, finishing with four RBI.
Tyler Whitlock went 2-4 with an RBI while Kayla Lee went 2-3 with a double and two runs scored.
Tuschen had a hit, an RBI and two runs scored while Taylor Klein went 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Mikayla Johnson also recorded a hit and a run scored in the game.
Two straight hits and a fielder’s choice in the first inning put BHSU on the board 1-0 before a Klein single plated Tuschen to push the early lead to 2-0.
Two batters later, Haley ripped a 3-run home run out to straightaway center field to make it a 5-spot in the bottom of the first, sending BHSU into the second with a 5-0 lead.
UCCS got one back in the top of the second and plated another in the third, making it a 5-2 Yellow Jacket lead. But in the bottom of the third, BHSU took advantage of a pair of walks and added another run on a Haley sacrifice fly to put the score at 6-2.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Yellow Jackets tacked on two more with an RBI single from Whitlock, and a sacrifice fly by Tuschen out to center, bringing in Lee and making it 8-2 in favor of BHSU through four.
After surrendering a pair of runs in the early innings, Bond settled down and would hold UCCS scoreless the rest of the way as they scattered only three hits over the final four innings.
In the bottom half of the sixth, a Barner double off the centerfield wall plated Tuschen to give the Yellow Jackets a 9-2 lead before Bond sent down the Mountain Lions in the seventh to seal the game.
