On Thursday, October 4, the Fossil Ridge High School softball team faced off against Poudre High School in their last regular season game. Their 14-2 win solidified their spot as number two in the state, and also marked their status as city champions for the 2018 season.

Fossil took an immediate lead in the first inning, as senior Kristen Reed blasted a home run on her second pitch. Then, the Sabercats exhibited a fantastic amount of teamwork, getting several key base hits to keep runners moving. Coupled against two Impala errors, the Sabercats put up five runs before Poudre could have a chance at the plate. The Sabercats made short work of Poudre at the bottom of the first inning, finding three outs in four batters. Between senior Amber King’s speed in left field, a solid infield squad, and senior pitcher Kate Delaney’s screwball, the Impalas found few opportunities to score.

Fossil continued their dominance in the second inning. Junior Jayden Mercado used her speed to turn her second triple of the game, and solid line drives by Delaney and senior Mia Moddelmog kept runners on the bases. The Sabercat athletes worked the pitch count to their advantage, taking walks when possible, and sophomore Mia Moore knocked in two runs of her own with a base hit to left-center, Reed scored one more on a bomb to the left-center fence and the Sabercats boasted an 11-0 lead going into the bottom of the second. Delaney’s pitching performance dominated Fossil’s play. She struck out three batters in quick succession plate and drew swings with a misleadingly slow change-up, bringing Fossil back up to the plate.

Delaney then tripled on a line drive to right-center and scored on Moddelmog’s sacrifice grounder. King doubled to put two more runners in scoring position, and then sophomore Nikki McGaffin’s base hit scored another run. The Impalas found a third out, but Fossil had increased their lead to 13-0 as they entered the bottom of the third inning. The Sabercats kept the Impalas scoreless once again, as Delaney and Moddelmog caught fly balls and junior McKenna James made an unassisted play at first base. As the fourth inning began, Fossil still led 13-0.

Poudre found their footing and got two quick outs at the top of the fourth, but Delaney answered with a home run that was gone from the moment it left the bat. The Impalas got the third out, but the score had increased to 14-0. As the Cats took the field for the bottom of the fourth inning, James took over pitching. The Impalas had a hard grounder to center field and put one run up, but Fossil was quick to recover. James struck out two batters and a simple infield play rounded up the third out, and Fossil went into the fifth inning up 14-1.

The Impalas once again came out strongly, and prevented the Sabercats from scoring, but Fossil responded in kind. James struck out the first Impala at the plate, then fielded a bunt and tossed it to Delaney at first for the second out. The Impalas hit a long home run over the left-center fence, but Fossil refused to let it slow them down, and Moddelmog found the third out with a catch deep in centerfield. With the ending of the fifth inning, the run rule kicked in, giving Fossil the win.

Amber King has played varsity for Fossil all four years of high school, and this year, she decided not to play club softball. She also doesn’t plan to play in college, so the remaining games of this season mark the end of a softball career that began in elementary school. She expressed the fact that the team is “kinda like a family. We all love each other, and we keep getting better every year, you know? That’s my favorite part: we’re always there.”

The Sabercats next step is postseason play, and brackets for the regional tournament will be posted Monday, October 8. The team faced initial worries that they wouldn’t be allowed to play at regionals due to an incident that occurred during their September 29 game against Mountain Range High School. However, Fossil principal Julie Chaplain broke the news that CHSAA had agreed to reinstate the team directly after the game, leading several players to break down in tears of gratitude. The tournament itself will be played the weekend of October 13-14, so make sure to wish your Sabercats luck.