The Snow College softball team collected a pair of victories during the season's opening weekend at the College of Southern Nevada Coyote Classic. The Badgers defeated Central Arizona College (2-1) and Arizona Western College (8-6).
 
Snow College surrendered a run in the bottom of the first inning against CAC. The Badgers were held hitless until a leadoff triple by Brooke Fisher preceded a sacrifice fly from Hailey Mangum to even the score at one.
 
Kamryn Allen picked up where she left off last season as she blasted a home run to left field following Mangum's sacrifice fly to give Snow College the lead. The 2-1 margin would stand and the Badgers would earn the victory.
 
Avery Thorkelson, after allowing one run in the first inning, shut down the Vaqueros over the rest of the game. She pitched a complete game while scattering just five hits and striking out five batters.
 
Following the win, Snow College faced AWC and got off to a quick start. Ayden Fitch and Allen both plated runs on singles in the first inning before Moki Maughan drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Badgers a 3-2 lead.
 
The Matadors tied the game in the second with a single run before Snow College scored five unanswered runs over their next five at bats. Brenley Boydston drove home Allen, who had double earlier in the inning, in the third inning on a safety squeeze, and the Badgers led 4-3.
 
Gigi Hall scored the first of three runs in the fourth, scoring from second base on a sacrifice bunt from Mangum. Then, Allen and Molly Roberts recorded back-to-back singles to drive home two more, and Snow College increased the lead, 7-3. Mangum would score the final run for the Badgers on a wild pitch in the sixth inning as they went on to win, 8-5.
 
Day two of the tournament was not as kind to the Badgers as day one.  They suffered a trio of losses to Yavapai College, Pima Community College, and Eastern Arizona College.
 
Three straight singles and a groundout to start the game saw Snow College take a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Yavapai. The Roughriders responded with three runs in both the first and second innings to take a 6-3 lead as the Badgers scored one in the second.
 
Snow College cut into the deficit with two runs in the fourth. Maughan walked and Nev Carrasquel singled to set the table for a single from Fisher and a double from Mangum to cut the lead to 6-5.
 
The Badgers scored the tying run in the top of the fifth on a passed ball. Allen gave Snow College the lead in the sixth inning as she drove home Mangum on a single. It was not to be as the Roughriders scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to earn the 10-7 victory.
 
The Badgers saw similar offensive production against Pima but were unable to secure the win. The Aztecs scored six runs over the first two innings to take the early lead. Snow College scored a run in the first inning on an Allen single.
 
The Badgers got three more in the third as a single and a walk from Carrasquel and Mangum preceded a Fisher single and an Allen double. Three batters later, Zeyda Olvera doubled in a run to cut the lead to 6-5.
 
Fisher and Allen came through again in the fourth inning. Fisher double home Hall, who had reached on an error, before Allen hit her second home run of the weekend to give the Badgers an 8-6 lead. The Aztecs scored a lone run in the sixth before exploding for six runs in the top of the seventh to claim the 13-8 victory.
 
Snow College was only able to score one run in the final game of the tournament against EAC. It came on an Allen double, which scored Fisher. The Gila Monsters put up seven runs en route to the 7-1 victory.
 
Allen had a monster weekend as she went 9-17 (.529/.556/1.059), hit two homers, three doubles, and drove in 10 RBIs. Roberts went 5-10 (.500/.583/.500) with an RBI and two walks. Mangum recorded 5 hits in 12 at bats (.417/.556/.583) with two doubles and four RBIs.
 
Snow College will now head to Yuma, Arizona and participate in the Western Shootout. They'll take on six opponents over the three-day tournament, starting with Phoenix College Thursday at 12:00 p.m.  For game start times and additional information, visit snowbadgers.com.