Colorado

‘It’s time to go to the show’: Northern Colorado softball to face Oklahoma State in NCAA Tournament

Published

2 years ago

May 13, 2024

‘It’s time to go to the show’: Northern Colorado softball to face Oklahoma State in NCAA Tournament

A few hours after arriving home from the Big Sky Conference tournament, the University of Northern Colorado softball team gathered Sunday evening to find out its next opponent.

Winning the conference tournament for the second straight year again earned the Bears a place in the 64- team NCAA Tournament. UNC players, coaches and staff hung out in a classroom in Butler-Hancock Athletic Center to watch the softball selection show on ESPN2.

The Bears (27-24) will soon be packing their bags for Stillwater, Oklahoma where they’ll be one of four teams in the regional hosted by tournament No. 5 seed Oklahoma State (44-10).

UNC plays Oklahoma State at 3:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time Friday (4:30 p.m. Central, according to Oklahoma State’s schedule) in the first game of the double-elimination regional round. Michigan and Kentucky are the other two teams in the Stillwater regional.

UNC played Michigan (41-16) twice in February during its non-conference schedule and lost both games to the Wolverines, 9-1 and 4-1.

“Everybody we play will be good,” UNC coach Dedeann Pendleton-Helm said of facing Oklahoma State. “It’s time to go to the show.”

There are 16 four-team regionals hosted by the national seeds throughout the country to start the tournament. The regional winners advance to the best-of-3 game super regionals. The final eight teams qualify for the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

The regionals begin Friday. The super regionals are May 23-26. The Women’s College World Series starts May 30 with the finals June 5-7.

The @UNC_BearsSB team finding out it will play in Oklahoma State regional in NCAA Tournament this week. Bears will be with OKSU – the No. 5 overall seed – and Michigan and Kentucky. 🥎 Bears are 2-time defending @BigSkyConf champs. pic.twitter.com/LWnxbkDMYy
— Anne Giles Delaney (@AnneGDelaney) May 12, 2024
Advertisement

Texas (47-7) is the No. 1 overall seed for the first time ahead of three-time defending WCWS champion Oklahoma (49-6). No. 2 Oklahoma defeated Texas for the Big 12 Conference Tournament title Saturday night. Texas won the Big 12 regular-season title.

Last year, UNC played at the University of Washington and faced the host Huskies in the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance. Washington beat UNC 10-2 in six innings. The Bears then lost to Minnesota 4-0.

Sixteen players on the team were also with the Bears a year ago. One of those is outfielder Alyssa Wenzel, who was a first-team Big Sky Conference selection last year.

A senior from California, Wenzel said she is retired after sustaining a back injury earlier this season. She remains with the team. Wenzel was at the Big Sky Tournament and she’ll also go to Oklahoma State.

Wenzel said the team used last year’s experience at NCAAs to their benefit this year. The emphasis this season was on improvement instead of saying they’ll win X number of games and win the conference tournament.

“Every practice, every game, every day, every lift, everything that we did all wanted to do was to be 1% better,” Wenzel said. “I think that got us to where we are now because we were focused on being better people and better players rather than looking for an overall goal.”

Wenzel and Pendleton-Helm said the team sees it can compete with programs from bigger schools and bigger conferences — such as Power 5 schools. The Bears played the final game of the regular season at Pac-12 member Oregon. Pendleton-Helm said the players competed against the Ducks with a calm confidence. The UNC players looked more comfortable and as if they belonged in Oregon’s bigger stadium.

Oregon won 9-2. The Ducks (28-19) are also in the NCAA Tournament, playing in the Norman, Oklahoma regional hosted by the Oklahoma.

Northern Colorado softball coach Dedeann Pendleton-Helm addresses the team Sunday, May 12, 2024 after the players learned they’ll play Oklahoma State in the NCAA Tournament Friday in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State is hosting the four-team, double-elimination regional tournament. Michigan and Kentucky will also be in Stillwater. UNC is making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament after repeating as Big Sky Conference Tournament champions. (Anne Delaney/Staff Reporter).

“We won’t be as awestruck,” the coach said of what she expects from this year’s NCAA tournament appearance. “It’s how do we win and play our game?”

UNC arrived home in Greeley early Sunday afternoon from the Big Sky tournament in Pocatello, Idaho. The Bears played two games and 18 innings Saturday against Portland State before clinching the title about 7 p.m. The team bused to Wyoming overnight and finished the trip Sunday.

“It’s very exciting,” sophomore first baseman Amailee Morales said. “It’s fun to win back to back (conference titles), it’s fun to extend our season. We’re one of 64 teams left playing and we get to do that for our seniors.”

Morales hit a grand slam in the top of the 10th inning of the second and deciding game against Portland State to secure the tournament championship. Morales was 2-for-4 with two home runs, five RBI and two runs scored in the second game against the Vikings.

“It was electric,” she said of hitting the home run. “The atmosphere, our mood shift, everything. Hitting that lit a fire under us and let us go out and push three outs.”

UNC was the visiting team in the second game, which was played because Portland State beat the Bears 4-3 in eight innings in the first game of the day. After Morales’ home run, the Bears had to play defense with Portland State getting one more chance to hit in the bottom of the 10th.

Morales was named tournament most valuable player after being selected as conference co-player of the year earlier in the week with Sacramento State’s Lewa Day.

Morales’ home run came on a 3-ball and 1-strike count. She said didn’t know the pitch Portland State’s Allicitie Frost threw, but Morales was looking for a strike because the Vikings didn’t want to walk her.

“As soon as I swung, I was like oh, yeah,” she said. “I knew. It’s unreal feeling knowing you did that for your team and knowing that you just helped them to another championship.”

Morales’ grand slam was decisive, but there were multiple other reasons the Bears had a chance to win the game. One of those reasons was junior pitcher Isabelle DiNapoli, who came into the game in the third inning with UNC trailing 3-0.

DiNapoli pitched 7 2/3 innings in relief and controlled the Vikings, giving up only two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts. Pendleton-Helm said DiNapoli “came in and dealt,” throwing the ball hard while in control and hitting her spots. Pendleton-Helm called the performance “amazing” and “fantastic.”

DiNapoli is from Littleton and played at Chatfield High School.

She said she had full confidence in her teammates when she came into the game, knowing they “could definitely” come back from the three-run deficit.

“It was definitely a stressful situation,” DiNapoli added. “Between innings we kept reminding ourselves to breathe. I’d take a breath with my teammates on the mound, and we’d just like reminded each other of what we’ve been through and how much hard work we put in.”

Source link

Click to comment

Colorado

Colorado mom, 6-year-old son found dead in Canyonlands National Park in apparent murder-suicide

Published

7 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Colorado mom, 6-year-old son found dead in Canyonlands National Park in apparent murder-suicide

A Colorado woman and her 6-year-old son were found dead in Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah, this week in what appears to be a murder-suicide, law enforcement officials said.

Park rangers responded to a suspicious vehicle parked in a no-camping area near Shafer Trail in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, the San Juan County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Park rangers found an unresponsive 6-year-old boy in the vehicle and started life-saving measures, but the boy was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.

The woman was found dead outside of the vehicle.

Source link

Colorado

Battle with the Blue Jackets | Colorado Avalanche

Published

19 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Battle with the Blue Jackets | Colorado Avalanche

Columbus Blue Jackets (18-18-7) @ Colorado Avalanche (32-4-7)

2 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

After a homestand-opening win on Thursday, the Avalanche hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets for Next Gen Night on Saturday. This is the second and final regular-season matchup between the teams in 2025-26, as the Avalanche defeated the Blue Jackets 4-1 in Columbus on October 16th.

A Big Night at Ball

Josh Manson recorded the first two-goal and four-point game of his career, along with a Gordie Howe hat trick, as the Avalanche defeated the Ottawa Senators 8-2 at Ball Arena on Thursday. Manson was one of five Avs to post at least three points on Thursday, alongside Nathan MacKinnon (1g/3a), Ross Colton (3a), Brock Nelson (2g/1a) and Cale Makar (1g/2a). Additionally, Brent Burns added a goal for Colorado while Scott Wedgewood stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced in net for the Avs. With the victory, the Avalanche extended its home win streak to 16 games.

At 10:11 of the first period, Manson opened the scoring with his third goal of the season via a shot from the point through traffic. MacKinnon doubled Colorado’s lead at 17:14 of the first period with his 36th goal of the season via a shot from the slot set up by Necas. The Avs took a 3-0 lead at 2:35 of the second period when Makar scored his 13th tally of the season via a left-circle shot after receiving a drop pass from MacKinnon. At 5:08 of the middle frame, Shane Pinto put the Senators on the board. The Senators momentarily made it 3-2 with 13:41 remaining in the second period, but the goal was disallowed after the Avs successfully challenged for offside. After the disallowed tally, the clock was reset to 13:48.

Necas gave the Avs a 4-1 lead on the power play at 11:46 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season via a sharp-angle one-timer from the bottom of the left circle set up by MacKinnon. At 12:03 of the middle frame, Burns made it 5-1 with his sixth goal of the season via a right-point shot through traffic. Nelson gave the Avs a 6-1 lead on a five-on-three power play at 14:23 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by MacKinnon’s cross-ice feed. The Avalanche took a 7-1 lead at 16:48 of the middle frame when Manson scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the season via a one-timer from the point set up by Jack Drury’s feed. At 18:04 of the middle frame, Nelson scored his second tally of the game and 21st of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Ilya Solovyov’s feed from the left point. Brady Tkachuk made it 8-2 with a shorthanded goal from the doorstep at 7:03 of the third period.

Leading the Way

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (36) and points (78) while ranking tied for third in assists (42).

All Hail Cale

Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (51) and assists (38) while ranking third in goals by blueliners (13). Among all NHL skaters, he’s seventh in assists.

Marty Party

Necas is seventh in the NHL in points (55) and tied for ninth in assists (35).

Series History

In 70 previous regular-season games against the Blue Jackets, the Avalanche has a record of 45-19-1-5.

Defeat on the Road

The Blue Jackets lost 5-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. In the first period, Columbus took a 2-0 lead after goals from Boone Jenner at 8:24 and Kent Johnson at 10:41 before Reilly Smith put Vegas on the board at 12:20. The Golden Knights took a 4-2 lead after second-period goals from Smith at 5:19, Jack Eichel at 13:07 and Mark Stone on the power play at 18:44. Kirill Marchenko scored for the Blue Jackets to make it 4-3 at 14:28 of the third period before Brett Howden gave the Golden Knights a 5-3 lead at 16:14 of the final frame.

Contributors Against Columbus

MacKinnon has posted 26 points (7g/19a) in 22 games against the Blue Jackets.

In nine contests against Columbus, Makar has registered 17 points (6g/11a).

Necas has recorded 21 points (4g/17a) in 26 games against the Blue Jackets.

Producing Offense for Ohio’s Team

Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in points (46) and assists (30) while ranking tied for first in goals (16).

Marchenko is tied for the team lead in goals (16) while ranking second in points (35) and tied for second in assists (19).

Dmitri Voronkov is third on the Blue Jackets in points (28) and goals (15).

A Numbers Game

30

Colorado’s 30 five-on-five goals since December 19th (10 games) are the most in the NHL during that span.

63

The Avalanche’s 63 second-period goals lead the NHL.

3.94

Colorado’s 3.94 goals per game since December 1st lead the NHL during that span.

Quote That Left a Mark

“It was fun. I don’t think he’s ever seen that before. He’s seen me fight. He’s maybe seen me score. But I don’t think he’s ever seen—actually, nobody’s ever seen that before out of me in the NHL. So, it was a first for everybody, including myself.”

— Josh Manson on recording a Gordie Howe hat trick with his father, former NHLer Dave Manson, in attendance

Source link

Colorado

Colorado man heads to Washington, D.C., to gain support for Marshall Fire survivors

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Colorado man heads to Washington, D.C., to gain support for Marshall Fire survivors

Four years after the fire, recovery is still incomplete for some Marshall Fire victims. A Colorado man is joining wildfire survivors from across the country to push lawmakers to make changes and provide support for survivors still rebuilding.

Recently, a historic $640 million settlement was reached with Xcel Energy, but the Coloradans who lost everything in the Marshall Fire might not be receiving all the money that they’re owed. Some settlements could be taxed, while others were paid in full.

Benjamin Carter

“I was the fourth responding fire engine to the Marshall Fire. By the end of the night, I was triaging homes in the neighborhood that I grew up in,” said former firefighter Benjamin Carter. “I’ve seen how much the community’s hurting, and I just wanted to do whatever I could to help.”

Carter is now fighting for those who lost their homes, including his mother. He’s working with an organization called After the Fire, joining up with wildfire survivors in Oregon, Hawaii and California. This week, Carter flew to Washington, D.C., to speak with lawmakers about how they can help survivors rebuild.

In 2024, lawmakers passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which exempted wildfire survivors from taxes on related settlements, among other tax relief. But the bill expired last week, shortly after Xcel agreed to settle over the Marshall Fire.

“If the people don’t have to pay taxes on the damages, then it helps them rebuild,” Carter explained. “Some of the smaller attorneys still haven’t received payment, so all those people will be subject to those taxes; all the attorney fees, and what the actual settlements end up being. And, of what they’re actually getting at the end of the day, that’s been a huge challenge.”

Congress has already proposed extension options. But Carter hopes that by sharing their stories, legislators will act before survivors lose anything else.

“With a lot going on in Washington and everything, the representatives don’t always know about all the issues. And so, we want to educate them on this issue and hopefully gain their support,” Carter said.

Source link