The No. 17 Rifle Bears varsity softball team has been hotter than the sun since the beginning of September. 

They continued to blaze their path towards the playoffs by picking up their 12th consecutive win when they travelled to Basalt to face the Longhorns on Tuesday afternoon. 

Rifle took Tuesday’s matchup 7-2 thanks to freshman fireballer Gia Keithley shining on both sides of the ball, and a strong defensive display that helped shut down late Longhorn rallies. 

The Bears, now 17-4 and 4-0 in the 4A Western Slope League, just had to sit back and watch while Keithley worked her way through the Longhorns lineup for the first time. 

Keithly entered the game ranked 11th in 4A with a 1.82 earned run average and 14th in both strikeouts (82) and wins (10). 

After an error and a hit batter created a two-on, no-out jam in the bottom of the first inning, Keithley struck out eight of the next nine batters that approached the plate.

“She’s had a great year, and did a great job out there today,” Rifle Bears head coach Troy Phillips said after the win.”The way that she throws the ball as a freshman is very impressive, and we feel confident when she’s out there.”

Keithley’s sparkling start on Tuesday afternoon in Basalt nearly outshined the early and consistent offensive attack the Bears laid on the Longhorns. 

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After plating one in the first, the Bears got three in the second, and another in the third to build a comfortable 5-0 lead. Rifle’s pass-the-baton mentality helped them create traffic on the bases and put pressure on the defense — which was only exacerbated when they started finding barrels in the second and third innings. 

As the game entered into the middle and later stages of the game, the Rifle bats began to cool slightly and the Longhorns stuck around until the very last out. 

Although the Bears plated seven runs through seven innings, Phillips thought opportunities were left on the field on Tuesday afternoon. 

“We didn’t hit the ball like we normally do, and I think we were a little bit down offensively today,” he said. “But the girls really picked each other up defensively and made some nice plays in the last two innings that really helped keep them from getting anything rolling.”

Following Tuesday’s game, the Bears haven’t lost a game in over a month — with their last defeat coming against the Roosevelt Roughriders on Sept. 5. 

Phillips credited the win streak to the girls’ desire to get better everyday. 

“The girls on this team work all year long to get better,” he said. “Their work ethic is showing up on the field.”

The girls are hot at the exact right time, and are inching closer and closer to the finish line of the 2025 regular season. 

The Bears are back home on Wednesday afternoon when they welcome the Palisade Bulldogs before they travel to Cedaredge to take on the Bruins on Friday to finish their season. The 2025 state tournament brackets are set to be released on Monday.