COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs held an 8-5 lead after the sixth inning and was tied with No. 17 Colorado Mesa going into the ninth, but the Mountain Lions gave up two runs in the ninth in a 10-8 setback to the Mavericks in the first game of a four-game home series.
Jeremy Hochmuth with three-for-five and hit one of the four Mountain Lion home runs today.
Colin Ludwig also went three-for-five with two runs and
Tyler Matheny added a two-for-three performance with a pair of runs.
Efrain Medina,
Jamie Crabtree and
Scott Martinez each finished with home runs as the Mountain Lions posted a season-high four against Colorado Mesa. UCCS also recorded a season-high 18 hits in the third straight game with a double-digit mark.
The Mavericks took an early 4-0 lead through the top of the third inning before the Mountain Lions got on the scoreboard on a Matheny run from a
Matthew McDermott double. Crabtree hit the first home run of the day for UCCS in the fourth inning with a two-run hit and scored
Colin Ludwig, and narrowed the Colorado Mesa lead to 4-3. Medina added his home run in the fifth and tied the game at 4-4.
Colorado Mesa retook a lead in the sixth on a two-out RBI single to right field, and Hochmuth tied it again at 5-5 with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the sixth. Ludwig scored for the second time off a single from Matheny, and Matheny later scored with Martinez's home run to left field as UCCS took an 8-5 advantage. The Mavericks tied the game again in the top of the seventh on a two-run home run and an RBI single.
The Mountain Lions put two runners on base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh but couldn't score, and the UCCS defense retired Colorado Mesa in order in the top of the eighth. UCCS put runners on first and second with only one out in the bottom of the eighth, but the Mavericks used back-to-back strikeouts to take a tied 8-8 game into the ninth. A leadoff triple by Colorado Mesa was the start of a two-run inning by the Mavericks, and UCCS went down in order in the bottom of the ninth in the loss.
UCCS and Colorado Mesa will continue the series with a pair of seven-inning games on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Spurgeon Field.