COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – In a sunny and breezy ball game at Mountain Lion Park, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team holds off No. 20 nationally ranked University of Central Missouri with a final score of 7-6 to take the series, 3-1.

Starting second baseman Matt McDermott finished 3-for-4 on the day with three doubles and two RBI. Meanwhile, designated hitter Evan Richards had two hits and matched Mcdermott's two RBI. Combined, Richards and McDermott registered five of UCCS' six hits, and drove in four of the team's seven RBI.

The tightly contested game started in UCCS' favor as they put up four runs off two hits and four walks in the first three innings. Two of those runs came in the first inning as situational hitting for the Mountain Lion helped them jump out to a quick lead. Matt Berg and Jake Anderson each walked while Jaden Hegmann reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases in the bottom of the first. Both Evan Richards and John Mallon put hard hit balls on the ground to the right side to bring two across for the 2-0 lead.

Starting pitcher Daniel Silva worked with a 4-1 lead going into fifth inning after a Central Missouri squeeze bunt brought in a run for the Mules. But in the top of the fifth, Central Missouri chipped away at the Mountain Lion lead with two runs off Silva. The two run fifth inning was the end of Silva's day as he finished with the no-decision and a strong pitching performance by only allowing three runs off four hits, and one walk in five innings pitched.

After a two-run fifth inning, the Mules followed it up with a three-run sixth inning as the leadoff runner reached first on an error. Central Missouri then followed it up with a walked batter in the next at-bat to set up a scoring opportunity for the Mules. Singles to center and right field scored one run as two grounball outs up the middle would score the second and third run to make it 6-4 in favor of UCM.

Down by two in the bottom half of the sixth, UCCS answered back with two of their own to tie the game 6-6. Walker Rumsey would draw a walk for the Mountain Lions' first baserunner as Matt McDermott drove in Rumsey with one of his three doubles in the game. A Berg fly out advanced McDermott to third, with Hegmann then reaching on by error and scoring McDermott to tie the game up.

Sopohomore pitcher Dagin Renck entered the ball game in the seventh where he struck out four to keep Central Missouri scoreless through eight innings. With the game tied 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh, it was Evan Richards coming up big for the Mountain Lions. The left-handed hitting Richards sent an inside pitch deep right field for the go-ahead run, and his fourth home run of the season, to give UCCS the 7-6 lead.

In the top half of the ninth inning, and down by one run, Central Missouri led things off with a single up the middle to put the game-tying run on first base. Renck bounced back to get the next batter up as he hopped off the mound to field a swinging bunt down the third base line and throw the runner out at first base for the out. In the process, the game-tying run moved to into scoring position as head coach Dave Hajek called to the bullpen for Cam Aufderheide. Mason Javrin of Central Missouri represented the tying run for the Mules on second, and with a good jump on Aufderheide stole third base to come within only 90-feet of taking the game into the bottom half of the inning. But Aufderheide did not let the game head in that direction as he retired the next two batters to record the save and secure the 7-6 win for the Mountain Lions.

The Mountain Lions will travel to San Diego, Calif. next weekend as they take on Point Loma Nazarene University. Game one will be on Friday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.