COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team continued their offensive onslaught as they swept Colorado Christian University in the Saturday double header. In a pair of games separated by a total of four runs, the Mountain Lions were able to outlast the Cougars and take the first three games of the series in the process.

In game one, UCCS won by a score of 9-6 thanks to a clutch sixth inning triple by Jake Anderson.

The Mountain Lions got out to an early 4-0 lead after two innings, thanks in large part to starting pitcher Colin Cicere as he retired the first six batters he faced in the game. In the first, Matthew Clarke led off with a double to center field and later scored on a single to center by Evan Richards. Riley Gregory and Matt Berg got the second inning going with a single and double respectively. Matt McDermott followed that up with a double of his own, scoring both Gregory and Berg. McDermott would score on a Matthew Clarke single the very next at-bat, making the score 4-0 after two innings.

Colorado Christian would not go away quietly as they put up two runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, taking a 6-4 lead in the process.

After two scoreless innings, UCCS would get one run back in the fifth thanks to solo blast to right field from Evan Richards, making the score 6-5 heading into the sixth.

In the sixth, Riley Gregory would again get things going with a double to left center. Matt Berg singled up the middle in the next at-bat to score Gregory and tie the game at six. After a single by Matt McDermott and a sacrifice bunt by Matthew Clarke, Tyler Matheny forced a walk to load the bases for Jake Anderson. Anderson would fall behind in the count 0-2, but he battled his way back to a full count and ended up ripping a ball down the right field line for a bases clearing triple, giving UCCS a 9-6 lead.

Cam Aufderheide came in to close the game out in the seventh, and he would deliver with a game ending strikeout, handing UCCS the first win of the day.

The Mountain Lions again had the CCU pitchers on edge, racking up 14 hits in this game including five more doubles, a clutch triple and another home run.

Game two turned into another classic close game for UCCS as they were just able to edge out CCU 9-8, thanks to more late game heroics, this time by Tyler Matheny.

The Mountain Lions again struck first, scoring six runs in the second off of five hits and one error to take a commanding early lead. Evan Richards and Cody Norton both singled to get on base for UCCS. Michael Bennin would then reach by error and Evan Richards would score, making it 1-0. UCCS would score three more runs on a single form Matt McDermott and a double from Matthew Clarke. Walker Rumsey put the icing on the second inning cake with a two-run home run to right field, giving the Mountain Lions a 6-0 lead.

Joe Slocum pitched well in his start, throwing three scoreless innings to start the game.

After a scoreless third inning, Colorado Christian would again put their resilience on display as they proceeded to score two in the fourth and four in the fifth to tie the game at six all.

Dagin Renck and Eric Neeley would come in relief for Slocum and combined to shut the Cougars down in the sixth and seventh, sending this game into extra-innings.

In the top of the eighth, CCU was able to string together some hits and score two runs on Neeley to take the lead 8-6. Christian Manmano came in to get the final two outs and send the game into the bottom of the eighth with UCCS trailing.

Jake Anderson and Evan Richards started the inning off with a pair of singles for UCCS, bringing Cody Norton to the plate. Norton would come up with a huge double for the Mountain Lions that would score Anderson and move Richards to third, making the score 7-8. CCU elected to intentionally walk John Mallon to load the bases, which brought Tyler Matheny, who was pinch-hitting for Michael Bennin, to the plate. After falling behind in the count 0-2, Matheny would launch a hit down the left field line, scoring Richards and Norton and giving UCCS the win 9-8 in dramatic walk-off fashion.

The Mountain Lions' resilience was on display as they got two hard fought wins in the Saturday double header. UCCS tallied 24 hits on the day, including seven doubles, two home runs and two clutch hits. The final game of the series will take place tomorrow, Mar. 10 at Mountain Lion Park. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.