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Mar 24, 2019; Colorado Springs, CO, USA; UCCS Mountain Lions outfielder Matt Berg (1) in the game against the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks at Mountain Lion Park. Credit: Isaiah J. Downing

PREVIEW | Baseball Hosts Northwest Missouri State for Home Opener

2/19/2020 10:00:00 AM

By: Jake Wise - Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
This Week's Matchup
  • The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball hosts their home opener this weekend against Northwest Missouri State University (NMSU). This will be a three-game series as opposed to the usual four-game format.
  • The first game will be on Friday, February 21. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
  • Saturday, February 22, and Sunday February will both feature games at 11 a.m.
Game Coverage Last Time Out
  • The Mountain Lions struggled last weekend as they got swept by Biola University in their four-game series. UCCS scored eight runs on 24 hits including six doubles and two home runs. Matt Berg led the Mountain Lions going 5-for-14 at the plate and driving in one run, giving him a .357 average for the weekend.
  • John Mallon finished the weekend with a .308 batting average after going 4-for-13 with two doubles and two RBI, while Riley Gregory and Ryan Schmidt both hit their first home runs of season.
  • The first game on Friday featured the most offense as both teams recorded 10 hits in the game. After each team scored one run in the first, UCCS would add three more to take a 4-2 lead after five innings. Biola responded with three in the bottom of the seventh to take a one-run lead, 5-4. Ryan Schmidt tied things up with a home run in the top of the ninth, but Biola was able to walk it off in the bottom of ninth off of a single to take home the 5-6 win.
  • Friday's second game was a struggle for UCCS as they only recorded three hits in the seven innings played and could not manage to score a run. Biola scored two in the second and one in the sixth to make the final score 0-3.
  • Saturday's first game was a pitching duel for the first seven innings as neither team managed to score. Both teams added one in the seventh, even though Biola still had not recorded a hit in the game. The Eagles added two more in the eighth as walks continued to plague the Mountain Lions. UCCS was able to score one in the ninth but could not tie the game as it ended with the score at 2-3.
  • The series finale on Saturday was another pitching duel, with each team tallying only three hits. Biola scored in the first inning to take the lead, but UCCS responded in the second to tie the game. Three scoreless innings later and Biola scored what would prove to be the winning run to complete the series sweep.
The Series
  • UCCS has never played against NMSU prior to this matchup. This marks the second week in a row that UCCS matching up against an opponent for the first time. The Mountain Lions will look to start the series off on the right foot.
Scouting Report
  • NMSU has a 5-6 record to start this season. After going 5-2 through their first seven games, the Bearcats have lost four games in a row. NMSU has scored 68 runs and racked up 100 hits through 11 games including 27 doubles, two triples and eight home runs. The team has a batting average of .271, a slugging percentage of .420, and an on-base percentage of .395.
  • Defensively, the NMSU pitching staff has a combined ERA of 4.91 in just under 92 total innings pitched. They have allowed 87 hits and given up 42 walks, while also striking out 85 batters.
  • Individually, Jordan Peck and Connor Quick lead the team in batting average at .371 and .368, respectively. Quick leads the team in hits with 14, while Peck ranks second with 13 but leads the team with seven doubles. Matt Gastner also has 13 hits on the year and leads the team with four home runs and 13 RBI.
  • Max Spitzmiller has been the best starter for NMSU as he owns a 1-0 record and a 3.71 ERA through three starts. He also leads the pitching staff in strikeouts with 18. Next would be Spencer Hanson, who has a 3.86 ERA, 17 strikeouts and a 1-2 record through his three starts this season.
Hot Takes
  • Following a tough series, UCCS is now hitting .209 with 53 hits, 11 doubles and three home runs. Defensively, the Mountain Lion pitching staff has started the season well with a 3.09 combined ERA, allowing 25 runs (22 earned) on 49 hits with 61 strikeouts.
  • Junior Matt Berg leads the Mountain Lions with his .379 batting average, currently the only player on the team hitting north of .300. Berg leads the team in hits also with 11 and has driven in two RBI.
  • Redshirt senior John Mallon ranks second on the team in batting average (.296) and hits (eight), while also leading the team with three doubles. Senior Matt McDermott ranks third on the team in batting average at .267, second in hits with eight, and leads the team with four RBI.
  • Redshirt sophomore Ryan Schmidt and redshirt junior Riley Gregory both hit their first home runs of the season last weekend to bring the team total to three.
  • Junior pitcher Jonathan Cowles (1-0) has started off the season strong as he owns a 0.69 ERA through two starts this season. Cowles has allowed only one run (earned) off of four hits with nine strikeouts through 13 innings this season.
  • Fellow junior pitcher Brian Marquez (1-0) has also started the season strong with his 1.64 ERA through two starts this season. Marquez has allowed two runs (both earned) on four hits with 12 strikeouts.
  • Seniors Christian Manmano (0-1, 2.25 ERA) and Daniel Silva (0-0, 3.75 ERA) have also thrown the ball well to start this season. Manmano has allowed four runs (three earned) on 13 hits with nine strikeouts while Silva has allowed six runs (five earned) on 14 hits with a team high 14 strikeouts.
Weather
  • The forecast for this weekend at Mountain Lion park shows highs of 44, 48 and 40 degrees for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
  • Friday shows mostly sunny skies with little wind anticipated.
  • Saturday forecasts partly cloudy skies in the morning with a chance of rain in the afternoon.
  • Sunday shows partly cloudy skies with wind expected to gust up to 13 miles per hour.
UCCS Under Coach Dave Hajek
  • The Mountain Lions are now 80-80 with coach Hajek leading the way. In their short history, UCCS has gone 7-5 in their home opening series', including going 6-2 in the last two years. Coach Hajek will look to lead UCCS to another home opening series win starting on Friday.
Upcoming Matchup
  • Next weekend, UCCS will be at home and will play only two games at Mountain Lion Park instead of four. The Mountain Lions will be hosting New Mexico Highlands University.
  • Both games are scheduled for Sunday, March 1 and will begin at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
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