SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball's pitching staff combined to hold San Francisco State University to one hit on Sunday as the Mountain Lions' offensive burst late in the game led to a commanding 6-1 win over the Gators in game four.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 6, SFSU 1
Records: UCCS (2-6, 0-0 RMAC), SFSU (3-1, 0-0 CCAA)
Location: Maloney Field | San Francisco, Calif.
Series: UCCS is trailing the all-time series 1-3 against San Francisco State.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The final game of the series was a tight one on Sunday as the one-run contest began in favor of San Francisco State with the Gators managing to put one across off no hits in the bottom of the first. UCCS starter
John Hoffman opened the inning by hitting Sammy Gonzales as the starting outfielder then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch to only score off a sacrifice fly.
• Hoffman's one run given up in the first was the only offense for the remainder of the game for SFSU as the transfer went after the Gators for three scoreless innings. The UCCS defense flipped the switch and shut SFSU down with the help of
Henry Ryan who threw out a runner trying to score in the second and Hoffman who picked off a runner at second in the third inning.
• San Francisco State moved on to get into scoring position in the fifth inning as well with freshman
Brock Weiss on the bump as the Gators turned a hit by pitch into a runner on third base with one out. But SFSU fell 90-feet short once again of getting a run in as Weiss bounced back to force a pop-up and groundout to get out of the inning with UCCS still down 1-0.
• In the home half of the sixth, the Mountain Lions found themselves in a bases loaded pinch with one out as two hit by pitches and a walk placed the Gators in a position to score. Needing just two more outs to keep the game tied, reliever
Joseph Harris recovered off his bases loaded walk by fielding a squeeze bunt and getting the out at home plate as he then caused a flyout to right field for the final out of the inning to come out unharmed and maintain the 1-0 score.
• Then in the top of the seventh, a Ryan double down the left field line brought redshirt freshman
Kit Wigington to the plate who sent the third pitch of his at-bat to center field for a clutch RBI single as the Mountain Lions tied it up to make it a new ballgame at 1-1.
• After tying things up in the seventh, the Mountain Lions surpassed the Gators with a go-ahead run in the eighth that started with a
Kiichi Sato walk as he stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Then with one out, Stubbings came through by hitting an RBI single to claim the 2-1 advantage.
• With the lead in hand for the first time in the game, UCCS kept the offensive momentum alive with a four-run outburst that was driven by five hits including a
Matt Johnson,
Nate Heflebower, and Sato double which helped propel UCCS to a 6-1 win.
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• UCCS outhit the Gators 14-1 in the game as three of the Mountain Lions' four doubles came in the ninth inning.
• Joseph Harris notches the win while allowing no hits and no runs with two strikeouts in 2.2 innings.
John Hoffman started on the mound and threw four full innings that saw one Gator run and hit as
Jon Sotto closed out the last inning on three strikeouts.
• Five different Mountain Lions registered an RBI in the win as
Caleb Stubbings paced UCCS with two RBI on a 3-for-5 day. Starting second baseman
Kiichi Sato led the team and game in hits after finishing 4-for-5 with a double, RBI, and two runs scored.
• UCCS' Sato and
Dylan Morace tallied a steal each to total two stolen bases for the Mountain Lions as the Gators recorded one stolen base and a game high nine runners left on base.
BEYOND THE BOX:
• Caleb Stubbings registered a hit in all four games of the series.
• It's just the third time in program history that the Mountain Lions have allowed one hit in a game with Feb. 15, 2020 against Biola University being the last time UCCS had accomplished that feat.
• Kiichi Sato hit his team leading fourth double on Sunday.
UP NEXT:
• UCCS Baseball is slated to visit Colorado State University Pueblo on Tuesday, Feb. 15 with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
SOCIAL:
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
