GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball struggles to get the bats going Friday afternoon as No. 6 nationally ranked Colorado Mesa University hands the Mountain Lions a 16-0 loss in game one of the series at Bergman Park.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 0, #6 CMU 16
Records: UCCS (7-12, 3-2 RMAC), CMU (16-5, 7-2 RMAC)
Location: Bergman Field | Grand Junction, Colo.
Series: UCCS trails 7-16 in the all-time series against Colorado Mesa with the Mavericks having won the last two matchups.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• It was a pitching duel between UCCS'
Jonathan Cowles and CMU's Cooper Vasquez to begin the game as they traded scoreless innings through the first two innings of play with Cowles claiming four strikeouts in that span.
• The Mountain Lions were provided with their first opportunity to put runs on the board after loading the bases up with two outs as Vasquez walked three Mountain Lions before a strikeout stranded three runners to keep the game notched at zeros.
• Redshirt freshman
Kit Wigington registered what was the first hit of the ballgame in the top of the third after lacing a ball through the right side for a single, but that would be only half the offense the Mountain Lions could generate as the number six team in the nation got after Cowles in the bottom of the third.
• The Mavericks started off with back-to-back singles in the home half of the third and attempted to get the first run of the game across on a squeeze bunt but an athletic Cowles hopped off the mound to record the first out of the inning with a glove flip to
Tyler Richardson at home plate to maintain the scoreless tie. Shortly after, CMU rattled off five consecutive hits for a 6-0 lead before Richardson notched the second out with a perfect throw to
Kiichi Sato at second base to catch a stealing Chase Hamilton. Another run was plated off a triple down the right field line as Cowles forced a groundball in the following at-bat to stop a seven-run CMU inning.
• CMU's Vasquez got after the UCCS lineup by retiring the next 13 Mountain Lions while the Maverick offense drove in six more in the sixth and three runs in the seventh to post a 16-0 lead heading into the top of the eighth inning.
• Freshman
Macully Sehr broke Vasquez's streak to lead off the eighth by driving a 3-1 fastball back up the middle for the Mountain Lions' second hit of the game.
• Sehr's single was the last piece of offense for the Mountain Lions as Vasquez finished the eighth inning with CMU's Cade Nicol finishing the game off in the ninth with two strikeouts to cement the 16-0 ballgame.
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• No. 6 CMU outhit UCCS 17-2 in the game with the Mavericks recording six extra base hits including three doubles, two triples, and a home run.
• Starter
Jonathan Cowles slides to 3-2 on the season after a five-inning performance consisted of 14 hits, nine earned runs, and seven strikeouts.
• CMU's Cooper Vasquez hucks his best outing of the season in his first start of 2022 after going eight full innings with three walks, nine strikeouts, and giving up just two hits in the shutout.
• Kit Wigington and
Macully Sehr each tally a hit in the game as Sehr finished 1-for-2 with a walk.
• Nine different Mavericks notched an RBI with Caleb Farmer recording a game high three RBI off a 3-for-4 day.
BEYOND THE BOX:
• This is just the eighth time in program history the Mountain Lions have been shutout, and the third time that it has come off the hands of CMU.
• Macully Sehr has registered a hit in each of his three starts this season.
• Kit Wigington has tallied a hit in 10 of his 11 starts this season.
• Jonathan Cowles' seven strikeouts on the afternoon is the graduate students' second most strikeouts in a single game this season and the sixth time in his career that he's posted seven or more strikeouts.
UP NEXT:
• UCCS Baseball will be back at it tomorrow afternoon with a seven-inning double header slated to start at 1 p.m. against No. 6 CMU.
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.
