This Week's Matchup
University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball (10-24, 5-11 RMAC) are back on their home turf this week and will aim to get back in the win column as the Mountain Lions host Colorado Christian University. The four-game set is scheduled to begin Thursday, Apr. 14 at 3 p.m. with a doubleheader on Friday, followed by game four on Saturday, Apr. 16 at 12 p.m. inside Mountain Lion Park.
 
Game Coverage
Live Stream: https://www.rmacnetwork.com/gomountainlions/
Live Stats: https://gomountainlions.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
 
Last Time Out

• UCCS fell in four games in Denver this past weekend with Regis University pulling off the series sweep by outscoring the Mountain Lions 19-44.
• The Mountain Lions faced a five-run or larger deficit in all four games, starting with a 7-15 loss in game one on Friday that had a combined seven errors, including five committed by UCCS. Redshirt freshman Kit Wigington was the offensive spark after going 2-for-5 with a home run and game high four RBI.
• On Saturday, Regis' Brady Gilmore threw a seven-inning complete game shutout in a 5-0 win over UCCS with four different Mountain Lions tallying a hit. The following game stayed in the Rangers' favor with a 10-5 victory and Regis outhitting UCCS 17-10 in the ballgame. Redshirt freshman Brad Madison was a consistent bat for the Mountain Lions on the day after finishing 4-for-7 at the dish with a double, home run, and two RBI.
• Game four started in a different trend from the previous three games with the Mountain Lions jumping out to a 4-1 lead through one innings of play. UCCS grasped onto the lead for four full innings before the Rangers scored in the next four innings to total 11 runs as they went on to take the win at a final score of 14-7. Redshirt freshman Caleb Stubbings went yard twice in the game for a 2-for-4 day that included two runs scored and two RBI as Madison drove in a a game high three RBI after going deep in the first for a three-run home run and 1-for-3 day.

 
RMAC Standings

• There's a new number one atop the RMAC Standings with Regis taking over the top spot with a 21-17-1 overall record and 14-6 RMAC record.
• Regis' new spot is followed up by Metropolitan Sate University of Denver (24-14, 13-7 RMAC) in second place as the Roadrunners took two from nationally ranked Colorado Mesa University (23-9, 10-6 RMAC) last weekend to push the Mavericks down to third in the standings.
• Colorado State University Pueblo (21-17, 12-8 RMAC) moves down to fifth after dropping three out of four games to New Mexico Highlands University as CCU (12-20, 8-8 RMAC) and Colorado School of Mines (22-11, 7-9 RMAC) both went 3-1 to claim fifth and sixth in conference standings, respectively.
• Rounding out the bottom three spots are NMHU (10-24, 8-12 RMAC), UCCS (10-24, 5-11 RMAC), and Adams State (6-24, 3-13 RMAC).

 
The Series

• In 20 total games, the Mountain Lions have had the Cougar's number by boasting a record of 17-3, having won the last 12 matchups.

 
Scouting Colorado Chrsitian

• CCU currently sits in RMAC Tournament contention at fifth place after the Cougars won their second series of the season by posting a 3-1 series win over Adams State last weekend.
• The Cougars offense was firing on all cylinders against the Grizzlies after scoring 55 runs, including back-to-back 20-run victories in the final two games (26-12, 21-6). In total, CCU has scored 230 runs on the season for a 7.18 runs per game average, ranking them sixth in the RMAC.
• The CCU sticks have heated up as of late by bumping their batting average to .319 for the year with 77 doubles and a total of 19 triples which ranks fourth in the country. At .59 triples per game, the Cougars are leading the conference and rank third in all of Division II.
• Tying for the fourth most triples in DII is Wyatt Crenshaw (six) who is also been the offensive juggernaut for the Cougars with a .407 batting average and impressive .839 slugging percentage. In addition to his six triples, Crenshaw has hit 12 doubles, nine home runs, and has driven in 45 RBI while starting in all 32 games for the Cougars.
• On the heels of Crenshaw with 38 hits and a .392 average is Frankie Shearn III who has tallied five doubles, four triples, and 15 RBI.
• Sophomore Caden Walton joins Crenshaw as the only other Cougar who has started in all 32 games with the infielder providing some offense of his own by hitting .357 with the second most hits on the team (40) as he's driven in 23 RBI.
• Leading the CCU pitching staff is junior right-hander Harrison Nation who has tossed 29.1 innings in 10 appearances and three starts while holding a 3.99 ERA and 2-2 record.
• Making a team high eight starts is senior Tyler Fischer who has fanned a team high 50 batters on his way to notching a 6.58 ERA in 39.2 innings pitched for a 2-2 record on the bump.

 
Hot Takes

• The UCCS defense has been one of the best in the RMAC in turning double plays by averaging 0.74 per game for the second highest average in the league.
• On the offensive side, the Mountain Lions are maintaining the conference lead in doubles per game at 2.62 which also ranks sixth in all of Division II.
• UCCS is batting .297 as a team with the average bumping up to .306 when up against left-handed pitching.
• On the year, the Mountain Lions are hitting .337 with runners in scoring position as Kiichi Sato, Aaron Faragallah, and Jaeden Hegmann are batting .500, .424, .435, respectively.
• The Mountain Lions are 9-7 this season when they outhit or tie their opponent in hits.
• UCCS holds an impressive 8-1 record when leading after six innings of play and are above .500 when scoring first in the ballgame (6-5).
• The Mountain Lions tied their season high in extra base hits on Sunday after registering 10 total extra base hits.
• UCCS has scored a total of 196 runs against the Cougars with 129 runs being scored during the Mountain Lions' current 12-game win streak.
• Faragallah takes over the team lead in batting average by swinging .356 with 27 RBI on the year. The Colorado native currently holds a seven-game hitting streak with nine RBI driven in during that span.
• Caleb Stubbings registered his second two-home run game of the season during game four of the Regis series as he leads the team with nine total home runs. The redshirt freshman has also drove in a team high 30 RBI on a .324 batting average and on-bas plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.042.
• Owning a team low ERA of 5.82 is freshman Evan Langston who holds a 1-0 record in nine appearances, one start, and 21.2 innings pitched. Langston hast not given up more than two runs in each of his last three appearances as he's allowed a total of four runs in eight full innings.
• Starter John Hoffman is holding opponents to the lowest batting average out of all UCCS starters by limiting the opposition to a .267 average through nine appearances, seven starts, and 32 innings of work.

 
UCCS Under Head Coach Dave Hajek

• Dave Hajek, who led UCCS to its first RMAC championship in program history, is in his sixth season as the Head Coach of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball program in 2022. He's coached the only MLB Draft pick in Zach Hall and the only All-Americans in Matt McDermott, Matt Clarke, Jake Anderson, and Evan Richards.
• In six seasons, Hajek holds a .544 winning percentage with a 124-113 overall record that includes, four RMAC Tournament appearances, one RMAC Tournament Championship, a 5-7 RMAC Tournament record, and one NCAA Tournament appearance.

 
Upcoming Games

• UCCS Baseball will travel to Alamosa, Colo. to visit Adams State in a four-game series starting on Friday, Apr. 22 at 3 p.m.

 
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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.