PUEBLO, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team fell short in a high-powered offensive affair that witnessed 42 runs scored on Friday night as late game heroics from Colorado State University Pueblo leads to a 22-20 win over the Mountain Lions in game one.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 20, CSU Pueblo 22
Records: UCCS (17-26, 12-13 RMAC), CSU Pueblo (25-18, 16-9 RMAC)
Location: Runyon Field| Pueblo, Colo.
Series: The all-time series is tight between UCCS and CSU Pueblo with the ThunderWolves evening up the series at 8-8.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Offense was the name of the game on Friday as the bats heated up quick on both sides with 23 runs scored through the first three innings.
• It was the Mountain Lions who set the tone early on by plating five first inning runs with redshirt freshman
Kit Wigington tallying the game's first RBI by clearing the left center field wall for a two-run home run. UCCS proceeded to register four consecutive hits with
Kasey Campbell driving in a run off an RBI single as
Tyler Richardson drove in two RBI off a double to left field. Freshman
Macully Sehr topped off the top of the first with a sacrifice flyout as the Mountain Lions got off to a 5-0 lead.
• The ThunderWolves came back to match UCCS' five runs and raise them two more after seven-runs came across in the bottom of the first off six CSU Pueblo hits, including a run scored on a
Jonathan Cowles wild pitch and squeeze bunt to swing the advantage to the ThunderWolves, 7-5.
• CSU Pueblo starter Tim McIntyre stayed in the ballgame to throw a scoreless second as Cowles' night ended early in the first with
Dylan Grierson coming on to blank the ThunderWolves in the home half of the second to maintain a two-run game.
• It didn't take long for the bats to wake back up in the third as the Mountain Lions stepped back in front for their second lead of the game with
Caleb Stubbings leading off with a single followed by
Aaron Faragallah striping a double the opposite way for runners on second and third. UCCS' situational hitting then came into play with Campbell and Richardson putting the ball into play for a pair of RBI. With two outs, Sehr kept the inning alive with a double to bring up
Walker Rumsey who notched two RBI with one swing of the bat as a home run to left center put UCCS ahead, 9-7.
• But the UCCS lead was short lived once again as the ThunderWolves put up another seven-run inning in the third off five hits, including a three-run home run from Kysen Howard to have CSU Pueblo retake the lead, 14-9.
• Three more CSU Pueblo runs came in through the fourth and fifth inning to push the ThunderWolves ahead 17-10, but the Mountain Lions mounted a big sixth inning to make it brand new ballgame at 17-17. The Mountain Lions capitalized off three CSU Pueblo errors while tacking on four hits to register a seven-run inning of their own as Wigington, Faragallah, Richardson, and
Kiichi Sato all notched RBIs. After taking a jog around the bases with a solo shot in the fifth, Richardson made another RBI appearance in the sixth by way of a two-RBI double for his fourth and fifth RBI of the game as Sato came up big with a two-out RBI double to tie the game up.
• Then in the seventh inning, junior
JJ Rytz came in for relief and shut the ThunderWolves down by striking out two in a scoreless sixth and following it up by striking out the side in the eighth to put the Mountain Lions in a position to take their third lead of the game.
• In the top of the eighth, the inning was led off with a walk from Rumsey who made his way over to third base on a hit and run from Hegmann to setup a scoring chance for the Mountain Lions. With one out, Wigington then lifted a deep flyball to center field that was dropped by the center fielder to bring in Rumsey and give UCCS a one-run advantage at 18-17.
• The ThunderWolves continued the same trend by taking the lead back in the bottom of the eighth as CSU Pueblo managed to plate five runs with Brady Prewitt hitting a go-ahead two-run home run as they scored three more on three hits and a UCCS error.
• The Mountain Lions had one more chance in the top of the ninth as they walked bases loaded to have Sato notch a two-RBI single with two outs to bring it back within two runs at 20-22. But the ninth inning halted there with the ThunderWolves holding on to the game one win.
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• CSU Pueblo outhit the Mountain Lions 22-18 in game one with a combined 17 extra base hits between both teams.
• All nine UCCS starters recorded a hit on Friday night with seven Mountain Lions registering at least one RBI.
• Redshirt sophomore
Tyler Richardson led all hitters with five RBI after the starting catcher went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, and three runs scored.
• Redshirt freshmen
Kit Wigington and
Caleb Stubbings join Richardson with a team high three hits. Wigington goes 3-for-6 with a home run and four RBI as Stubbings notches a 3-for-5 night with a double and three runs scored.
• JJ Rytz gets credited with the loss after tossing 2.1 innings and giving up four runs on four hits with a team high five strikeouts. Rytz led a UCCS pitching staff that combined for a total of 15 strikeouts.
BEYOND THE BOX:
• Friday night marks the second time this season that the Mountain Lions have scored 20 or more runs and the sixth time they have registered 18 or more hits this season.
• Tyler Richardson has recorded a double and at least one RBI in three consecutive games as he also set a new single game career high for RBI with five.
• Kit Wigington has now homered in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
• JJ Rytz bagged a new single game career high strikeouts after fanning five ThunderWolves as the Mountain Lions pitching staff tallied a new season high 15 strikeouts, the most since Mar. 16 of 2018 when the Mountain Lions struck out 16 against Adams State.
UP NEXT:
• The Mountain Lions are back on the diamond tomorrow afternoon for two games against the ThunderWolves with doubleheader action slated to begin at 12 p.m. inside Rawlings Field.
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.
