GOLDEN, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Colorado Springs baseball battled Colorado School of Mines down to the wire on Sunday in the final game of RMAC pod play but the Mountain Lions ultimately fell short after a two-run Oredigger eighth inning resulted in a 5-6 final at Jim Darden Field.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 6, Mines 4
Records: UCCS (10-19, 5-7 RMAC), Mines (21-11, 7-9 RMAC)
Location: Jim Darden Field | Golden, Colo.
Series: UCCS trails the all-time series, 8-13, to Colorado School of Mines.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• UCCS' fourth game of the pod series got off to a rough start on Sunday as a three-run first inning for the Orediggers swung the advantage in Mines' favor early on. The Mountain Lions spotted Mines five walks in the inning as the Orediggers recorded one hit to make it a short outing for
Jon Sotto on the mound, making way for
John Hoffman who came into to get out of the inning to keep the score 3-0.
• Hoffman stepped up for the Mountain Lions by running the Orediggers scoreless through the next three innings as UCCS made it a two-run ballgame with
Kit Wigington blasting a solo shot in the top of the fourth to make it 3-1 through four innings of play.
• After 3.2 innings on the bump,
Evan Langston entered the game to take over for Hoffman as he sat down the first two Orediggers in the home half of the fifth inning before Adam Houghtaling homered to left field to retake a three-run lead for Mines at 4-1.
• Entering the sixth and in need of some runs,
Aaron Faragallah got things going with an infield single as the Mountain Lions' offense broke through with back-to-back RBI doubles from
Tyler Richardson and
Brad Madison to put the pressure on Mines in a new 4-3 ballgame.
• Langston settled in to keep Mines from crossing home plate in the sixth and seventh inning as the bats caught fire once again in the top half of the seventh with another UCCS double driving in a run as Wiginton brought in the game-tying score by splitting the right center gap for his second RBI of the day.
• Battling back to tie the game, UCCS was not yet finished as Richardson connect on an 0-1 fastball to find the left field gap for his second double of the game and represent the go-ahead score in the top of the eighth. The next at-bat saw Madison step to the dish where the redshirt freshman delivered a single to left field to move Wigington 90-feet away from home plate. After a UCCS strikeout, head coach
Dave Hajek signaled for the suicide squeeze that
Nate Heflebower laid down to perfection to give the Mountain Lions their first lead of the game, 5-4.
• UCCS needed just six more outs to seal the win but the Orediggers showed their patience at the plate by drawing two walks to start the bottom of the eighth. A Mines' sacrifice bunt moved runners into scoring position as a pinch-hitting Brady Veltien came up clutch with a two-RBI single to left center to push the Orediggers ahead 6-5.
• In the top of the ninth, Mines' Nathan Vetter came on to close and did just that for his first save of the season and the 6-5 final.
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• The Mountain Lions doubled the Orediggers in hits, 12-6, but struggled in keeping the Orediggers in the box with 11 walks on the day.
• John Hoffman had an efficient 3.2 innings of work on Sunday where he allowed no runs on three hits.
Joseph Harris receives the loss and slides to 2-2 after 0.2 innings and giving up one run on one hit with two walks.
• Kit Wigington was responsible for two RBI after finishing 2-for-5 with a home run and a double.
Tyler Richardson and
Brad Madison each went a game high 3-for-4 with an RBI as they combined for three doubles.
BEYOND THE BOX:
• Kit Wigington notched his fifth multi-RBI performance of the season.
• Today marks the second game the Mountain Lion have lost by one run (Feb. 5 against Cal Poly Pomona).
• UCCS hit four doubles for the fourth time this season and have registered four or more doubles in 11 games this season.
UP NEXT:
• The Mountain Lions will be back in Denver next weekend as they face Regis University starting on Friday, Apr. 8 at 3 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.
