COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team could not keep up with the impressive offensive production from their Colorado School of Mines Orediggers adversaries as they drop both games of the Saturday doubleheader to close out the regular season.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Game 1: UCCS 6, CSM 19 | Game 2: UCCS 8, CSM 15
Records: UCCS (20-30, 15-17 RMAC), CCU (32-17, 17-15 RMAC)
Facility: Mountain Lion Park | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: With the Mountain Lions losing two games today, their all-time record against the Orediggers falls to 9-16.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME 1
- It was Cole Philip who got the starting nod for the Mountain Lions to kick off the doubleheader on Saturday. He worked quickly as he struck out the side in the first inning and allowed the Mountain Lions the first shot at the lead. Kit Wigington took advantage by driving the first pitch he saw to center field for a two-run bomb to put UCCS up 2-0 early.
- The Orediggers fought back in the second with two outs already recorded in the inning to take the lead 3-2. The Mountain Lions would threaten with the tying run at second base but could not capitalize and went into the third inning still trailing by a run.
- With CSM further extending their lead in the third, Tyler Richardson stepped up to the plate to get the Mountain Lions back in it with a double down the left field line that scored two runs and brought the score to a 5-4 Oredigger lead.
- A flurry of doubles put the Orediggers up by four runs in the fifth inning. Zac Dammel came in to pinch hit in the bottom half of the inning and hit a solo shot to center field on the first pitch he saw to keep the Mountain Lions within striking distance.
- The visitors would continue to pile on through the sixth and seventh innings to go up 12-5. A seventh inning solo blast from Caleb Stubbings would add a run to the Mountain Lion total with only two frames left to play. The Orediggers turned it into a lopsided game with a seven-run eighth inning.
- Braden Barker came in out of the bullpen in the eighth and continued to pitch into the ninth. While there was traffic on the basepaths, he was able to walk away unscathed in his appearance to keep the Orediggers off the scoreboard in the final frame. The Mountain Lions couldn't get anything going facing a large deficit and dropped game one by a score of 19-6.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME 1
- Braden Barker pitched well out of the bullpen with 1.2 innings of work, four strikeouts, and no runs allowed.
- Luis Samorano collected a triple on his way to a multi-hit game. Two other Mountain Lions, Kit Wigington and Caleb Stubbings, both hit homeruns on their way to their own multi-hits games.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME 2
- For the regular season finale, Evan Langston took the hill for the Mountain Lions. He worked his way out of the first inning allowing only one run.
- After getting their first run of the game by advancing on a wild pitch, the Mountain Lions went into the top of the third inning with the game tied. The Orediggers would not let that last long as they exploded for five runs in the top of the third to distance themselves from the home squad.
- Down by a bunch early, the Mountain Lions needed a rally. With runners on base and Brad Madison at the dish, UCCS got the runs they needed to get back in the game as Madison launched one over the scoreboard in left center for a three-run round tripper. Zac Dammel followed suit and lost one over the wall in right center for back-to-back homeruns to bring the score to 6-5 in favor of the Orediggers.
- There wouldn't be much offensive action from either side until the Orediggers broke it back open in the sixth to go up 11-5. Walker Rumsey added a run for the Mountain Lions in the bottom half of the sixth frame with a solo shot to left to make it 11-6 with one inning left to play.
- The Orediggers kept at it on offense with four more runs in the top of the seventh to increase their lead to nine runs. The UCCS batters would put together a couple hits and would scratch two runs with Aaron Faragallah driving in a run on a groundout and Brad Madison bringing Kasey Campbell around on an RBI double. The rally would stall, and the Mountain Lions would drop the regular finale by a score of 15-8.
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME 2
- Three homeruns were hit by Mountain Lions batters in the second game today. They came off the bats of Brad Madison, Walker Rumsey, Zac Dammel. Madison led the team in RBI with four with most coming on his third inning bomb.
- Luis Samorano, Aaron Faragallah, Madison, and Rumsey all had multi-hit games.
- The second game featured a lot of balls in play as only three Mountain Lion batters went down on strikes.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Today, nine Mountain Lion seniors were recognized for their achievements and contributions to the program. The celebrated players were Nate Heflebower, Henry Ryan, Jonathan Cowles, Zac Dammel, Jaeden Hegmann, Walker Rumsey, Brian Marquez, Aaron Faragallah, and Joseph Harris.
- With his blast in game one this afternoon, Zac Dammel records his first career homerun as a Mountain Lion. He followed it up with another one in game two to bring his career total to two.
- Kit Wigington continues to swing a hot bat as his homerun in game one today gives him nine homeruns in his last nine games. He also extends his hitting streak to nine games and his batting average climbs to .449, which ranks best on the team.
- The third inning bomb off the bat of Brad Madison in game two was the first homerun given up this season by CSM pitcher, Brayden Weyer.
- The Mountain Lions have recorded double-digit hits in 14 of their last 17 games as a team.
UP NEXT
- After qualifying for the playoffs yesterday, the date and time for the next game is TBD. Stay tuned to GoMountainLions.com for more information on the upcoming RMAC Baseball Tournament schedule.
SOCIAL:
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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.
