COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado baseball team earned their first victory of the 2023 season by a score of 10-7 in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against San Francisco State University before dropping the second game of the afternoon, 16-9.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Game One: UCCS 10, SFSU 7 | Final Game Two: UCCS 9, SFSU 16
Records: UCCS (1-6, 0-0 RMAC) | SFSU (2-1, 0-0 CCAA)
Facility | Location: Mountain Lion Park | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions move to 2-5 all-time against the Gators.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- Redshirt sophomore Cole Philip drew the start on the mound in game one of Saturday's doubleheader and immediately found himself with a runner in scoring position as Gator's center fielder Sammy Gonzales led off the first inning with a triple into the right center field gap. Two batters later, Gonzales would cross the plate for the first run of the ballgame on an RBI groundout by Nick Upstill.
- The Gators would continue to add to their lead in the top of the third inning, putting together a four-run rally capped by a three-run home run from Kody Gardner that gave SFSU a 5-0 lead.
- In the bottom half of the third inning, UCCS would begin to make their way back into the ballgame as redshirt sophomore Cam Kennedy led off the frame with a double down the left field line and was driven home on a single by outfielder Aaron Brakel to cut the deficit to 5-1.
- Kennedy proved to be a spark once again in the home half of the fourth inning as he came through with a two-out, two-RBI single up the middle that brought the Mountain Lions within a pair at 5-3.
- San Francisco State found a response in the top half of the fifth as a pair of walks and doubles from Gardner and AJ Schrader added two more runs to the Gators' tally to extend their lead back to 7-3.
- The Mountain Lions continued to show their fight in the bottom of the fifth inning, however, as Kit Wigington and Caleb Stubbings launched back-to-back home runs with one out to bring it back to a two-run game at 7-5. After a SFSU pitching change, the UCCS offense continued to roll as a pair of walks brought pinch-hitter Macully Sehr to the plate with two runners on and two outs. Sehr would take advantage of the free passes by lining a ball down the right field line for a two-run double that brought the game even at seven runs apiece.
- UCCS finished their impressive comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning as Ronan Hella singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a passed ball before being brought home on a single from Brakel to give the Mountain Lions their first lead of the game, 8-7. A subsequent RBI single from Stubbings and RBI double by Brad Madison would add to the cushion, giving UCCS a 10-7 lead to protect in the top of the seventh.
- UCCS relief pitcher Hunter Owens, who entered the game in relief of Philip in the top of the fifth inning, would go on to pitch scoreless sixth and seventh innings as the Mountain Lions earned their first victory of the new season by a score of 10-7.
GAME STATISTICS | GAME ONE
- The Mountain Lions scored a season-high ten runs in the opening game of the doubleheader while tallying 13 hits and five extra-base hits.
- Stubbings was the offensive leader for UCCS, going 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored, and two RBIs. Kennedy (2-for-3) and Brakel (2-for-4) also notched multi-hit games while both recording a pair of RBIs.
- Sehr came off the bench as a pinch hitter but still managed to tie for the team lead with two RBIs with a double in his lone at-bat.
- Philip tossed 4.2 innings as the UCCS starting pitcher while allowing six earned runs and seven hits with four strikeouts.
- Owens picked up his first win of the season after tossing the final 2.1 innings of the ballgame and holding the Gators to just one earned run with three strikeouts.
- Gardner was the primary run-producer for SFSU, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, home run, and four RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
- For a second straight game, SFSU got out to a quick start as Michael Cunningham took UCCS starting pitcher Will Gabriel's first pitch of the game over the left field fence to give the Gators a 1-0 lead. SFSU would add another run on an RBI single by Christian Smith to take a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first frame.
- Redshirt sophomore Mason Pastorello would single handedly cut the Gator's lead in half in the bottom of the first inning as he led off the frame with a ground-rule double and proceeded to steal third base and score on an error to cut the deficit to 2-1.
- The Mountain Lion offense would continue to find success in the bottom of the second when a bases-loaded walk from Wigington tied the game at two before a wild pitch brought home another run to give UCCS their first lead of the game, 3-2.
- In the top of the third inning, Gardner laced his second home run of the afternoon over the right field fence, evening the game up at three. UCCS would once again respond as catcher Tyler Richardson knocked a home run of his own that helped the Mountain Lions regain a 4-3 advantage.
- Things turned south for UCCS in the top half of the fourth inning when San Francisco State strung together six hits, including a pair of three run home runs, to break the game open at 11-4. The Mountain Lions would cut into their newfound deficit in the bottom half of the inning with a two-RBI double from Stubbings and an RBI single from Madison making it an 11-7 game.
- After SFSU added a run in the top of the sixth inning, UCCS managed to scratch across two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to cut their deficit to just three runs, 12-9.
- The Gators would put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh inning as they scored four times on six hits to take a 16-9 lead that proved to be insurmountable.
GAME STATISTICS | GAME TWO
- The Mountain Lions recorded 12 hits in their second game of the day, with Stubbings (3-for-4) and Pastorello (3-for-4) combining to record six of them. Stubbings also led the team with three RBIs.
- UCCS tallied four extra-base hits with Pastorello, Stubbings, and Samorano each hitting doubles and Richardson launching his first home run of the season.
- Gabriel took his second loss of the season after allowing six earned runs on five hits and five walks across 3.1 innings pitched.
- Jon Sotto and Hayden Zweig provided solid outings out of the bullpen with Sotto throwing 2.1 scoreless innings and Zweig tossing two-thirds of an inning of scoreless baseball.
- Gardner once again terrorized Mountain Lion pitching in the second game of the day, recording two more home runs and four RBIs in the game. Matt Sugden also had a strong game at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The back-to-back home runs from Stubbings and Wigington in the first game of the doubleheader marked the team's first home runs of the season.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will wrap up their four-game series against the Gators tomorrow morning with first pitch set for 11 a.m. from Mountain Lion Park.
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.
