COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team struggled to contain the University of Northern Colorado bats on Saturday as they dropped both games of their series opening doubleheader against the Bears at Mountain Lion Park.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Game One: UCCS 6, UNC 14 | Final Game Two: UCCS 4, UNC 12
Records: UCCS (2-9, 0-0 RMAC) | UNC (2-0, 0-0 Summit)
Facility | Location: Mountain Lion Park | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions fall to 0-3 all-time against the Bears. The only previous meeting between the two teams prior to today was a 10-6 loss in Greeley, Colo., on April 18, 2017.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- After Mountain Lion starting pitcher Cole Philip tossed a pair of clean innings to begin the ballgame and the series, UCCS took advantage of two UNC errors in the bottom half of the second inning to grab a 2-0 lead. Senior Brad Madison would lead off the inning with a double over the right fielder's head and was joined on the bases by graduate student Keegan Sueltz who reached on a dropped catch error by UNC catcher Craig Kenny. With two outs in the inning, sophomore Macully Sehr would bring around both runners to score as he grounded a single to right field that ended up rolling to the fence after getting past right fielder Austin Bunn.
- Facing their first deficit of the afternoon, the Bears' offense responded in the top of the third frame as they strung together four hits and took advantage of an error by UCCS shortstop Ronan Hella to plate four runs and claim a 4-2 lead.
- The lead would change once again in the bottom of the third inning as the first five Mountain Lions to bat in the frame recorded hits against UNC pitcher Dylan Smith with an RBI double from Caleb Stubbings plating the first run of the inning before Madison gave UCCS a 5-4 lead with a two-RBI single to center field.
- The back-and-forth would continue in the top of the fourth inning with the Bears getting their first three hitters of the inning on base against Philip as they went on to plate a pair of runs and regain a 6-5 advantage.
- UCCS benefitted from more shaky defense by the Bears in the bottom of the fourth inning as Sehr reached base on a throwing error by UNC third baseman Brad Moore to lead off the inning, and after being moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Hella, was brought in to tie the game at six with an RBI single from outfielder Aaron Brakel.
- Although the fifth and sixth innings saw zeroes on the scoreboard for both teams, the Bears would get a pair of runners on base on a walk and single with one out in the top of the seventh and both runners would come around to score as UNC broke the tie to take an 8-6 lead.
- UNC continued to swing the bats well in the visitor half of the eighth inning when Caden Wagner cleared the bases with a deep fly ball over the left center field fence for a three-run home run against UCCS pitcher Will Gabriel that extended the Bear's advantage to 11-6. The Bears would go on to add three more runs in the inning to cap a six-run frame that pushed the lead to eight runs.
- The Mountain Lions would remain scoreless in the final two innings of play as the Bears secured a 14-6 victory in the series opener.
GAME STATISTICS | GAME ONE
- UCCS tallied ten hits in the opening game of the series, with seven of the nine offensive starters recording at least one hit.
- Stubbings (2-for-5) and Madison (2-for-4) continued to swing hot bats as they each recorded a pair of hits and combined to hit three doubles and drive in three runs.
- Brakel had a strong game at the top of the lineup, going 2-for-5 with an RBI.
- Philip made the start on the mound and completed four innings while allowing six runs (four earned), eight hits, and two walks while recording one strikeout.
- Hayden Zweig (0-1) took his first loss of the season after giving up two runs across his 2.1 innings pitched.
- Smith pitched the first six innings of the afternoon for UNC as he allowed just three earned runs with one strikeout. Murphy Gienger (2 IP) and Andrew Isdale (1 IP) combined to toss three scoreless innings in relief of Smith. Offensively, shortstop Dom Palma led the way for the Bears with a 4-for-4 performance out of the nine-hole with three RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
- UCCS starting pitcher Evan Reynolds ran into trouble early into his outing in game two of the doubleheader against the Bears as each of the first five UNC hitters he faced reached base with four of them scoring to put UCCS in an early 4-0 hole.
- In the bottom of the first inning, the duo of Stubbings and Madison continued to carry the UCCS offense as Stubbings recorded a two-out single and was promptly driven home on a double into the left center field gap by Madison, cutting the Mountain Lion deficit to 4-1.
- After a scoreless second inning from both sides, UNC added to their lead in the visitor half of the third inning as a solo home run from Garrett Fisher and an RBI single from Palma pushed the advantage to 6-1.
- The bottom half of the fourth inning would start with back-to-back doubles from Kasey Campbell and Sueltz as the Mountain Lions got one run closer at 6-2. UCCS would proceed to manufacture another run in the inning with a pair of groundouts advancing Sueltz home from second base to cut the deficit to just three runs, 6-3.
- The Bears would add one run in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 7-3, but even more damage would occur in the top of the sixth stanza as UNC added five runs to take a 12-3 advantage with a grand slam from Caden Wagner being the primary blow in the inning.
- An RBI double from Stubbings in the bottom of the seventh inning would get the Mountain Lions one run closer, but the scoring would end there as the Bears completed the doubleheader sweep with a 12-4 win.
GAME STATISTICS | GAME TWO
- The Mountain Lions mustered just seven hits in the second game of the doubleheader, with three of them coming off the bat of Stubbings, who posted a perfect 3-for-3 game with a double and an RBI.
- Three additional Mountain Lions tallied doubles in the ballgame, including Campbell, Madison, and Sueltz.
- Reynolds' (0-2) start on the mound did not go as planned with the southpaw allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits to take his second loss of the season.
- Ryder Mancuso was solid out of the bullpen once again, tossing 1.2 innings with just one run allowed. Freshman Joe McDermott made his second appearance of the young season and went on to record a scoreless inning of work with one strikeout.
- Wagner had a huge game offensively for the Bears as he went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs. The UNC bullpen also had another stellar outing with Jake Storey, Ely Ruiz, and Jayden Brown each tossing scoreless innings in relief of starter Jack Tuttle.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With five more hits in today's doubleheader, Stubbings currently leads the Mountain Lions with a .429 batting average on the season and paces the team with his six doubles and 11 RBIs.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will close their series against the Bears tomorrow with a single nine-inning game beginning at 12 p.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.
