COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team rallied late in Friday's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) opener against Colorado State University Pueblo but ultimately came up on the short end of a 15-14 decision at Mountain Lion Park.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 14, CSUP 15
Records: UCCS (7-10, 0-1 RMAC) | CSUP (3-12, 1-0 RMAC)
Facility | Location: Mountain Lion Park | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The defeat snaps a four-game winning streak against the ThunderWolves and moves the Mountain Lions to 12-10 in the all-time series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Friday's series opening game was an offensive battle from the start as CSU Pueblo's Christian Casteneda put the ThunderWolves on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning with a sacrifice fly that made it a 1-0 ballgame. The Mountain Lions found a response with one out in the bottom half of the second inning when Kasey Campbell launched a solo home run halfway up the hill in right field to tie the game at one. Hayden Iverson would follow with a triple down the right side and eventually came across to score on a dropped pop fly by the CSU Pueblo shortstop, giving the Mountain Lions a 2-1 lead at the end of two innings.
- After CSU Pueblo regained the advantage with two runs in the top of the third inning, the Mountain Lions came through with three two-out runs in the bottom half of the inning as Evan Steinberger brought home two runs with a single to right field and Vander Hodges scored another with an RBI single of his own that made it a 5-3 game in favor of UCCS.
- The lead continued to change hands in the fourth inning as CSU Pueblo scored three times on four hits in the top of the frame to grab a 6-5 advantage. UCCS answered once again in the bottom half with back-to-back doubles from Ronan Hella and Macully Sehr resulting in a tie game before Kit Wigington promptly broke the even score with an RBI single that scored Sehr from second and pushed the Mountain Lions ahead by a run, 7-6.
- An RBI single by CSU Pueblo's Kolton Miller brought the game back to even at seven runs apiece in the top of the fifth inning, but UCCS quickly reclaimed a 9-7 advantage in the bottom half of the frame on an RBI single to right field from Hella and a bases-loaded walk by Wigington.
- The momentum shifted in favor of the ThunderWolves in the top of the sixth inning as they strung together six hits and three walks for a seven-run inning that forced the Mountain Lions into a 14-9 hole.
- Following scoreless half innings from both teams in the bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh, the UCCS offense went back to work in their half of the seventh as a sacrifice fly from Caleb Stubbings brought the game to 14-10 before a bases-clearing three-run double off the bat of Steinberger cut the CSUP lead to just one run, 14-13.
- After both teams scored once in the eighth inning to maintain the one run ballgame, the Mountain Lions held the ThunderWolves scoreless in the top of the ninth to set up the offense with one more opportunity to tie or win the game. The bottom of the ninth inning started on a promising note with Hella and Sehr opening the frame with a single and a walk to put the tying and winning runs aboard with nobody out, but the rally would end there as the next three Mountain Lions were retired and CSU Pueblo claimed a 15-14 victory to open conference play.
GAME STATISTICS
- The Mountain Lions racked up a season-high 18 hits on Friday as each of the nine offensive starts recorded at least one hit. UCCS also drew nine walks and had one hit batter.
- UCCS tallied a total of seven extra-base hits on the afternoon, including five doubles, one triple, and a home run.
- Steinberger (4-for-5) and Hella (4-for-6) led the team with four hits apiece while Steinberger also added a team-high five RBIs.
- Wigington and Stubbings each drove in a pair of runs, while Sehr, Campbell, Hodges, and Hella all notched one RBI.
- Cole Philip drew the start on the mound for UCCS and took a no decision after pitching five innings with seven earned runs allowed on 11 hits and two walks. The 6-foot-6 righty also tallied four strikeouts during his outing.
- Jon Sotto (0-1) allowed five earned runs in just one-third of an inning pitched, suffering his first loss of the season. Christopher Bryant also struggled in his one-third inning pitched, issuing three walks and allowing two earned runs.
- Evan Reynolds tossed the final 3.1 innings pitched for the Mountain Lions and was effective as he allowed just one earned run with one strikeout.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Steinberger established a new season and career best with five RBIs, surpassing his four-RBI performance against University of Northern Colorado on Feb. 19.
- The Mountain Lions allowed a season-high 20 hits, with seven different CSU Pueblo hitters recording multi-hit games, including four with three hits in the game.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will continue their series against CSU Pueblo tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 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.
