COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team dropped both games Saturday afternoon in their season finale to the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers at Mountain Lion Park. While the Mountain Lions battled back in the final inning of each game, the ultimately fell short, and await the final RMAC games to determine their postseason fate.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Game One: UCCS 5, Colorado School of Mines 7 | Final Game Two: UCCS 13, Colorado School of Mines 14
Records: UCCS (20-30, 12-20 RMAC) | CSM (22-23, 17-15 RMAC)
Facility | Location: Mountain Lion Park | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions still trail the all-time series against Mines, 10-19.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- Mines created traffic early via a UCCS throwing error, scoring the first run of the game via a sacrifice fly. The Orediggers would tag on two more runs in the top of the second inning, growing their early lead to 3-0.
- The Mountain Lions bounced back quickly as Kasey Campbell swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it over the center field wall, cutting the lead to just two.
- Starting pitcher Evan Reynolds did his best to keep the Mines offense in check. The sophomore worked his way out of jams, stranding five Orediggers in his seven innings of work. Reynolds got some run support in the bottom of the fifth inning, rallying their bats with two outs. Tyler Richardson ripped a single through the right side to score Ronan Hella, which prompted an Oredigger pitching change. Caleb Stubbings welcomed the new pitcher by crushing the first pitch he saw off of the left field scoreboard, tying the game at four runs apiece.
- Mines would score one run in each of the final three innings, making the score 7-4 going into the bottom of the ninth. Richardson fueled the comeback with a leadoff home run, cutting the lead to just two runs. While the Mountain Lions were able to bring the winning run to the plate, they failed to score, dropping game one by a final score of 7-5.
GAME STATISTICS | GAME ONE
- Richardson was productive out of the two spot, tallying three hits (two of which went for extra bases) and driving in two runs. Stubbings added two hits of his own, including a game tying two-run homerun in the fifth inning.
- As a team, UCCS recorded 11 hits while drawing four walks.
- Mason Pastorello tallied two stolen bases, as Aaron Brakel stole one base of his own.
- The pitching tandem of Reynolds and Joe McDermott struck out three batters and issued no walks in their nine innings of work.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
- The Orediggers once again jumped out to an early lead, plating seven runs in the first two innings, punctuated by home runs from Mason Andrews and Luke Folsom.
- The tides started to turn in the bottom of the third inning, as the Mountain Lions offense made their way back into the game. The inning got started by back-to-back hits from seniors Luis Samorano and Dylan Morace. Hits from Ronan Hella and Hayden Iverson would clear the bases, narrowing the score to 7-4. A wild pitch and sacrifice fly from Keegan Sueltz would bring in two more runs, as UCCS found themselves down by just one after three innings of play.
- Mines would add four runs over the next two innings, expanding their lead to five. With two on and two out, Pastorello hit a double into the left center gap, scoring both runners, cutting the lead back down to 11-7. A three-run top of the seventh saw UCCS with their biggest deficit of the game.
- With their backs against the wall, the Mountain Lions offense stepped up to the challenge. Richardson led off the inning with a double and was immediately brought home by a Stubbings homerun. A Madison hit was quickly followed by Pastorello's third home run of the season. With the bases loaded and two gone in the inning, senior Cam Kennedy stepped into the box, crushing a double down the left field line, scoring two UCCS runners. Once again, the Mountain Lions were able to get the winning run to the plate, but could not covert, as they dropped their regular season finale, 14-13.
GAME STATISTICS | GAME TWO
- Pastorello led the Mountain Lions with three hits in game two of Sunday's doubleheader. The sophomore drove in three runs, tallying two extra base hits.
- Five other UCCS hitters recorded multiple hits.
- Iverson, Kennedy, Stubbings, and Pastorello each had multiple RBI.
- Mines was led by Folsom, who recorded the win on the mound, while also driving five runs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Stubbings recorded one home run in every game this series, growing his season total to 12.
- On senior day, the Mountain Lion graduating class combined for nine hits, scoring six runs and driving in six more.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions entered Saturday's doubleheader tied for sixth place in the RMAC standings. UCCS will await the conclusion of the RMAC regular season tonight, with the official postseason bracket to be announced on Sunday.
