SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs battled the eighth ranked Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions Friday afternoon, but costly innings drown the Mountain Lions in San Diego as they are swept in the series opening doubleheader.
INSIDE THE MATCH UP
- Final Game One: UCCS 3, PLNU 5 | Final Game Two: UCCS 1, PLNU 4
- Records: UCCS (2-7, 0-0 RMAC) | PLNU (6-2, 0-0 CCAA)
- Facility | Location: San Diego Mesa CC Baseball Field | San Diego, Calif.
- All-Time Series: The Sea Lions lead the Mountain Lions three wins to two in the all-time series between the programs dating back to 2019.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- UCCS starter Marko Sipila and PLNU starter Dylan Miller dueled in the opening innings, going scoreless through the first two innings of play. The scoreboard finally showed markers in the third with the Sea Lions the first to cash in. A sacrifice bunt from Esai Santos brought in Joey Nicolai, with Will Pope coming across on a wild pitch later that inning.
- PLNU would go right back to work in the fourth, earning a leadoff walk from Bryson Hashimoto then a double from Jake Entrekin to bring Hashimoto in. More small ball paid off for the home squad, when Will Pope sacrificed himself to bring Entrekin. The scoring was wrapped up with a Esai Santos RBI single, with UCCS able to catch Santos stealing and earn a punch out to end the inning.
- The Mountain Lions, staying true to their early season trend, made things interesting in the later innings. Hayden Iverson singled to begin the sixth frame, then Kit Wigington blasted his second big fly of the year to cut the lead to three, but UCCS would only get the two baserunners in the inning, with Alec Gomez, Aaron Jenkins, and Kasey Campbell going down in order after the long ball.
- The Mountain Lions made their last stand in the 9th, slapping back-to-back singles from Jenkins and Liam Whalen to begin the frame. After consecutive strikeouts from Caleb Chance and Evan Stienberger, Tyler Richardson found the right field grass to score Jenkins. UCCS' would strand Whalen, though, with the game coming to an end at 5-3.
GAME STATISTICS | GAME ONE
- Kit Wigington knocks his second home run over the fence, earning 2 RBIs tying PLNU's Esai Santos for the game high.
- Both teams capitalized on scoring opportunities, but also stranded numerous runners aboard. UCCS left six potential runs on base, with PLNU stranding nine.
- Marko Sipila (0-3) suffers his third loss of the season, with Dylan Miller (3-0) remaining undefeated for the Sea Lions.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
- Again, it was the Sea Lions that found paydirt first, this time doing so in the bottom of the first. Easi Santos led things off with a single to right, then came in on a double play ball off the bat of Scott Anderson for the only run of the inning, giving the hosts the early lead.
- Fast forward to the fourth, Hunter Owens took the mound to relieve UCCS' starter Jason Fink, but would struggle with the five batters he faced. Jake Entrekin broke the ice with a double down the left field line, followed by walks to Joey Nicolai and Will Pope to load the bases. Santos, once again, came through with the sacrifice fly to bring Entrekin across. The Mountain Lions called in Sophomore Joe McDermott from the pen to clean things up, and McDermott delivered tossing a walk, then a popout to end the frame and limit the damage.
- The Sea Lions tacked on two more in the fifth off a Hunter Otjen single to bring in Jack Malone who singled himself. Two batters later, Nicolai flew out to deep center, but got the job done, as Otjen trotted home with the Sea Lions fourth run.
- UCCS, for the third straight game, got a late inning tally in the sixth. An infield hit from Hayden Iverson opened the inning, with Kit Wigington following with a base hit of his own. Iverson read the play well and was able to make his way from first to third on the play, which allowed the Fort Collins native to score on Alec Gomez's sacrifice fly. The run would be the last in the contest, with UCCS falling by a 4-1 final in game two.
GAME STATISTICS | GAME TWO
- Hayden Iverson was the only Mountain Lion with a multi-hit game. Kit Wigington, Kasey Campbell, and Joe Plise all recorded one hit outings.
- UCCS stranded nine batters on the base paths in game two to match their mark from game one, with four Mountain Lions left on base.
- Jason Fink (0-2) takes the loss for UCCS, with PLNU's Ray Cebulski (1-0) earning the victory.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- UCCS has scored runs in the final three innings in every game this year.
- Kit Wigington earns his second long ball of the season, trailing only Alec Gomez who has four for UCCS.
UP NEXT
- The four-game series will wrap up tomorrow with game three getting started at 11 a.m. MT, and game four slated for 2 p.m. MT.
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 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
