COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball played at UCHealth Park Friday afternoon versus Adams State University where the Grizzlies defeated the Mountain Lions twice with clutch offense late in both games.
INSIDE THE MATCH UP
- Final Score: Game 1: UCCS 6, ASU 7 | Game 2: UCCS 8, ASU 10
- Records: UCCS (14-28, 11-15 RMAC) | ASU (21-23, 16-10 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: UCHealth Park | Colorado Springs, Colo.
- All-Time Series: Despite the losses, UCCS holds a 18-9 record over the Grizzlies.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- Friday starter Marko Sipila opened the game with a scoreless inning on the heels of two looking strikeouts on the corners to the Grizzlies leadoff hitter and two-hole. This solid defensive start boosted the Mountain Lions to grab an early 1-0 lead after Caleb Stubbings scored Alec Gomez on a single up the middle after Gomez reached second on a double.
- In the top of the second inning, Adams State tallied their first run after an error and few wild pitches to even it up at one. Sipila settled in after Evan Steinberger threw out a runner trying to steal second which Sipila followed with a strikeout and a ground out to leave the score at 1-1.
- After a scoreless top of the third for Sipila, UCCS tacked on another run after Kit Wigington smoked a double off the right field wall to score Dillion Vroman from third to make it 2-1 going into the top of the fourth inning.
- The Grizzlies responded immediately scoring three runs on three hits and two walks to go up 4-2. The Mountain Lions then replied with a push of their own where the offense produced big.
- Aaron Jenkins and Vander Hodges started UCCS' four run inning with a walk and base hit. Colton Trudeau followed this with a double down the left field line to score Jenkins and Vroman trailed this with a sacrifice fly to score Hodges. Hayden Iverson then collected a base hit, scoring Trudeau. Wigington capped off the big inning with his second double of the game easily plating Iverson to see the Mountain Lions up 6-4.
- Evan Reynolds appeared first in relief and sent ASU down one-two-three in the top of the fifth but so did the UCCS offense leaving the score at 6-4. The Grizzlies kept applying pressure as they added another run and threatened to do more, but Reynolds stayed composed and escaped the inning up one (6-5).
- A scoreless sixth for the Mountain Lions offense led to ASU knocking on the door again with runners on first and second. Relief pitcher Joe Plise came in clutch though as he forced the Grizzlies to ground into a 1-6-3 double play to keep the lead.
- UCCS left two on base in the bottom of the seventh which led to the relentless Grizzlies taking a 7-6 lead in the top of the eighth. The Mountain Lions had a few opportunities to keep this game going but didn't have enough, resulting in the 7-6 defeat.
GAME STATISTICS | GAME ONE
- The Mountain Lions two, three, and four-hole hitters each collected two hits in game one. Wigington was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs, Gomez was two-for-four with a run scored, and Stubbings was two-for-five with an RBI.
- Sipila's start was a shorter one today as he only went for three and two thirds' innings. Sipila allowed six hits, three earned runs, and two walks to go along with a game high five K's.
- UCCS had a good attack in the first four innings but got shutout from the fifth on. Adams State relievers (Will Cohen, Zach Radigan, and Ty Addington) combined for five innings of shutout baseball with only two hits allowed and three walks. The three pitchers combined for four strikeouts as well.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
- It was ASU who opened game two with two runs in the first inning on four hits. UCCS had nothing going in the bottom of the inning and relief pitcher Tyler Kennedy would enter in the top of the second. Kennedy forced a 5-4-3 double play and a strikeout on a high fastball leaving the score at 2-0 in favor of the Grizzlies.
- Tyler Richardson got the offense going for the Mountain Lions with a leadoff double that nearly went over the left field wall, but UCCS was unable to score Richardson, stranding him at second.
- The Grizzlies tacked on another run in the third to grow their lead to three after a double scored a runner from second base. In the bottom half of the third, Hayden Iverson drew a walk in a 10 pitch at bat that led to Alec Gomez sending a double to the right-center gap to score Iverson from first shortening the Mountain Lions deficit to two (3-1).
- Grabbing their seventh and eighth hits of the game in the top of the fourth inning, Adams State scratched another run across on a pass ball to increase their lead to 4-1. Kasey Campbell earned that run right back in the bottom half of the inning with a solo blast over the center field wall, but ASU would still maintain the lead heading into the fifth.
- Hunter Owens allowed ASU to score a run in the top of the fifth but worked himself out of a jam for limited damage. The Grizzlies would enter the bottom of the fifth maintaining a three-run cushion.
- The Mountain Lions responded swiftly, earning that run back after Dillion Vroman crushed a leadoff home run to left center. UCCS batters kept passing the torch as Hayden Iverson singled, Kit Wigington got hit with a pitch, and Alec Gomez doubled down the left field line to score a run. Evan Steinberger then came in to pinch hit and tied the game at five with a sacrifice fly to left field scoring Wigington. Richardson followed this with a single and Campbell drove in Gomez with a base knock to take the lead. Vander Hodges provided an insurance run for the Mountain Lions with a sacrifice fly to right field and UCCS would head into the sixth inning with a 7-5 lead.
- Refusing to go down quietly, the Grizzlies added two runs to tie it (7-7) on three two out hits. Vroman led off the top of the sixth with a double and Iverson drove him in on a single up the middle to give UCCS an 8-7 lead with three outs to go.
- As they did all day, Adams State refused to go down, reclaiming the lead by scoring three runs on three hits in the top of the seventh to go up 10-8. The Mountain Lions got two runners in scoring position with no outs but would strikeout, pop out, and ground out to lose game two 10-8.
GAME STATISTICS | GAME TWO
- UCCS had multiple players impress in game two offensively as five Mountain Lions went 2-for-3 with those being Iverson, Gomez, Vroman, Richardson, and Campbell.
- Kasey Campbell's fourth inning solo shot was his fifth on the season and his 30th hit on the year. After his 2-for-3 day, the redshirt junior now has a .392 batting average tied with Hayden Iverson for the highest on the team.
- Vroman's fifth inning homer was his fourth on the season.
- Cole Phillip falls to 1-5 on the season after allowing four hits, two earned runs, and a walk in his inning and a third of work.
- Grizzlies' reliever Zach Radigan improves to 5-1 on the year and Ty Addington gets his fifth save on the season.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Hayden Iverson's three hits in today's games give him 118 in his UCCS career, passing Aaron Faragallah for ninth all-time in program history. His two runs batted in today give him 80 in his career, also passing Faragallah for the ninth most RBIs in program history.
- With five strikeouts in his game one outing, Marko Sipila has passed John Hoffman for seventh all-time in program history with a total of 83 strikeouts in his UCCS career.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions look to bounce back at Mountain Lion Park tomorrow for a double-header starting at 12 p.m.
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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.
