COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team dropped game one of their series with Regis University in a high scoring loss of 19-12.
INSIDE THE MATCH UP
- Final Score: UCCS 12, RU 19
- Records: UCCS (7-22, 4-9 RMAC) | RU (17-13-1, 8-5 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Mountain Lion Park | Colorado Springs, Colo.
- All-Time Series: Despite the loss, the Mountain Lions still hold a 17-16 advantage over the Rangers all-time.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Marko Sipila opened Friday afternoon's game with a three-up-three-down inning on a pair of ground balls and a looking strikeout. In the bottom half, the Mountain Lions etched a run across after Alec Gomez notched a single to right field followed by a Caleb Stubbings double to go up 1-0.
- The Rangers responded in the top of the second with a three-run bomb from Maxim Fullerton to see them up 3-1 with no outs in the inning. Sipila settled and escaped the inning with no further damage. UCCS threatened with Vander Hodges and Colton Trudeau on second and third with two outs, but Rangers starter, Mason Ashcraft, would collect the third out on a grounder to short.
- Sipila had it going in the third inning as he struck out the side. The Mountain Lions tabbed another run in the bottom of the third after Stubbings drove in Kit Wigington from third base on a sacrifice flyout to right field.
- Siplia sat down two more batters in the top of the fourth in hopes of giving the UCCS offense some momentum, but the Mountain Lions went quiet in the bottom half of the inning leaving the score at 3-2 Regis.
- Rangers left fielder Garrett Rede led off the top of the fifth inning with a solo homerun to put the Rangers up 4-2 but Sipila would settle in and retire the next three batters. Another silent inning from the Mountain Lions bats led to a leadoff solo homer from Regis first basemen Adam Paniagua seeing the rangers up 5-2. Later in the top of the sixth, Regis tacked on more runs after a three-run homerun from Cam Dalrymple to make it 8-2. Evan Reynolds would enter in relief and record an inning ending double play.
- After another scoreless half inning fom UCCS in the bottom of the sixth, the Rangers tallied two more runs to increase their lead to 10-2. Gomez then drove in Hayden Iverson on an up the middle base knock to cut the deficit to seven (10-3) in the bottom of the seventh. Tyler Richardson followed this by driving in a pair of runs with a single and the Mountain Lions headed into the eighth inning down 10-5.
- Kyle Carpenter was handed the rock in the top of the eighth but ran into trouble as the Rangers tacked on four more runs to grow their lead to 14-5. Matt Gonzales entered the game with two down in the inning. Regis then added five more runs with two homeruns to grow their lead to 19-5 going into the bottom of the eighth.
- In a late game effort, Trudeau doubled down the left field line which was followed immediately by a two-run bomb from Dillon Vroman making the score 19-7. A few batters later, Gomez sent a drive of his own over the left field fence to make it 19-9.
- UCCS kept the Rangers scoreless in the ninth and added three more runs after a three-run home run from Gomez. Despite the late push, the game finished as a 19-12 loss for the Mountain Lions.
GAME STATISTICS
- Gomez had an excellent game today going 4-for-6 along with two homeruns, six runs driven in, and scoring four runs.
- Wigington, Gomez, and Trudeau each recorded three hits or more combining for 10 hits, seven runs scored, six RBIs, three doubles, and two homeruns.
- UCCS allowed nine homeruns today compared to their three.
- In 5.1 innings pitched, Sipila recorded eight strikeouts, eight hits, and eight earned runs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Mountain Lions 19 hits in today's game is a season high passing the 18 hits they recorded against MSU Denver on March 18th.
- Dillon Vroman hit his first home run in a Mountain Lion uniform.
- Alec Gomez drove in a season high six RBIs.
- The 31 runs combined between the Rangers and Mountain Lions today is the most runs scored in a game for UCCS this season.
- Sipla's eight strikeouts today is a new career high mark as he struck out seven against New Mexico Highlands University on April 16, 2023, as well as seven strikeouts versus CSU Pueblo on March 9.
- The Mountain Lions last victory over the Rangers came on May 12, 2022, in the RMAC Tournament. UCCS is 1-9 in their last 10 games against Regis.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions take on the Rangers for a double-header tomorrow. The games will begin at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
SOCIAL
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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.
