COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team splits the Saturday doubleheader with Adams State.
INSIDE THE MATCH UP
- Final Score: Game One: UCCS 8, ASU 4 | Game Two: UCCS 22, ASU 24
- Records: UCCS (15-11, 5-6 RMAC) | ASU (10-18, 6-5 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Mountain Lion Park | Colorado Springs, Colo.
- All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions hold a 21-10 record against ASU all-time.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
- After having their first two batters retired, a two-out walk to Seth Reker started things off for Adams State. The Grizzlies would take advantage of their two-out opportunity as they followed the walk with three straight singles, scoring two runs and stranding the third baserunner, taking a 2-0 lead to the bottom of the inning.
- The Mountain Lions wouldn't waste time getting back in the game with Caleb Chance reaching with a one out single, followed b a Bryce Peterson double then a Kit Wigington triple to tie the game. Dillion Vroman then reached on a fielding error at first base scoring Wigington, with Vroman scoring two batters later on Tyler Buchman's RBI double. That would be the extent of UCCS' damage, taking a 4-2 lead to the second inning.
- The Grizzlies would even the score in the top of the third behind back-to-back hits from Ayden Tauscher who led off with a single, then was brought in as Seth Reker followed with a two-run homer after a questionable 0-2 call at the plate. The two runs would be all for the Grizzlies as the game went to the bottom of the third tied at four.
- An inning later, UCCS started the bottom of the fourth with two straight strikeouts including a pitch clock violation strike three call to retire Tyler Buchman. UCCS shrugged off the early outs and responded with a trio of two-out hits. Quinn Medin broke the ice with a single up the middle before stealing second, allowing Mikey Brinton to bring him home with his double to center. Caleb Chance would score Brinton on his ensuing single but would be thrown out at second trying to advance on the throw, but the run did count as UCCS restored the two-run lead.
- The Mountain Lions would add to the lead in the home half of the fifth, getting the inning started with three straight hits to load the bases. Bryce Peterson led off with a single, with Wigington following with a double, and Vroman legging out an infield single fill the basepaths. Dale would strike out for the first out, with Buchman bringing home the run when he earned a walk to plate Peterson. The Mountain Lions would not be able to convert any more runs as Kasey Campbell struck out in the pinch, with Quinn Medin following with a fielder's choice as Adams escapes with only one-run surrendered.
- UCCS would again add insurance with Mikey Brinton scoring on Dillon Vroman's two-out base hit, with UCCS taking a comfortable 8-4 lead into the final inning.
- Joshua Zotto shut the door in the seventh on the mound for UCCS, successfully navigating a two-on, one-out situation to grab the 8-4 Mountain Lion win.
GAME STATISTICS | Game One
- All of the first five batters for UCCS had multi-hit outings with Caleb Chance and Dillion Vroman both earning three hits.
- Tyler Buchman plated two RBIs, including earning a bases loaded walk in the fifth inning.
- Benjamin Ruckman (2-0) gets the win in relief for UCCS, as Brian Walters (3-3) takes the loss for the Grizzlies.
HOW IT HAPPENED | Game Two
- The Grizzlies jumped on the Mountain Lions early in the nightcap game, with four of the first five batters reaching base. A leadoff double from Ayden Tauscher got things started, with Seth Reker and Josiah Hall both walking to load the bases. Joshua Parks would come through with a double to the right field corner to score three, with Chirstian Altamirano following with a single to push the run total to four as he brought home Joshua Parks. Ryder Mancuso would get out of it as he rolled over Nolan Marthaler into a double play to end the inning.
- UCCS got right back at ASU in the bottom of the inning for the third straight game as Mikey Brinton and Bryce Peterson both slashed doubles in the first two at bats for UCCS to get a run back for the Mountain Lions. Kit Wigington would be the first out as he watched strike three, but Hayden Iverson would continue the effort with a one-out RBI double of his own to plate Peterson. Dillion Vroman would then reach on an infield single with both runners moving up on stolen bases. Trevor Dale brought Iverson home on a double, with Iverson only able to move up one base as he had to wait to see the ball down. The hesitation wouldn't matter as Caleb Stubbings followed with a 2 RBI single, but was stranded at second base. The Mountain Lions had erased the deficit as they took the 5-4 lead in the first.
- The Mountain Lions would continue to roll on both sides of the ball as they set down the Grizzlies in order, then picked up the bats where they left off in the bottom of the second. Brinton led off with a double, with Bryce Peterson following being hit by a pitch. Kit Wigington would ground into a double play to erase himself and Peterson, but Brinton moved up to third on the play. Hayden Iverson kept the line moving with a single to score Brinton, with Connor Abegg throwing the ball into the UCCS dugout to move Iverson to second. Iverson would score on the next at bat with Dillon Vroman doubling on a pop fly that got caught in the wind and fell in short right field. Trevor Dale would follow with a walk to put runners on the corners, with Vroman scoring on a failed pickoff attempt at first on Dale. UCCS then started pouring it on with Caleb Stubbings launching a two-run shot to right for his first of the year, then Nolan Ackerman going back-to-back with Stubbings with his second homer of the year. Caleb Chance bunted for a single, setting up Mikey Brinton to launce the third UCCS homer in four at-bats, going over the batter's eye in center. The inning would then continue as Bryce Peterson reached on a feilding error by the first baseman Tauscher who pulled his foot off the bag early, setting up Kit Wigington to take advantage with an RBI double that saw Peterson score from first. Iverson would reach on a walk before Vroman struck out looking to end the misery for Adams State.
- Adams State would begin to chip away in the top of the third, with Macs Carrillo and Seth Reker both reaching on a single and a walk, respectively. Carrillo then scored on Josiah Hall's single, which was followed by Joshua Park's double to clear the bases and bring home both runs for ASU. Altamirano would groundout for the first out, with Nolan Marthaler singling in another run to make it 14-8. Marthaler then moved up to second with Conner Abegg reaching on an error to put runners on first and second, but a batter later the parade would continue with Alex Hernandez walking to load the bases. Macs Carrillo then reached on another UCCS error with Gunner Martinez scoring. The next two Grizzlies would be retired as Adams made it a game at 14-10 after two and a half innings.
- Again, UCCS picked up where they left off offensively, with Trevor Dale getting plunked to send him to first, as Caleb Stubbings launched a no doubter to right center for his second bomb of the game. After a walk to Ackerman and a flyout from Chance, Mikey Brinton also launched his second home run of the game to drive in another pair, giving UCCS the 18-10 advantage. Nolan Oliver would earn a pinch-hit single up the middle to continue the offense, as Kit Wigington then put runners on the corners with a single of his own. As Hayden Iverson struck out swinging for the second out, Dillon Vroman cleared the bases with a single to score two more. Trevor Dale finished the inning with a ground out to short, as UCCS pushed the lead back out to 10 at 20-10.
- The back and forth continued in the fourth as Alex Hernandez launched a two-out three run homer to cut back into the Mountain Lion lead, but UCCS held the damage to three, maintaining a 20-13.
- Adams would add runs in the fifth after holding the Mountain Lions scorless in the fourth, with Carrillo and Hall earning a single and a double, with Reker striking out in between hits. Parks followed with a double before Altamirano lined out to Caleb Chance who made a perfectly timed jump, with Marthaler following with a single that scored two more. That would be all for Adams, with the new score showing 20-16 after four and a half.
- The gap would close in the top of the sixth as a single from Tauscher would lead to two UCCS fielding errors. Josiah Hall then made UCCS pay as he blasted a grand slam to right, tying the game at 20-20. UCCS would bring in Joe Plise, who shut down the rest of the inning, as UCCS found themselves with offensive work to do once again, heading to the bottom of the sixth.
- The Grizzlies once again kept UCCS off the board in the sixth, as they completed the comeback in the seventh with Macs Carrillo combining with Seth Reker as the pair went single, double to give ASU the 21-20 lead. Three batters later ASU would push it further as Christian Altamirano crushed a three run shot to right, giving the visitors the 24-20 advantage headed to the bottom of the seventh.
- Kit Wigington started the seventh off reaching on an error, with Hayden Iverson following with a single to put runners on first and second. Dillon Vroman came through with a triple to the left field corner to score the pair, but that would be all for UCCS as Adams State completes the 10-run comeback to win 24-22.
GAME STATISTICS | Game Two
- Game two saw the teams combine for 47 hits, 46 runs.
- Phil Carter (2-4) gets win for Adams as Joe Plise (0-1) gets the loss.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Mountain Lions 27 hits in game two sets a new single game program record for hits.
- UCCS' 22 runs scored in game two sets a new program record for runs in a single game.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions and Grizzlies wrap up the series tomorrow 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.
