GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team loses their opening game to the top seeded Colorado Mesa Mavericks 9-3. The Mountain Lions now fall to the consolation bracket, and play the loser of the 2 seed vs 5 seed matchup between Regis and Adams State tomorrow at 11 a.m.
INSIDE THE MATCH UP
- Final Score: UCCS 3, CMU 9
- Records: UCCS (23-25, 12-18 RMAC) | CMU (37-11 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: The Diamond at the Bus Bergman Sports Complex | Grand Junction, Colo.
- All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions fall to 11-29 against the Mavericks in the history between the two programs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The story of the first two innings belonged to the starting pitching for both teams as Mountain Lions ace Ryder Mancuso went toe to toe with CMU's Andrew Pogue as the hurlers kept the game scoreless through the first two frames of play.
- Colorado Mesa found paydirt first in the third inning of action, as the Mavericks were able to drive some momentum with two outs in the inning. The push began with a walk to Kolby Felix, before Cameron Cartwright and Ethan Nunez slashed back-to-back singles to bring Felix across. Mancuso responded nicely and fanned Declan Wiesner to end the inning, but CMU took the first lead of the game 1-0.
- After Quinn Medin flied out to start the fourth, UCCS looked like they were going to answer right back when Mikey Brinton walked, then Bryce Peterson was plunked to put runners on first and second with one out. Much to the Mountain Lions dismay, Andrew Pogue was able to induce Kit Wigington into a ground ball that produced and inning-ending double play.
- The Mavericks half of the fourth supplied the turning point in the game, as two walks and a hit by pitch set up Paul Schoenfeld to blast a grand slam to the CMU bullpen in left field, giving the hosts the commanding 5-1 advantage.
- Three straight walks allowed by Andrew Pogue gave UCCS the opportunity to get right back into the game to start the fifth inning, but Chris Hanks would go to the bullpen with a 2-0 count to Evan Steinberger to try and stop the threat. Ethan Voss would come on and get a weak flyout from Steinberger, before Vander Hodges got the first run home for UCCS on a deep fly out to center. Quinn Medin then grounded to third to end the frame on a nice play by the Mavericks, seeing UCCS score a run, but miss an opportunity for further damage.
- Both CMU and UCCS would grab a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth, respectively, as CMU did so on a pair of RBI singles. UCCS strung together a Mikey Brinton hit-by-pitch with a Bryce Peterson double before Kit Wigington sacrificed the run home. Then, Hayden Iverson singled to put runners on the corners allowing Caleb Stubbings and Evan Steinberger to both walk and force in a run. UCCS began to chip away, but CMU was still in control 7-3 after five and a half innings.
- Fast forward to the bottom of the eighth and Kolby Felix provided the dagger for the Mavericks as he blasted a two-run home run off the batter's eye in center. CMU would set the Mountain Lions down in order in the ninth, as the hosts advance to the quarterfinal game Thursday afternoon.
GAME STATISTICS
- Bryce Peterson notched a three hit performance, the only Mountain Lion with a multi-hit game.
- Joshua Zotto was effective in two relief innings as he allowed just two hits and a walk, while striking out one and not allowing a run.
- Ethan Voss (8-1) gets the win behind an inning and two thirds of relief work as Ryder Mancuso (5-3) takes the loss after pitching four frames.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Despite the loss this afternoon, UCCS remains the only RMAC team with multiple wins over CMU this season, and is one of three teams with 2+ wins over the Mavericks.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions return to action tomorrow at 11 a.m. to take on the loser of Regis vs Adams State.
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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.
