Game 1 final score - CCU: 21 MCC: 0

CCU Baseball took to the field for a nice morning game against the Thunder of Manhattan Christian College, at 9am on Friday, March 9^th. Coming into the game with momentum after a win against Colorado Mesa, who was ranked 6^th in the nation at the time, the 3-8 (1-3 RMAC) Cougars defeated the Thunder of 21-0.

The first inning set the tone for the game, when CCU brought in five runs. It started when Hunter Hayes and Jerry Gallegos were both walked, and then brought in after singles from Scotty Wright and Austin Atkerson. Luke Bote was then put on base after getting hit by the pitch right in the back, and Wright was scored right after Austin Maltby grounded out. The next two runs from Bote and Atkerson were unearned after an error in the field.

The second inning Jerry Gallegos got the first run in, after hitting a single, stealing second, and being brought in from a double from Scotty Wright. Wright wasn't on base for long, when Austin Atkerson singled to bring Wright home.

The single run in the third came from Austin Maltby being brought home from Cooper Gray. Matlby walked, advanced when Scotty Ingle grounded out, and Gray finished the deal with a single.
Hunter Hays started out the fourth inning with a beautiful double to left field, followed by a single from Jerry Gallegos to take him to third. Hays then scored after an error on the throw from a pop-fly. Luke Bote then tripled to bring home Gallegos, making the score 10-0.

The fifth inning is when the Cougar offense really set fire, bringing in a whopping ten runs. With the bases loaded from three walks in a row, Jerry Gallegos hit a sac fly to earn an RBI. Bases were loaded again with a fourth walk when Austin Atkerson stepped up to the plate and landed a double for 2 RBI. Kaleb Johnson got on base with a single, and then the fifth walk was given to Austin Maltby. Scotty Ingle then reached 1^st on an error, which also brought in Atkerson and Johnson. Jack Nelson stepped up to the plate and got hit by a pitch to load the bases, which Dakota Bayles took full advantage of when he followed and hit a grand slam.

The last run came in the 6^th, when mighty Quinn Hunter came in for his first at bat of the year and hit a beautiful homerun on the second pitch to seal the win.

Leading the game offensively was Austin Atkerson who went 3-4 with 2 runs, and 4 RBI's, followed by Scotty Wright with 2 hits, 2 runs, and 3 RBI's, and Jerry Gallegos with 2 hits, 3 runs, and 1 RBI's.

Joey Loranger took the win with six strikeouts and just two hits in three innings. Four other Cougar pitchers took to the mound in game one, including Jacob Brown, Heath Hays, Brad Benson, and Jarrod Rivera, who all held the Thunder to zero runs on two hits and a combined five strikeouts.

Game 2 final score CCU: 8 MCC: 4

The Thunder were not going to give up so easy after game one, and came into game two with a new attitude. In the first inning they got their first two runs of the day. CCU got one run in after Kaleb Johnson was walked and then brought in on an error.

The third inning the teams matched bringing in one run a piece. The Cougar run came after a double from Jerry Gallegos, who was advanced by the next two batters who grounded out.
CCU came back in the fourth inning and got two runs to tie up the game. After the bases were loaded from singles from Scotty Ingle and Jack Nelson and a walk from Hunter Hays, Gallegos hit another single to bring home Ingle and Nelson, knotting the score at 4-4.

The single run for the Cougars in the fifth came right away, when Austin Atkerson hit a double and was brought home from an Austin Maltby single.

Sealing the win in the sixth inning, the Cougars had back to back doubles from JC Barrios and Hunter Hays for the first run. Hays advanced to third on a fly ball, and was then brought home by a single from Cooper Gray. Gray proceeded to steal second, and later steal during a double steal with Quinn Hunter home after being advanced to third by Scotty Wright.

The Cougar pitching duo of the starter Bayley Chesterton and three inning reliever Alex Ginn was too much for the Thunder to handle ultimately. Chesteron allowed four earned runs in four innings while striking out six MCC batters, but got the no decision after leaving the game when it was tied at 4-4. Alex Ginn came in for his longest stint of the season so far and dominated. Ginn allowed just one hit in three innings while striking out seven batters. Of those seven, he struck out the side in a critical moment in the top of the 6^th with the Cougars clinging to a one run lead. He notched his final two strike outs in the top of the 7^th to seal the win, freezing the MCC batters in the box and getting them both out with strike outs looking.

Offensively CCU lead by Jerry Gallegos and Austin Maltby, each with 2 hits and 2 RBI's. Eight different Cougars scored runs in the game, and six came together for all the RBI's. Maltby's pair of RBI's in the game increased his team high 16 for the season, while Austin Atkerson's game two RBI made him the second Cougar to double digit RBI's this season with 10.

The two wins give CCU an overall record of 5-8. The Cougars last game of the series will be played on Saturday, March 10^th at 2:30pm at All Star Park in Lakewood, CO.