CCU baseball played games two and three of their four game series against UCCS on a sunny, almost warm day in Colorado Springs. After dropping both games in Colorado Springs on Saturday, the Cougar season record is 5-11 and 0-3 in RMAC play with one game left verse the Mountain Lions.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
GAME 1, CCU 6 – UCCS 9
 
The first game of the Saturday doubleheader was a contest with plenty of scoring. UCCS got on the board first with a single run in the 1st and another three in the 2nd, but the Cougars would score a pair of runs in each of the next three innings to take the 6-4 lead. The Mountain Lions would score another in the bottom of the 5th to cut the Cougars lead to one, and retake the lead in the bottom of the 6th with a four run rally capped by a two out, three-run triple. The Cougars would get a chance to mount a comeback in the top of the 6th inning, and after the first two batters grounded out, the second two would reach first and second. Unfortunately, the final Cougar batter would strike out swinging, ending the inning and the game.
 
GAME 2, CCU 8 – UCCS 9 (8 innings)
 
The second game of the day saw the Mountain Lions jump out to an early 6-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd inning. The Cougars made a dent in the lead in the top of the 4th inning, scoring two runs off of a Tommy Orr double and a Connor Marshall single. CCU would follow that up with a big 5th inning. Hunter Hays would leadoff with inning by working a walk, followed up by Sam Gallegos who was hit by the sixth pitch he saw. With runners on first and second, catcher Kaleb Sorensen launched a no doubter to left center field and bring the score to 5-6 with the Mountain Lions still leading. Heath Hays would put on a short clinic of baseball fundamentals when he took UCCS by surprise with a bunt single, eventually stealing second and advancing to third on a passed ball. All that work with one out would pay off when Scotty Ingle would send a slow roller to the second basemen, allowing Hays to score the tying run.
 
The game would eventually reach extra innings with Scotty Ingle starting things off with a walk for CCU in the top of the 8th inning. Connor Marshall would lace a ground rule double over the right center field wall, advancing Ingle to third. After a fly out, leadoff hitter Matt Kimura came to the plate and placed a double into center field, scoring both Ingle and Marshall easily. Kimura would make his way over to third but would be stranded there at the end of the half inning.
 
Kyler Riordan, who came into the game back in the bottom of the 6th inning, was still on the mound for the bottom of the 8th inning. Riordan would force a ground out of the first Mountain Lion batter, while the second hitter would reach on a very close play at first on a hard-hit ball down the third base line. After a single to right field, Riordan would be pulled for Zach Haning with the winning run represented at the plate for UCCS. Haning would eventually give up one run on a double to deep left field, cutting the CCU lead to 8-7, and then intentionally walk the next runner to load the bases to make every base a force out. With one out and bases loaded the UCCS pinch hitter would put another double into left field for an extra inning walk-off winning hit.
 
WHAT IS NEXT:
 
The Cougars will finish out their series against UCCS tomorrow afternoon during the 9-inning finale in Colorado Springs.