BOCA RATON, FL- Colorado Christian headed to Florida as they opened their season on Friday with a matchup at Lynn University. In a game that had a little bit of everything, CCU stormed back in the ninth inning and scored nine runs as the game ultimately ended in a 20-20 tie when the game was called due to darkness.
The Cougars fell behind early, but they did not let that discourage them as they headed into the fourth down 8-0. Luke Thompson started things off with a single, followed by an Aaron Morgan walk. Major Maydon then singled before Kade Carney picked up a sacrifice fly. Caden Walton picked up another RBI hit, and an error allowed another runner to cross the plate. Jordan Medina notched a pair of RBI with a double, then Gabe Ramos stepped up and blasted a two-run homer to cap a seven run inning.
The Fighting Knights rallied back to take a 14-7 advantage, but again that did not keep the Cougars down. Ramos chipped away at the lead with an RBI knock, and Medina and Ramos singled home a pair more to make it 17-11. Entering the ninth inning, the hosts led 19-11, but things were about to change.
Carney led off the top of the ninth with a single, and pinch hitter Jackson Huntley picked up a single as well. Medina then brought home a run with a single of his own as things started to open up for the offense. An error allowed Ramos to reach, and Simon Turner singled home a run. Another Lynn error allowed Morgan to reach safely before Russell Cruz knocked home a run to bring things within three. Boedy Flores came up big time with a triple, bringing home two runs and closing the deficit to one. Carney came back up to bat and knocked an RBI double to tie the game. A Walton single gave CCU their first lead of the game at 20-19.
A single run scored in the bottom of the ninth for the Fighting Knights, but the inning ended in a 20-20 tie, and the game was called due to darkness and declared a tie.
Ramos led the offense with a homer and four RBI, and Medina matched him with four RBI on three hits. Flores, Carney and Walton each had a pair of RBI as an improbable comeback ended in a tie.
"Very proud of the way that we played, the way that we hung in there," said head coach Paul Koss. "It was really good to see the resiliency, it was amazing to be able to not give up. Most teams would lay there and die after you're down that many runs. We just stayed with it and after we were down 6,7 runs there was still a good feel in the dugout," Koss said. "We tried to focus on winning an inning. You don't want to focus on putting up 8 or 9 runs in an inning, you focus on let's win this inning. When we got to the seventh inning, we said let's try to win these last three innings so we can end on a high note, and we were able to pull off one of the craziest comebacks I've ever been a part of."
The Cougars will now regroup for a matchup at Nova Southeastern University on February 4 at 4 p.m. MST.
