LAKEWOOD, CO- It was a beautiful day for baseball on Friday as the Cougars hosted the University of Mary in a doubleheader at All Star Park. CCU came out strong in game one, winning 8-4, but the Marauders claimed the second contest by a final of 14-4 as the teams split on the day. 

GAME ONE
The home team struck first in the day's first contest, as Gavin Acosta tripled and came home on an RBI sac fly from Luke Thompson. The scoring continued for the Cougars in the second on a single from Landry Hamm and another from Kade Carney to plate two more runs. Carney made a smart play with Hamm at third, as he got caught in a pickle but made enough moves to allow Hamm to touch home before he was tagged out and the lead grew to 4-0 at the end of two. 

Hamm continued his excellent day at the plate, singling home two more runs in the fourth for a 6-0 advantage. Acosta followed with an RBI double to stretch the lead to 7-0 after four innings played. The Marauders rallied for three runs in the sixth, but Carney responded with a single to make it 8-3 in the sixth. One more run from the visitors did not make an impact as the Cougars finished out the 8-4 victory. 

Jake Gimbel picked up the complete game victory on the mound, striking out four while scattering right hits in a strong performance for the graduate student. Hamm led the offense with three RBI followed by Carney with two. 

GAME TWO
Luke Thompson opened up the scoring in game two, doubling home a run in the third. University of Mary responded with two runs in the fifth to take the lead, but it did not last long. Thompson put his team back ahead, blasting a two-run homer to right center field as CCU jumped back ahead 3-2. 

The Marauders took over from there, scoring 12 runs in the next three innings to take control 14-3. Cole Douglass doubled home a run in the eighth to make it 14-4, but in the end it was not enough in an eventual loss. 

Brady Ritzmann started for the Cougars, pitching five innings with just two runs allowed. Thompson powered the offense, homering and notching three RBI in the contest. 

Colorado Christian will be back in action March 2 at Colorado School of Mines with first pitch in Golden set for 4 p.m. MST.