LAKEWOOD, CO- The Cougars were back in action on Saturday at All Star Park with a doubleheader against Northwestern  Oklahoma State. An explosion of offense from CCU led to an 11-6 game one victory, and they backed it up with an 8-5 victory in game two to improve to 2-1 on the season. 

GAME ONE 
Transfer Caleb Perry took the mound in the opener Saturday, and after giving up a leadoff homer to the Rangers, he settled into the game very nicely. His offense gave him the lead in the bottom of the first with RBI singles from Aidan Welsh and Cade Lacy to put the hosts on top 2-1. 

NWOSU rallied for a pair of runs in the second to go up 3-2, but CCU responded in a big way in the fourth. Ethan Kang roped a huge two RBI double down the left field line, and Landry Hamm stepped up next and obliterated a ball to center field that hit high off the batters eye for a two run homer to make it 6-3.

After the visitors inched closer with a run in the fifth, the Cougars tacked on more insurance in their half of the fifth. Lukas Hinze smacked a double down the left field line that plated two, and Gregory Rangel showed off his power with a towering shot to center reminiscent of Hamm's blast earlier in the game as he homered off the batters eye for two more runs and a 10-4 advantage. 

Nathan Mensen collected an RBI single in the sixth, and two runs in the seventh were not enough in a bounce back 11-6 victory for the Cougars.

Perry picked up his first win as a Cougars with five innings pitched with three strikeouts and just four runs allowed. TJ McCraw was strong in relief with two innings tossed to seal the win. A balanced offensive effort saw four batters tally multiple RBI as Hinze, Rangel, Kang and Hamm had two apiece.  

GAME TWO
The second contest of the day saw more power hitting from the Cougars and a gem of an outing from pitcher Chad Naf. The Rangers offense found early life with a pair of first inning runs, but CCU brought it closer in the first as Hinze came home to score on a passed ball. 

Hinze provided a jolt in the second inning, launching a huge three-run homer to right centerfield to put his team on top 4-2. A Kang single in the third made it 5-2 before a Rangers homer cut the lead to 5-3. 

The fifth was a big inning for CCU, beginning with another RBI single from Kang. Hamm kept things rolling with a double to the gap in right center to score Kang, and Hinze tucked a double down the left field line to make it 8-3. Another rally attempt in the seventh from NWOSU was futile as the Cougars held on for the 8-5 victory. 

Naf was stellar as he went 6.1 innings on 96 pitches to secure the win. Cody Hill registered the save with 0.2 innings of shutout work, while Hinze was the leader of the offense with four RBI followed by Kang with two. 

CCU will look to close out the series win against the Rangers on February 1 at All Star Park with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. MST.