The Mountain Lion Baseball first ever match up with the Golden Eagles in Mountain Lion history. UCCS swept Minnesota during Thursday’s double header but couldn’t get their offense started Friday afternoon.
Thursday, February 8th | Double header
Game 1: UCCS 15, UMC 12
During the first inning, Crookston started off the game with a hit over the right field wall, doubling RBI to score two runs. UCCS answered with Alec Gomez’s second home run of the season to score two runs for the Mountain Lions, ending the first with a score of 2-3. Both Mountain Lion and Golden Eagles left the second with no additional runs.
In the third and the fourth, Crookston continued to add runs and dominated offensively, adding five runs, a pair of singles, a double and sacrifice fly. For the Mountain Lions in the fourth, Aaron Jenkins singled to center field for an RBI with Caleb Chance advancing to second and Kit Wigington coming in to score 3-8.
During the fifth, UMC added another two runs off a homerun in the center field. In the fifth, UCCS’ Hayden Iverson homered to right field to score. Chance singled to center field for an RBI with Wigington advancing to third and Gomez scoring. Jenkins in the box with a single to third for another RBI as Chance advanced to second and Wigington scored another run for the Mountain Lions. Jenkins and Chance added another two runs after an error by the Golden Eagles, closing the gap to 8-10. Before the end of the fifth, Iverson tripled down the right field line to add two runs by Ronan Hella and Dillon Vroman to tie the game 10-10.
In the sixth inning, UMC doubled down right field for another run. UCCS came into the sixth with a double by Chance to left center, with Wigington and Gomez scoring. Jenkins singled to right field for an RBI as Chance scored the 13th run of the game.
Evan Steinberger added another double to center field for a run by Iverson in the seventh. Bases loaded with Steinberg on third, Gomez on second and Wigington on first, and Tyler Richardson in the box. Richardson walked as everyone on base advanced and Steinberg scored a run.
The teams left the inning with a score of 15-11. In the eighth, both Mountain Lions and Golden Eagles recorded no runs. UMC homered to right field in the ninth. This ended the game 15-12 Mountain Lions.
Sophomore pitcher Joe McDermott earned his first save of the season helping redshirt junior Jordan Brown pick up his first win as a Mountain Lion and for the first win of the season for the Mountain Lions after coming back from a 3-10 deficit.
Game 2: UCCS 7, UMC 5
UCCS started off the game with Steinberger scoring off an error by the Golden Eagles, Gomez advanced to third and Wigington to second. During the next at bat, Chance singled to left center for two runs by Gomez and Wigington. UMC recorded no runs in the first, as they scored a run in the second inning, 3-1.
During the third, Wigington homered to right field to score a run for the Mountain Lions. In the fourth inning, UMC scored two runs off a hit over the left center field fence, and UCCS’ Steinberger homered down the right field line 5-3. Hella singled to center for 2 run RBI, Jenkins and Chance scored ending the fifth 7-3.
Both teams recorded no runs for the sixth, and during the seventh, UMC scored two runs, but it was too late. Leaving the last two innings with no runs, the game ended 7-5.
Steinberger and Wigington both hit their first homeruns of the season with redshirt junior pitcher Cole Philip earning his first win of the season on the mound. Wigington, Chance, Jenkins, and Hella all recorded a multi-hit game.
This is the first time since 2021 the Mountain Lions have won their first two home games in Mountain Lion Park. It is also the first time in UCCS history they have won two games after being swept in their first series of the season.
Friday, February 9th
After Friday morning’s game being postponed to 1 p.m. due to weather, Crookston started as quick as they did in the first game of the series. UMC started game three with 3 runs in the first, a homerun in the third and two in the fourth off another homerun and an error by the Mountain Lions. The Golden Eagles continued to dominate, scoring every inning till the eighth, 0-14.
In the eighth, Vroman singled to center field for an RBI as Kasey Campbell advanced to third and Colton Trudeau scored the first run of the game. Gomez, next at bat, homered to center field with a 3 run RBI, with Campbell, Vroman and Gomez all scoring a run, 4-14. The Mountain Lions were unsuccessful offensively versus the Golden Eagles Friday afternoon, struggling to make any plays at the plate.
The only Mountain Lion to record a multi-hit was Chance and Gomez with his third homerun of the season. Sophomore pitcher Marko Sipila is still looking to get his win on the mound for this season.
Up next:
University of Colorado Colorado Springs Baseball will next play at Colorado State University- Pueblo on February 13th. Then will travel to San Diego, California to play Point Loma in a four-game series February 16 & 17 and will return for a home game on February 20 against CSU- Pueblo at 2 p.m. at Mountain Lion Park.
#40 Sophomore Pitcher Marko Silipa. Photo by Taylor Villalpando.