UCCS enters their second RMAC series from March 13 to 14 against Regis University riding an eight-game win streak. The team currently sits at 15-7 through their first 22 games, which is the best start the team has had since they won the RMAC tournament in 2021.
Through the first six weeks of the season, the team won four of the six series that they have played in, including a sweep against #25 ranked Metropolitan State University of Denver, which is the first time baseball has swept a ranked opponent in program history.
“It really comes down to a healthy, positive chemistry. These young fellas have worked hard all fall and then January comes around and everybody gets real excited…These guys are buying in, they care about each other, they’re working hard for each other, and it’s really showing up on the field,” head coach Dave Hajek said.
The numbers don’t lie and the Mountain Lions are lighting up the stat sheet. As a lineup they rank second in the RMAC in terms of team batting average hitting .346 and lead the RMAC in hitting with 41 home runs and driving in 205 runs.
The pitching staff is also making an impact with multiple individuals earning conference honors. Redshirt senior pitcher Gerrit Erickson won RMAC pitcher of the week in the first week of the season and senior pitcher Ryder Mancuso received RMAC pitcher of the week for his complete game performance against Colorado Christian University on March 7.
“We’ve got 14 graduating seniors and a really strong group of young players; I think we have 10 freshman in the mix, so we’ve got that good combination… and our pitching staff is as strong as it has ever been, starters all the way through the bullpen,” Coach Hajek said.
This healthy balance Hajek mentioned has also led to multiple hitters receiving RMAC player of the week honors with redshirt junior Trevor Dale receiving the honor in weeks one and three as well as redshirt sophomore Tyler Genrich in week five for his efforts against MSU Denver.
Genrich sat out the final game of the series, but in the two games he played, he went 5-for-8 with two triples, two home runs and seven RBIs in the series against the road runners.
“I think there’s just a lot of confidence in each other, so I think the teams playing great and we’re all seeing the ball really well right now,” Genrich said.
All sports deal with a mental toll but baseball in particular can be taxing; ultimately if you get a hit in 3-10 at-bats you are considered elite, but that still means you’re failing 7-10 times.
“It’s definitely tough because baseball is a game of failure. I’ve had my fair share of failure, and I continue to fail every day. I think it’s just a matter of how you come back from that. You can take an attitude of giving up or you can come back at it the next play,” he said.
With the volatility of baseball, the streak the Mountain Lions are on right now piques interest — anyone can be hot on a given day, but trying to maintain that high octane play game after game is what keeps players on their toes.
“It’s just knowing that anybody can beat anybody at any time. If we stay focused on our game, pitch-to-pitch, don’t let yourself get too high or too down, then we’re going to be consistent,” Hajek said.
Preparation has been key coming into the year and it seems to have really separated this team from ones in the past. The best part about is that they couldn’t have chosen a better time for this streak as they enter into conference play.
“You’re prepping for those first four or five weekends to get ready for conference play to find out what kind of team you have… so this is it, zero and zero lets use that momentum and stay focused on what’s right in front of us,” he said.
These early conference games are going to end up being just as important as the ones that the Mountain Lions play in early May. Will the Mountain Lions carry this steam into the rest of the season?
Mountain Lions celebrate. Photo from the Scribe archive.