Bears baseball drops second consecutive series

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
Bears baseball drops second consecutive series

By Adam Ide

Bear News Sportswriter
Click here for story on bearnews.tv 

The University of Northern Colorado baseball team lost its second consecutive series this weekend, losing two games to one to Seattle in Bellevue, Washington.

            The two teams played a doubleheader at Bannerwood Park Friday, with the Redhawks taking game one 6-5. Jake Prizina earned the win and Zach Wolf the save, while Gavin Gorrell took the loss for the Bears.

            Both pitching staffs lacked control, as there were a combined seven hit batters. Gorrell hit three and Prizina two, and Northern Colorado reliever Karver Pate also plunked two Seattle batters.

            Gorrell started for the Bears, allowing four runs on four hits in three innings. Prizina went 5 and 2/3, allowing five runs on eight hits.

            UNC jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run double by Evan Johnson. SU got one back in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly by Austin Lively.

            The Redhawks took a 4-2 lead in the third on a bases-clearing double by Lively.

The Bears answered with one in the top of the fourth on a solo shot by Brett Minnick. UNC’s first baseman crushed the ball over the left field wall, making it a 4-3 game.

            SU added two more in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single by Sean Sutton, giving Seattle a 6-3 lead. Justin Mulvaney replaced Pate in the sixth and pitched three scoreless innings.

            Northern Colorado made it a 6-5 game in the sixth as Dean Lawson drove in Austin Miller with an RBI single. Brett Minnick scored the second run on a wild pitch by Tyler Yeh.  

            Zach Wolf recorded the final six outs of the game, sealing the victory for the Redhawks.

            Seattle won the series with an 8-1 victory in the nightcap. Tarik Skubal earned the victory for the Redhawks, while Aaron Hamilton was charged with the loss. 

            It was a pitching duel through the first three innings, with Hamilton not allowing a hit and Skubal only three. Control was again an issue for the Bears, however, as Hamilton hit three Redhawks batters in his 3 and 2/3 innings pitched.

            Hamilton allowed five runs on five hits, walking two and striking out four. Skubal pitched a strong game for Seattle, going six shutout innings and striking out nine.

The Redhawks broke up the pitching duel in the bottom of the fourth, scoring five. Jack Reisinger drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single with two outs, and that’s when the inning went south for the Bears.

            Jack Pauley and Johnson lost two balls in the lights, which may have been a product of the team’s inexperience of playing night games. Cameron Sterne was credited with one RBI on the ball that Pauley lost, but his errant throw into the infield allowed a second run to score. Curtis Perrin hit a fly ball to left center, but Johnson couldn’t see, either, and two more runs scored.

            Northern Colorado got on the board in the top of the seventh, as Matt Burkart’s RBI double made it a 5-1 game.

            Austin Bergdahl entered in the bottom of the seventh, and he struggled with control as well. Two wild pitches in the inning led to another SU run, and Bergdahl gave way to Corey Nakakura after failing to record an out. Nakakura allowed an inherited runner to score, as Dalton Hurd scored on a sacrifice bunt, making it a 7-1 Seattle lead.

           

            UNC’s struggles under the lights continued in the eighth inning, as Tyler Yamaguchi dropped a pop-up that would’ve been the final out of the inning. Jake Cosgrove scored from second base, giving SU an 8-1 lead.

            Blaine Wagner got the final three outs, giving the Redhawks the victory.

            Northern Colorado avoided the sweep Sunday with a 7-6 comeback victory.

            Connor Leedholm earned the win for the Bears, while Austin Hansen was charged with the loss.

            Keenan Lum started for UNC, but struggled through 2 and 2/3 innings. The southpaw gave up five runs on six hits, walking two. Nick Meservey is returning from injury for the Redhawks, so only went an inning in the start. Dawson Day replaced him, and just like Lum, struggled to get through three innings of work. He allowed five runs on just two hits, but walked five.

            Northern Colorado jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third on a sacrifice fly by Cole Maltese, but Seattle answered with five in the bottom half to take a 5-1 lead.

Lively scored the first run on a wild pitch and Cosgrove added an RBI single. Cosgrove came around to score on Hurd’s RBI single and Justin Mazzone’s two-run double gave SU a four-run lead.

            UNC had been waiting for a big inning all series long, and it came in the top of the fourth. The Bears scored six in the inning, taking a 7-5 lead. Lawson drew a bases-loaded walk for the first run. Miller followed by getting hit by a pitch, allowing Yamaguchi to cross the plate. Maltese added his second sac fly of the game, and Burkart’s RBI single scored the fourth run of the inning. Johnson’s two-run single made it a 7-5 Northern Colorado lead.

            Despite scoring a run in the bottom of the ninth, Seattle’s offense was shut down by Leedholm. The righty pitched the final 6 and 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits and striking out five.

           

            With the series loss, the Bears fall to 19-14 on the season, 3-6 in WAC play. They remain on the road with a series at Sacramento State this weekend.