Bears baseball drops third consecutive series

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics

Bears baseball drops third consecutive series

By Adam Ide

Bear News Sportswriter

            The University of Northern Colorado baseball team lost its third consecutive series this weekend, losing two games to one to New Mexico State at Jackson Field.

            The series began Friday with the Bears earning the 13-7 win. Troy Watson picked up the victory and Justin Mulvaney the save, while Kyle Bradish took the loss for the Aggies.

            Watson started for UNC, allowing five runs (three earned) over five innings. Mulvaney pitched the final four innings in relief, allowing two runs.

            Bradish got the nod for NMSU, allowing seven runs (two earned) and striking out six over three innings.  

            Northern Colorado scored early, leading 6-0 after two innings. Cole Maltese drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single in the first inning, and UNC led 1-0 after one.

            The Bears put up five the next inning to take a 6-0 lead. Matt Burkart was credited with one RBI on his single, but an error by NMSU left fielder Tristen Carranza allowed two more runs to score. Jack Pauley drove in another with an RBI single, and an RBI double by Maltese scored the fifth run of the inning.

            New Mexico State cut the deficit to one over the next two innings, scoring one in the third and four in the fourth. Joey Ortiz got the Aggies on the board with an RBI single, making it a 6-1 game.

            NMSU’s four-run fourth began with Marcus Still’s RBI infield single, and Ortiz picked up his second RBI of the day with a single to right. An error by Pauley allowed two more runs to score, making it a 6-5 game.

            UNC answered with six runs over the next two frames to put the game out of reach. Pauley atoned for his error by driving in Dean Lawson to make it a 7-5 game.

            The Bears’ five-run fifth began with Burkart drawing a bases-loaded walk. Maltese continued his big day at the plate two batters later, launching a grand slam over the left field wall. It gave Maltese six RBIs on the day and Northern Colorado a 12-5 lead.

            New Mexico State answered with a home run of their own, as Mason Fishback’s solo shot made it a 12-6 game.

            Northern Colorado added another in the seventh when Austin Miller scored on a wild pitch, giving UNC a 13-6 lead.

            The Aggies got one in the eighth on an RBI groundout by Fishback, but it was for naught as the Bears won 13-7.

            New Mexico State evened the series Saturday with a 12-9 victory in 11 innings. Northern Colorado couldn’t come away with the win despite tying the game three different times.

Brock Whittlesey earned the win, while Connor Leedholm took the loss for UNC.

            Aaron Hamilton started for Northern Colorado, but only lasted one inning. He allowed three runs, walking two.

            Jonathan Groff got the nod for NMSU and pitched six strong innings, striking out nine. He allowed five runs, but none of them were earned.  

            The game was tied at three after one inning of play. Carranza drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single, and Nick Gonzales gave the Aggies an early 3-0 lead with a two-run double.

            The Bears tied the game the first time in the bottom of the first. Maltese continued his strong series, driving in Burkart with an RBI double. Evan Johnson followed, tying the game with a two-run single.

            New Mexico State scored two in the third to take a 5-3 lead. Logan Ehnes drove in Caleb Henderson with an RBI triple, and came around to score on Carranza’s RBI groundout. But UNC tied the game again in the bottom half on Alex Kiel’s two-run homer.   

            The Aggies led 9-5 in the eighth after scoring three in the sixth and one in the eighth. Ortiz drove in one with an RBI single and Henderson added a sacrifice fly. Ehnes’ RBI double made it an 8-5 game, and Henderson’s second sac fly in the eighth pushed the lead to 9-5.

            But for the third time in the game, the Bears tied the game with a four-run eighth inning. Kiel scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the inning and Dean Lawson launched a three-run shot over the left field wall to tie the game at nine.

            After neither team scored in the ninth inning, the game went to extra innings. Whittlesey and Leedholm pitched scoreless 10^th innings as well, but NMSU had better luck against Leedholm in the 11^th.

            Ortiz drove in his second run of the day with a double, and Trey Stine’s two-run double made it a 12-9 game.

            UNC couldn’t find the magic to tie the game for a fourth time and New Mexico State won 12-9.

            The Aggies won the series Sunday by taking the rubber game 6-3. Whittlesey earned his second win of the series, while Anthony Brady took the loss for Northern Colorado.

            It was a pitching duel for the first seven innings between starters Alex Pinedo and Keenan Lum. Pinedo went 7 and 1/3, allowing two runs on seven hits. Lum also allowed two runs over 7 and 1/3, giving up one less hit.

            NMSU took a 1-0 lead in the second on a sac fly by Still. UNC answered in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Jack Pauley.

            That score held until the sixth inning when New Mexico State took the lead. Their second sac fly of the game, this time by Gonzales, gave them a 2-1 lead.

            The Bears tied the game in the eighth on Pauley’s second RBI of the game. His RBI groundout tied the game at two.

            The Aggies put up the first crooked number by either side with a four spot in the top of the ninth. Ehnes drew a bases-loaded walk to plate the first run of the inning, and Carranza followed with a two-run single. Still added an RBI single, giving NMSU a 6-2 lead.

            Northern Colorado tried to rally in the bottom half. Miller cut the deficit to three with an RBI single, but the rally fell short and New Mexico State won 6-3.

            With the series loss, UNC falls to 21-19 on the season. Their five-game homestand concludes Tuesday when they take on Metro State at 3 p.m.