ALAMOSA, Colo. - Adams State Baseball dropped a pair of seven-inning contests Friday afternoon in doubleheader showdown with New Mexico Highlands. the Cowboys offense proved to be too much as they won both games by 10-plus runs.

Game one got off to a slow start as the two squads were tied at 1-1 going into the third but the Cowboys offense (18-31, 11-24 RMAC) dominated the rest of the game. The Grizzlies (9-40, 6-29 RMAC) never managed to match the Cowboys power the rest of the way.

The Cowboys got on the board first yet again with leadoff solo home run to right center field to start game one. Starter Trent Hughes then struck out the next two batters before forcing a flyout to end the top of the inning.

The Grizzlies quickly managed to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. Erik Hildebrandt got on with a leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt from Logan Bistrup got him to second base. Nico Nintze then plated Hildebrandt home with a hard hit single up the middle. The Cowboys then fanned the next two batters to close the frame and keep the score tied at 1-all.

Hughes put together a superb second inning on the hill with a three-up, three down outing. He struck out the first two batters before a flyout to right field closed out the top of the second inning.

The Grizzlies got another leadoff hit, this time from Orlando Romero to start the bottom of the second. He got to second on a sacrifice bunt from Jake Angelopulos but he was left stranded as the Cowboys got two putouts to end the second and leave the score at 1-1.

New Mexico Highlands retook the lead in the top of the third with four runs scored to make it a 5-1 contest. A sacrifice fly and a base hit up the middle brought in the runs for the visitors as they led 3-1. Troy Gutbub came in for relief but allowed a two RBI double to left center by his first batter before Adams State finally ended the inning.

The Grizzlies tried to answer in the bottom half of the third. Bistrup hit a single through the right side and made it to second on a groundout from Nintze. Jared Gay then worked a 10-pitch at bat but ultimately grounded out to third base to end the inning.

The lead grew to 9-1 for the Cowboys with the help of four runs scored in the top of the fourth. A two-run homer from their center fielder Auggie Francis made it a 7-1 game and it was his second homer of the game. A triple and a single pushed the scored to 8-1.

Two straight singles added the final run as the Cowboys led by eight over the Grizzlies. They then worked a 1-2-3 inning to close the fourth and keep the Grizzly bats from getting started like they did on day one.

The Cowboys extended the lead to nine runs in the top of the fifth with another RBI single, this time through the left side. The Grizzlies added one run in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Bistrup that plated home Josh Billingham to bring the score to 10-2.

The Cowboys grabbed their first double figure lead in the top of the sixth with a two-run homer well over the center field fence. They led 12-2 and added two more runs on a RBI single and a sacrifice fly to lead 14-2 going into the bottom of the sixth.

The score remained unchanged the rest of the contest as the Cowboys tied the series at one apiece with the 12-run win.

Seven different Grizzlies all had a hit in the game. Hildebrandt was 1-3 with a run scored, while Bistrup was 1-1 and had a RBI. Billingham also scored a run and finished 1-2 for game one. Hughes suffered the loss on the hill to move to 1-3 but finished with a game-high five strikeouts in 2.2 innings pitched. Gutbub and Tyler Meyers each had three strikeouts in relief efforts.

Francis led the Cowboys with perfect 4-4 hitting performance and tallied five RBI to go along with three runs scored. He also had a pair of homers in the win. Jared Brown went 3-4 with a pair of runs scored and two RBI. JT Mossberg pitched a complete game for New Mexico Highlands to move to 5-2 on the year. He fanned three batters in seven innings of work.
 

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Game two also belonged to the Cowboys as they put up 17 runs on 17 hits and held the Grizzlies to just one run to earn the day two sweep.

The contest got off to a defensive start as both squads played a quick inning to keep the game scoreless. The Cowboys got a runner on base from a fielding error, while the Grizzlies got a runner on thanks to a base hit. Both were left stranded though.

Cowboys got on the board first in the second as starter Dalton Carleo was called for a balk. The call allowed the runner at third to score and give the Cowboys a 1-0 lead early on.

New Mexico Highlands continued to played well on defense as the pitching allowed them to work a 1-2-3 inning to close the second. The Cowboys then pushed the lead to 2-0 with a two-out solo home run to left center before Adams State closed out the frame.

The Cowboys continued their string performance on defense as starter Kalen Hammer worked another three up, three down inning to keep the visitors up by two. They extended their lead to 5-0 thanks to another home run to left center. A two-out single got a runner on before a triple scored the sixth run. A double to left field from the Cowboys pushed the lead to 7-0 before the Grizzlies closed the top half of the frame.

The Grizzlies got a runner on base in the fourth in Nico Nintze but he was left stranded as the Cowboys stayed in front 7-0. They pushed that lead to 8-0 with a solo home run to left field in the top of the fifth.

Adams State ended its scoring drought in the bottom of the fifth. Jake Abgelopulos got on base with a bunt single and advanced to second on a throwing error by the pitcher. A passed ball got him to third. Orlando Romero plated him home with a RBI groundout to bring the score to 8-1.

A four-run inning in the top of the sixth gave the visitors a 12-1 lead. Three of those runs came on a three-run homer to left field. The fourth run came prior on a RBI double to center field. The added five more in the seventh to secure the 16-run win. The first two runs came on a two RBI double and the other three were thanks to a three-run home run to center field.

Four Grizzlies knocked one hit in game two. Angelopulos was was 1-2 with a run scored to lead the way. Romero had the only RBI for the team. Carleo suffered the loss on the hill but still went five complete innings. he had a game-high four strikeouts in the game. 

Cody Reilly was 4-5 with three runs scored and three RBI to lead the Cowboys to go along with one home run. Carlos Ramirez had seven RBI for the game after going 3-4 and scored four runs. He knocked four home runs in the win. Kalen Hammer got the win on the mound to move to 3-1. He pitched five complete innings and struck out three batters.

The Grizzlies and Cowboys wrap up their series Sunday, May 4. Adams State will honor its 13 seniors prior to the 12 p.m. first pitch at 11:30 a.m.