Phoenix, Arizona — In the first game of a four-game series against St. Cloud State University, Adams struggled to match St. Cloud's offense, falling 20-3. The loss drops the Grizzlies to 2-13 on the season and puts them on an 11-game losing streak.
The Grizzlies started the game off super hot, with
Caleb Eiguren getting the scoring rolling in the top of the first inning with a 2-run single up the middle to score both
Christian Altamirano and
Ayden Tauscher. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies could only hold St. Cloud's offense back to the bottom of the second when they took a 7-2 lead after some defensive miscues hurt Adams State. The big blow in the second inning was when the St. Cloud catcher, Tweet, was able to hit a bases-clearing double to drive in three, which was then followed by an Adams State error that allowed him to score, bringing the game to that 7-2 score.
The Grizzlies did show some fight after a tough second inning by responding immediately, adding a third run in the top of third after Altamirano hit an RBI single up the middle to score
Braden Watkins. Watkins started the inning off with a double down the left field line, which gave the Grizzlies life, but unfortunately, two strikeouts after the Altamirano single and a lineout by Tauscher ended the Grizzlies' response.
Following the Adams State response, St. Cloud also immediately answered but in a much bigger way, adding 5 runs in the bottom of the third inning, making the score 12-3. Again, Tweet did damage, recording another double and two more RBI's, bringing his total to 5 on the game through 3 innings. The Grizzly pitching staff struggled to stop the St. Cloud bats as they were able to score those 5 runs on 5 hits and a total of 6 baserunners in the inning.
Sadly, the Grizzly offense could score no more runs, only recording two more hits for the remainder of the game. These hits were recorded by
Josiah Hall, who collected a double and his second hit of the game, and a late single off the bench by
Josh Parks.
The 5-run inning for the St. Cloud offense was later followed up by a 7-run inning in the fifth inning and another run in the bottom of the sixth inning, giving them a lead of 20-3, which ended up being the final score of the game.
Brady Nelson earned the win for St. Cloud, giving him a record of 2-0 on the season. Nelsen allowed five hits and three runs over his four innings of work, striking out three and walking three. For the Grizzlies,
Cesar Loma took the loss, putting him at 0-4 on the year. Loma went 2 ⅔ innings, surrendering 12 runs (six earned) on seven hits, striking out three, and walking three.
Ultimately, the story of the game was St. Cloud's strong offensive performance. They finished with 15 hits and a total of 24 baserunners on the game compared to the Grizzlies' 7 hits and 12 baserunners.
The Grizzlies will look to end their losing streak today as they face off against St. Cloud again here in Phoenix, Arizona. The game will be a single 9-inning ball game at Phoenix College at 5 PM MST.
