Alamosa, Colorado — In a Thursday doubleheader against New Mexico Highlands, the Grizzly bats carried Adams State to a doubleheader sweep. In the first game, Adams State won 19-1, and in the second game, they won 17-7. The two wins put the Grizzlies at 15-25(11-11 RMAC) and put them in fifth place in the RMAC standings with 10 games left.
Adams State 19, New Mexico Highlands 1
In game one of the doubleheader, the Grizzlies dominated in all facets, winning in all three phases. They played clean defense, pitched exceptionally well, and hit the ball at an excellent rate, securing a dominant 19-1 win.
Led by
Brian Walters on the mound, the Grizzlies jumped out to a quick lead as he allowed only one unearned run over 5+ innings of work. Walters had one of his best starts of the year, permitting just 4 hits while collecting 4 strikeouts. His final line for the day was 5+ innings, 4 hits allowed, 1 run(0 earned), 4 walks, 2 hit batters, and 4 strikeouts. Walters also earned the win today, bringing his season record to 4-5.
The real difference maker for the Grizzlies was their ability to swing the bats at an impressive rate. They collected 20 hits, walked 8 times, and had 2 hit batters, totaling 30 baserunners. In addition to the 20 hits, the Grizzlies caused damage at the plate with 5 doubles and 5 home runs, amounting to 10 extra-base hits. Out of these 10 extra-base hits, 7 led to the Grizzlies scoring. From these 7 extra-base hits, they scored 13 of their 19 runs on the day. It was truly a special day for the Grizzlies at the plate.
Leading the way for the offense was
Josh Parks,
Ayden Tauscher,
Seth Reker,
Phil Carter, and
Christian Altamirano. These five individuals all had multi-hit games, totaling 15 of the Grizzlies' 20 hits. They also contributed to 8 of the 10 extra-base hits, 14 of the 19 Grizzly RBIs, and 16 of the Grizzlies' 19 runs. Individually, Parks went 4 for 5 with 3 doubles, a home run, 3 RBIs, a hit by pitch, and 4 runs scored; Tauscher went 3 for 6 with a double and 4 runs scored; Reker went 3 for 4 with 2 walks, a home run, 3 RBIs, and 5 runs scored; Carter went 2 for 4 with a home run, 5 RBIs, and 2 runs scored; and Altamirano went 3 for 3 with a walk, a home run, 3 RBIs, and 1 run scored.
Adams State 17, New Mexico Highlands 7
In game two, the Adams State offense came alive again, leading the way to another commanding win for the Grizzlies. Offensively, the Grizzlies managed to hit nine home runs throughout the game, giving them a strong lead from inning one until the final out was recorded. The scoring for the Grizzlies started immediately as they jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after the first inning. In the first inning alone, the Grizzlies hit three home runs, all in a row, going back to back to back. The first home run was hit by
Josh Parks, who smashed a 2-run bomb to give Adams State the 2-0 lead, shortly followed by home runs from both
Seth Reker and
Josiah Hall, making the score 4-0. After the three home runs, the Grizzlies continued to add runs, with
Nolan Marthaler hitting an RBI single up the middle, followed by an
Ayden Tauscher 2-run single.
The first inning was just the beginning of the Grizzlies' scoring as they added another ten runs across four more innings. Overall, the Grizzlies finished with 17 runs, 18 hits, 1 walk, and 1 hit by pitch. Leading the way for the Grizzlies once again was
Josh Parks, who finished game two going 3 for 4 with three home runs, a walk, 7 RBIs, and 3 runs scored. Parks concluded the day going 7 for 9 with 3 doubles, 4 home runs, 10 RBIs, and 7 runs scored. Other Grizzlies who shined included
Ayden Tauscher,
Seth Reker,
Phil Carter,
Nolan Marthaler, and Macs Carillo. Tauscher finished game two 3 for 4 with a home run, 3 RBIs, and 3 runs scored; Reker went 2 for 4 with 2 home runs, 2 RBIs, and 2 runs scored; Carter went 2 for 3 with a hit by pitch, a home run, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored; Marthaler went 2 for 3 with a sac fly, recording 2 RBIs and scoring 2 runs; and Carillo went 2 for 4 with his first home run of the year, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored.
On the mound for the Grizzlies,
Joseph Marek got the start and collected the win, putting him at 4-2 on the year. Marek finished with a final line of 5 ⅓ innings, allowing 9 hits, 6 runs, 2 walks, 2 hit batters, and 5 strikeouts. Marek pitched effectively until the sixth inning when he gave up a 3-run home run that put the score at 16-6. After the home run,
Alex Hernandez came into the game for the Grizzlies, throwing the final 1 ⅔ innings. Hernandez finished with 3 strikeouts, 3 walks, 1 hit, and 1 unearned run on the day.
Looking Forward
Looking towards tomorrow, the Grizzlies will again play New Mexico Highlands in another doubleheader as they wrap up their 4-game series with the Cowboys. The Grizzlies will look to carry their strong offense and pitching into games three and four tomorrow, looking to sweep the series for the second straight year against the Cowboys. The first game of tomorrow's doubleheader will be played at 11 AM MST, with the second game following directly after the end of the first game. The games will again be held here in Alamosa, at the Grizzlies' home field.
