TUCSON, Arizona — In the Grizzlies final two games of a road trip to Tucson, Arizona they fell to both Minot State and Emporia State to finish 1-3. The Grizzlies fell in game one in a hard fought fight by a final score of 9-8, and struggled in game two losing to Emporia State 13-0.
Game 1
In game one against Minot State the Grizzlies took control of the game early, before giving away their lead in the final two innings of the game to fall 9-8. Through the first 7 innings of game one the Grizzlies held strong control taking an 8-3 lead before Minot State was able to score 4 runs in the eighth inning, and 2 runs in the ninth to take the 1 run lead late. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, after Minot State took the lead, their closer came in and shut the door securing the win for the Beavers.
Diving deeper into the first game of the doubleheader, the Grizzlies started freshman Jacob Janata who pitched outstanding in his first college start. Janata finished the game throwing 5 innings, only allowing 2 hits, 1 run, while striking out 5 batters. It was truly a dominating performance by Janata. Following Janata was Daniel Hoodak who threw 1 inning, allowing 3 hits, 2 runs, while collecting 1 strikeout. Finishing the game for the Grizzlies was a combination of Cain Gostenik and Paul Ruiz. Gostenik came out first as a bridge to the Grizzlies closer, Ruiz. Gostenik finished the day throwing 1 ⅓ innings, allowing 3 hits, 4 runs, and collected 1 strikeout before Ruiz came in to finish the final 1 ⅔ innings for the Grizzlies. Unfortunately, Ruiz took the loss in today's game in his 1 ⅔ innings of work as he gave up the game-tying and go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning. Ruiz finished the game with a final line of 1 ⅔ innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 runs, and 1 strikeout.
Offensively for the Grizzlies they had some bright spots as they finished the game with 13 hits, 5 walks, and 8 runs. Shining for the Grizzlies was Christian Altamirano, Ayden Tauscher, Josh Parks, and Ryan Vandever. These four individuals collected 12 of the Grizzlies hits, while also recording both extra-base hits and 5 of the Grizzlies 6 RBIs. Individually, Altamirano finished the day 3 for 4, scoring 3 runs; Tauscher finished the day 4 for 4, scoring 2 runs, and collecting 2 RBIs; Parks finished 3 for 4 with a double, 1 run scored, and 3 RBIs; while Vandever finished the day 2 for 5 with his first career extra-base hit which was a triple. Outside of these four individuals Gunner Martinez was the only other Grizzly to collect a hit as he came up clutch with an RBI single late in the game to extend the Grizzlies run total to 8.
Overall, the Grizzlies had a great opportunity to win game one but fell just short as they left 10 base runners on base, while also giving up 9 walks, 4 of which came in the final 3 innings when the Beavers were able to make their final comeback to take game one out from under the Grizzlies.
Game 2
In game 2 of the doubleheader, the Grizzlies struggled both offensively and on the mound as they fell to Emporia State by a final score of 13-0. For the game the Grizzlies were not able to score as they only collected 1 hit and 1 walk in the game, whereas Emporia State was able to score 13 runs on 13 hits, 4 walks, and 2 hit by pitches for a total of 19 base runners over the 7 inning ball game.
Diving into game 2 further, the Grizzlies starting pitcher Austin Delgado started off hot as he threw 3 ⅓ innings shutout before allowing 7 runs in the fourth inning. Delgado started only allowing 3 hits while also collecting 4 strikeouts through the first 10 outs of the game but unfortunately walked 2 batters, hit 2 batters, and allowed 4 hits giving Emporia State the opportunity to pull away in the fourth inning. Thankfully for the Grizzlies, Dylan Schaefer was able to come into the ball game in the fourth inning to stop the 7-run inning by the Hornets. Schaefer collected the final 2 outs in the fourth before coming out in the fifth and struggling to collect another out. After Schaefer was Connor Kerns who threw well finishing the fifth inning, allowing 2 hits and 1 run over his 1 inning of work. Finishing the game for the Grizzlies was Justin Wicketts who threw 1 inning in his first college appearance, collecting his first career strikeout, while giving up 2 hits and 1 run for a solid first career appearance. Overall for the Grizzlies pitching staff they finished with a final line of 13 hits, 13 runs, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 2 hit batters as the Emporia State offense was able to have success after the first 3 innings of great pitching by Delgado.
Offensively, the Grizzlies struggled to figure out the Emporia State starter Deaver who only allowed 1 hit over his 5 innings of work. Deaver also collected 8 strikeouts in the game as he was able to keep the Grizzly hitters off balance throughout his appearance. Collecting the only hit for the Grizzlies was Christian Altamirano who also walked, recording the two lone base runners for the Grizzlies.
Game two was a tough game for the Grizzlies after a tough loss in game one which led to the Grizzlies finishing their first road trip with a record of 1-3. Adams State will look to bounce back and play more consistent baseball as they gear up for their next road trip which will be next weekend in Weatherford, Oklahoma against Southwestern Oklahoma State University. The series against SWOSU will start next Friday, February 6th as SWOSU and Adams State will play a single 9-inning ball game at 1 PM MST Friday, before playing a doubleheader on Saturday and finishing with another single 9-inning ball game on Sunday for a total of four games.
