ALAMOSA, Colorado — In the Grizzlies final game against UCCS they lost a close game 3-1 to unfortunately lose all four games in the conference series. The loss moves the Grizzlies to a record of 10-20(5-7 RMAC) as they look forward to their upcoming series next weekend against MSU Denver.
In today's game it was an extremely close ballgame that was led by the pitching of both teams. On the day, the two starters for Adams State and UCCS combined to go 12 ⅔ innings with the UCCS starter going 6 and the Grizzlies starter, Joseph Marek going 6 ⅔. The only scoring between the two starters was all unfortunately from the Grizzly starter who gave up 3 runs on the day. For Marek, the first 2 runs he surrendered came in the third inning when UCCS took a 2-0 lead. The final run Marek allowed came in the 7th inning and ended his day with 2 outs in the inning. Overall, even with the 3 runs Marek had an outstanding day as he held down the UCCS offense which currently ranks as the best offense in the RMAC and one of the best in the entire nation. For the Grizzlies, their only run came in the seventh when Gunner Martinez hit an RBI double to score Seth Reker making the game its final score of 3-1.
With such a close game, today's game came down to a few misplays by the Grizzlies and untimely hitting. On the day, the Grizzlies allowed 2 runs to score on unfortunate misplays on defense, while also leaving 6 runners on base. With such a close margin in a 3-1 ballgame, every little thing mattered and was the unfortunate reason the Grizzlies came up on the wrong side of a closely fought baseball game.
Individually, the Grizzlies were led on the mound by Marek, Conner Kerns, and Daniel Hoodak who all did an outstanding job on the mound. Marek's final line was 6 ⅔ innings, allowing 3 runs, walking 5, and collecting 3 strikeouts. For Kerns, he had his best appearance of the year going 1 ⅓ hitless while collecting a strikeout in a huge moment stranding the inherited base runner he came into the game with. For Hoodak, he continued his outstanding run on the mound by throwing another hitless inning while collecting a strikeout. For Hoodak, he has now not surrendered a run in 6 of his last 7 outings, moving his season ERA to 3.55 through 12 ⅔ innings. Overall for the Grizzly pitching staff it was an outstanding game in which every single person who touched the rubber did their job and held a hot offense to minimal damage.
On the offensive side, the Grizzlies really struggled as they only collected 6 hits and 1 run. Leading the way for the Grizzlies was Osaias Hinojosa, Seth Reker, and Gunner Martinez who all collected a double on the day while Martinez collected the only RBI and Reker scored the lone run for the Grizzlies. Elsewhere collecting hits was Christian Altamirano, Ayden Tauscher, and Josh Parks who compiled for the 3 other hits on the day. Overall, it was a slow day on the offensive side for an offense that had recently been on an absolute tear.
Looking forward for the Grizzlies, they will play their next games in Denver, Colorado at the home of MSU Denver. The series will begin next Friday, March 27th at 3 PM MST with a single 9-inning ballgame. Friday's game will be followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, and the final game of the series will be on Sunday again being a single 9-inning ballgame. For the Grizzlies, they will look to bounce back after a tough weekend against UCCS. The Grizzlies are currently sitting in fifth place in conference and will have a great opportunity to move up in the standings next weekend against a top three team in conference.
