GOLDEN, Colorado — In a Sunday doubleheader against Colorado School of Mines the Grizzlies drop both games against the Orediggers to start conference play. The two losses puts the Grizzlies at a record of 5-15(0-2 RMAC).
Game 1
In game 1 of the doubleheader Colorado School of Mines was able to jump out to a quick lead on the Grizzlies as the Orediggers were able to hit three solo home runs in the first two innings off Grizzly starter Jacob Janata to go up 3-0. The Grizzlies were able to respond in the third inning after two quiet innings to start the ball game. In the third inning the Grizzlies scored three runs of their own through an Ayden Tauscher 2-run single and an RBI double by Josh Parks. After the Grizzlies response the Orediggers were able to respond taking a 4-3 but again the Grizzlies answered back in the top of the 4th inning with a 5 spot to take an 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the 4th.
After the 4th inning the Grizzly lineup struggled to get any consistent offense going, whereas Colorado School of Mines was able to slowly chip away at the Grizzlies lead eventually taking the lead in the 6th inning when they scored 6 runs to go up 11-8. The Orediggers added 2 more runs in the 8th inning to go up 13-8 before the Grizzlies scored 3 runs in the 9th inning to make the final score 13-11. In the 9th inning when the Grizzlies were able to score 3 runs to make game one closer, Freshman Osaias Hinojosa hit his first career home run which was one of the major highlights of game one.
Individually for the Grizzlies in game one the highlights were Ayden Tauscher, Josh Parks, Osaias Hinojosa, Christian Altamirano, Ethan Bertke, and Connor Kerns. For Tauscher, Parks, Hinojosa, and Altamirano they led the Grizzlies offense, scoring 5 of the Grizzlies 11 runs while accounting for 9 of the 11 RBIs. Individually, Tauscher went 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs; Parks went 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs; Hinojosa went 1 for 4 with 2 RBIs, and Altamirano went 1 for 5 with 2 RBIs.
On the mound Bertke and Kerns had the only scoreless work in game one with Bertke going 1 ⅓ innings scoreless, and Kerns throwing ⅓ of an inning scoreless. Bertke's final line was 1 ⅓ innings, 1 hit allowed, zero runs, and 1 strikeout. For Kerns, he finished the day throwing ⅓ of an inning allowing no hits or runs while collecting 1 strikeout. Outside of Bertke and Kerns, Janata started the game for the Grizzlies and was followed by a collection of Grizzly bullpen arms who struggled to consistently collect outs against the Oredigger lineup leading to their 13 runs. Collecting the loss for the Grizzlies in game one was Freshman Cain Gostenik who moved to a record of 0-1 on the young season.
Game 2
In game two of the doubleheader the Orediggers were again able to jump out to a quick lead even with the Grizzlies scoring first. After the first inning the Grizzlies were down 4-1 after the Orediggers managed to score 4 runs off of Grizzly starter Julian Garza. The Grizzlies bounced back very similarly in game two after the 4-run inning by the Orediggers with a 2 spot of their own as Hinojosa hit his second career home run with a 2-run blast in the top of the 2nd inning making the score 4-3. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the Oredigger starter got into a roll after the 2nd inning and shut down the Grizzly offense until the 7th and final inning of the game. Up to the 7th inning the Orediggers were able to continually increase their lead from 4-3 to 17-3 going into the 7th inning. In the 7th inning, the Grizzlies showed a lot of fight, scoring 6 runs to make it a 17-9 game through Hinojosa's third home run of the day. Hinojosa's home run in the 7th inning was a grand slam giving up 2 home runs and 6 RBIs on the day.
The bright spots for the Grizzlies in game two offensively were Altamirano, Macs Carrillo, and Hinojosa who all collected 2 hits in game two. For Altamirano, he finished 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored. For Carrillo, he finished 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 runs scored, and an RBI. Hinojosa, the Freshman had the best overall day for the Grizzlies as he finished 2 for 4 with his 2 home runs, 2 runs scored and 6 RBIs. Overall in the doubleheader, Hinojosa hit 3 home runs and collected 8 RBIs for the best day he has had in his young Grizzly career.
On the mound for the Grizzlies, they struggled again to consistently get the Oredigger lineup out as they surrendered 18 hits, walked 6, hit 2, and allowed 17 runs. Starting the game for the Grizzlies was Junior Left-Hander Julian Garza who went 4 innings, allowing 7 runs(6 earned), while collecting 5 strikeouts. Garza finished the day collecting the loss, moving his record to 0-4 on the season. Following Garza in game two was Paul Ruiz, CJ Pino, Justin Wicketts, and Dylan Schaefer. For Ruiz and Wicketts they struggled against the Oredigger lineup allowing 9 hits and 10 runs(9 earned) over their 1 inning of work, while Pino and Schaefer threw a combined one scoreless inning, only allowing 1 hit for the biggest bright spot for the Grizzly pitching staff.
Up next for the Grizzlies will be another two games against the Orediggers as they will conclude their four-game series against Colorado School of Mines later today in a second doubleheader. The games will be played in Golden, Colorado at the home of the Orediggers with the first game starting at noon MST with the second game following 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Follow along with the Grizzlies on the RMAC Network as they look to bounce back and secure a series split with Colorado School of Mines in today's doubleheader.
