March 29, 2008

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GREELEY, Colo. - In a reformatted three-game series with the threat of inclement weather on Sunday, the Northern Colorado baseball team split a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon with South Dakota State, losing game one 9-7 and bouncing back to win 13-6 in game two. Northern Colorado is now 8-19 on the year, while South Dakota State is 7-16.

The Bears jumped out to the early 3-0 lead in the first game, scoring one in the first and a pair in the second. The Jackrabbits took the 4-3 lead in the fifth inning, but NC answered with two to lead 5-4 and extended the lead to two with one run in the bottom of the sixth. SDSU again had a big inning, scoring five in the seventh for the 9-6 advantage. NC scored one in the seventh and had the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth but could not capitalize.

South Dakota State scored nine runs on 10 hits and committed 10 errors, while the Bears had seven runs on 14 hits with two errors.

Senior right-handed pitcher T.R. Keating took the loss to move to 2-4 on the year. He threw six innings giving up seven runs (five earned) on eight hits walking two and striking out three. Sean Peery pitched the next two frames giving up two runs on one hit with one walk and one strikeout, while Cody Henry threw the final inning giving up one hit in four batters faced.

Junior Andy Mees went 3-for-4 in the contest with two runs and three RBI, while junior Kevin Sandberg was 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored. Mees and junior Erik Hegstad both hit their second home runs of the season, with Mees going yard in the fifth inning to put the Bears back on top 5-4 and Hegstad adding the sixth run with the long ball in the sixth.

In the nightcap, the Jackrabbits got on the board first, scoring one in the first frame, but Northern Colorado scored three in the bottom of the third on just one hit. SDSU knotted the score in the fifth with two runs, but the Bears answered immediately with one in the bottom half. Another run in the top of the sixth by the Jackrabbits made the score 4-4, but a big inning by the Bears in the bottom half gave them the 9-4 lead. NC tallied five runs on three hits, again taking advantage of walks issued. Two more runs were scored by SDSU in the seventh, but the Bears scored four in the eighth for the final score of 13-6.

Both teams had 11 hits in the contest and South Dakota State recorded the only error. The 13 runs scored by the Bears ties for the most scored this season, as they also had 13 against Florida International last Sunday in the finale of the Bob Schaefer Memorial Tournament at Arizona State.

Peery picked up the win, moving to 2-2 on the year. He came on in relief of senior right-handed pitcher Dan Kazell, who threw 5.1 innings giving up four runs on eight hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Peery was on the hill for 1.2 frames, giving up two runs on two hits with two base on balls and two strikeouts. Henry pitched one frame, again giving up just one hit. He also walked one and struck out one and senior left-handed pitcher threw the final inning in the first game of relief this season. He walked two and struck out one.

Senior Chad Murray went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Cory Morales hit his first homerun of the year and the fifth of his career, going 2-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored. Junior Sean Zyer went 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI and three runs scored.

Northern Colorado returns to the road, playing three games at Dallas Baptist, one on Friday and two on Saturday. The Bears then play Tuesday and Wednesday at Kansas with one game each day, returning home to host Montana State Billings in a three game set beginning on Friday.