April 20, 2008

Utah Valley Box Score
Air Force Box Score

GREELEY, Colo. - For those offensively minded fans of baseball, runs were the theme of the day at Northern Colorado as the Bears defeated Utah Valley 13-11 in the first game before falling 13-12 in the second contest against Air Force. The Bears move to 14-24 on the year and are now 7-4 at home this season.

In the first game against Utah Valley, the Bears had four three-run innings en route to a 13-11 victory. The Bears had a 13-4 lead and the Wolverines rallied, much like NC did against UV yesterday. Northern Colorado tallied its 13 runs on 14 hits and committed three errors, while Utah Valley had 11 runs on 16 hits and notched two errors.

Senior short stop Cory Morales and junior center fielder Erik Hegstad each had three hits on the day. Morales was 3-for-6 with two runs and one RBI, while Hegstad was 3-for-5 with three RBI and one run scored. Senior Chad Murray had six plate appearances but just at bat as he walked four times and was hit by a pitch. In his only at bat, he doubled to score two.

Junior designated hitter Kevin Sandberg and junior right fielder Mike Raudenbush also had multi-hit days with two base knocks each.

The Bears held the 13-4 lead after seven complete innings when the Wolverines mounted a comeback scoring three runs in the eighth and four runs in the ninth, but reliever Dan Kazell recorded a strike out to end the game and earn his second save of the year.

Senior right-hander Chris Reap (4-4) won the game for the Bears, pitching 7.1 innings. He gave up seven runs on 12 hits and struck out five, walking no one. Cody Henry threw one inning, surrendering four runs on four hits and Kazell threw getting both batters he faced out.

Aaron Brady took the loss for the Wolverines after giving up nine runs on 10 hits to move to 2-4 on the year.

In the second contest, the Bears exploded for eight runs in the third inning. Freshman T.J. Berge started things off with a triple down the right field line. He scored on a fielder's choice, sliding under the tag applied by the catcher. Later in the frame, Sandberg hit a two-run homer to left center.

Air Force chipped away at the lead scoring three in the fourth. The Bears got one back in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by catcher Erik Whinery. The Falcons then scored five in the sixth and took the lead in the seventh inning with four runs for the 12-9 tally. They added one more in the eighth to extend the lead to four, 13-9.

Three runs were plated by the Bears in the eighth inning as the Falcons used three hurlers in the frame to make it a one run game, 13-12, however they couldn't continue the rally into the ninth and the game ended 13-12.

Senior left-handed pitcher threw the first 5.2 innings, giving up eight runs on nine hits, walking two and striking out a season-high eight batters. Sean Peery threw just 0.1 and takes the loss (2-3) after surrendering three runs (two earned) on two hits and walking two. Senior T.R. Keating threw 2.0 frames, giving up two runs on four hits, walking one and striking out three and Matt Buck pitched 0.2 striking out one in three batters faced. Dan Kazell came on to get the final out, striking out the only batter he faced.

Sandberg went 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Morales continued to hit well, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Murray and Horn also had multi-hit games with two each. The Bears scored 12 runs on 13 hits with two errors, while Air Force scored 13 runs on 15 hits with no errors.

All three teams went 2-2 in the triangular as the Bears turn their attention towards Arkansas for a two-game series with the Razorbacks. Northern Colorado then returns home for another eight-game homestand, beginning Tuesday, April 25 against BYU. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.