Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 |
Box Score 3 Corinth, Miss. – The Columbia College baseball team was back in action over the last couple of days when they traveled to Corinth, Mississippi, to take on the Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University Lions in their first AMC series of the season. The Cougars, who came into this three game series with an 8-2 record, went 1-2 in the series against the Lions to fall to 9-4 on the season and 1-2 in conference play.
In their first game against the Lions, the Cougars were able to put together nine hits in a 4-3 loss. Columbia College got on the board first in the top of the third inning when they rallied for three runs to take a 3-0 lead in the ballgame. The Lions responded with a four run rally of their own in the bottom of the fourth and the Cougars could not answer as Freed-Hardeman closed them out in the final innings of the game to hand Columbia their third loss of the season.
Dakota Stone (1-1) got the start in this one as the senior allowed just five hits and no earned runs while striking out three in his first complete game of the season. Offensively, the Cougars were led by Tanner Allen who went 2-2 with two RBI's and Jordan Wright who went 1-3 with an RBI.
In the second game, the Cougars finished with 14 hits in an 11-8 loss. The Lions got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning bringing one across the plate to take a 1-0 lead. The Cougars answered with a run of their in the top of the second and the score was tied at one heading into the bottom half of the inning. Freed-Hardeman retook the lead in the bottom of the second with a two run rally to take a 3-2 lead, but five runs over the next two innings from Columbia gave them a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. The Lions were able to tie the game at six in the bottom of the fifth and then both teams exchanged runs in the seventh inning to make the score 7-7 heading into the eighth. The Cougars knocked in one more run in the top of the eighth but a four run rally from the Lions in the bottom half of the inning solidified the doubleheader sweep for Freed-Hardeman.
Jeremy Rettig (2-1) got the start in this one allowing nine hits and two earned runs while striking out one batter in 4.2 innings on the mound. Derek Sallee (0-1), Jordan Copeland (0-0), and Craig Smith (1-0) relieved Rettig allowing a combined five hits and five earned runs while striking out six batters in the final 3.2 innings of the game. Blade McKee and Jordan Wright led the way at the plate as both went 2-5 with two RBI's in the contest.
The Cougars were able to bounce back after the sweep last night and took it to the Lions this afternoon as they rallied for nine hits in a 6-0 win. They were able to get on the board in the top of the third after Joshua Miller walked to lead off the inning and then later came around to score to give Columbia a 1-0 lead. They were able to add a second run in the top of the seventh and then rallied for four runs in the top of the eighth to solidify their first conference win of the season.
Cody Ebert (3-1) was on the mound for this one allowing just three hits while striking out five batters in 6.2 innings on the mound. J.W. McGraw (2-0) came into relieve Ebert in the seventh and pitched the final 2.1 innings allowing three hits and striking out one batter. Offensively, Andrew Warner led the way for the Cougars as he went 1-4 with a three run homerun. In addition, Tanner Allen went 1-4 with a RBI and Ethan Howser went 2-3 with a run scored to round out the top performers for Columbia.
The Cougars are back in action on Friday, March 2nd when they play host to the Trinity Christian (Ill.) College Trolls in their home opener. Columbia will play two games on the day with the first game starting at 2 p.m. and the second to follow at Atkins Park.
