McKenzie, Tenn. – This afternoon the Columbia College men's baseball team was back in action when they traveled to McKenzie, Tennessee, to kick off their 2018 campaign against Bethel (Tenn.) University. The Cougars got off to a great start to the season as they defeated the Wildcats 7-1 in the first game and 8-5 in the second game to improve to 2-0 on the season.
In the first game against the Wildcats, Columbia College was able to get on the board first as they rallied for two runs in the top of the third to take an early 2-0 lead. They were able to add another run in the top of the fourth after a solo homerun from Tim Fox to start the inning and then rallied for three runs in the top of the fifth to take a 6-0 lead in the ballgame. Bethel answered back with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth but one final tally from the Cougars in the top of the sixth solidified the Cougars first win of the season.
Cody Ebert (1-0) was on the mound for Columbia as he allowed just five hits and one earned run while striking out seven batters in five innings of work. Derek Sallee (0-0) came into relieve Ebert in the sixth inning and allowed just one hit while striking out two batters in the final two innings. Andrew Warner, the reigning AMC Player of the Year, led the way offensively for Columbia as he went 2-3 with two RBI's and a run scored. In addition to Warner, Ethan Howser went 2-3 with three runs scored, Alex Del Rio went 2-3 with two RBI's, Justin Randle went 2-4 with an RBI, and Tim Fox went 1-4 with an RBI to round out the top performers for the Cougars.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Bethel came out in the bottom of the first and were able to take an early 1-0 lead in the ballgame. The Cougars battled back as the game progressed and were able to tie the Wildcats at one in the top of the third after an RBI single from Alex Del Rio and then went on to add a second run in the top of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead in the contest. Bethel answered back in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at two but an RBI double from Del Rio in the top of the fifth propelled Columbia to a 3-2 lead. Both sides exchanged runs in the sixth inning to make the game 4-3, but a four run rally for the Cougars in the top of the seventh gave Columbia an 8-3 advantage heading into the final half inning. The Wildcats did their best to get back into the game and were able to pick up two runs in the seventh but that was all they would get as the Cougars picked up the final outs to complete the two game sweep.
Dakota Stone (1-0) got the start for Columbia in this one as he allowed two hits and one earned run while striking out four in 3.1 innings on the mound. Jeremy Rettig (0-0), J.W. McGraw (0-0), Jordan Copeland (0-0), and Craig Smith (0-0) relieved Stone as the four allowed a combined three hits and three earned runs in the final 4.2 innings of the game. Offensively, Columbia College was led by Ethan Howser who went 2-4 with two RBI's, Andrew Warner who went 2-3 with three runs scored, Alex Del Rio who went 2-4 with two RBI's, and Reed Sprinkle who went 1-3 with two RBI's.
The baseball team is back in action on Friday, February 9th when they travel to Blue Mountain, Mississippi. The Cougars will play two games that day with the first one being at 10 a.m. against Blue Mountain (Miss.) College and the second one to follow at 12:30 p.m. against Brescia (Ky.) University.
