Columbia, Mo. – Today the Columbia College baseball team was back in action when they played host to the Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) University Hornets in an AMC doubleheader. The Cougars were able to defeat the Hornets in both games to improve to 21-8 on the season and 8-6 in conference play.
In the first game against the Hornets, Columbia College was able to put together nine hits in a come from behind 4-3 victory. The Cougars had a tough time getting anything going early in this one as they were held to just two hits through the first six innings of the game. The Hornets took advantage of Columbia's troubles at the plate and were able to score two runs in the fifth and one run in the sixth to take a 3-0 lead into the seventh. The Cougars offense finally came alive in the seventh and a three run base hit from Alex Del Rio tied the game at three heading into the eighth inning. Columbia College was able to pick up three outs in the top of the eighth to keep the Hornets off the board and then an RBI base hit from Joshua Miller in the bottom of the eighth solidified the Cougars seventh conference win of the season.
Jeremy Rettig (3-1) was on the mound for this one as the senior allowed just two hits and two earned runs while striking out five in 4.2 innings of work. Derek Sallee (2-3) came into relieve Rettig in the fifth and allowed four hits and one earned run while striking out two in the final 3.1 innings of the game. Offensively, the Cougars were led by Alex Del Rio who went 1-1 with three RBI's and Joshua Miller who went 1-2 with an RBI.
In the second game, Columbia College put together five hits in the 3-1 win. Neither side was able to get anything going through the first few innings of the game as both pitchers were dealing early. The Cougars were finally able to get on the board first in the bottom of the third when Bradley Prebay scored on an RBI single from Blade McKee to put Columbia up 1-0. The Cougars continued to put the ball in play over the next few innings and were able to add two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-0 lead into the sixth. The Hornets did the best they could to get back into the game and were able to pick up a run in the top of the seventh to cut into the Cougars lead but that was as close as they would get as Columbia closed them out down the stretch to complete the two game sweep.
Dakota Stone (4-1) was on the mound for this one as the senior allowed just three hits and one earned run while striking out seven in his second consecutive complete game. Justin Randle led the way at the plate for Columbia as he went 1-2 with two RBI's. To go along with Randle, Blade McKee went 1-4 with an RBI and Joshua Miller had a run scored to round out the top performers for the Cougars.
The baseball team is back in action tomorrow, March 31st when they host the Hornets for the final game of the three game series. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Atkins Park.
