Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the Columbia College baseball team was back in action when they played host to the Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) University Trojans in an AMC doubleheader. The Cougars, who came into this game on a two game losing, were able to bounce back tonight as they defeated in the Trojans in back-to-back games to improve to 27-11 on the season and 14-8 in conference play.
Columbia College was dominate in the first game as they put together 26 hits in a 30-3 victory. Their offense was cooking from the start as they scored five runs in the first, six runs in the second, ten runs in the third, and nine runs in the fifth. The Trojans did all they could to stay competitive and were able to score two runs in the top of the third and one run in the top of the sixth but that was it as close as they would get as the Cougars closed out the game to solidify their 26th win of the season.
Dakota Stone (5-1) was the starter in this one as the senior allowed five hits and two earned runs while striking out five in 5.0 innings of the mound. Hunter Trowbridge (0-0) came in to relieve Stone in the sixth and was able to pick up the last six outs as he allowed two hits and two earned runs while striking out two in the final two innings of the game. Offensively, Columbia College relied heavily on the long ball as they accumulated eight home runs in the contest. Andrew Warner led the way as he went 4-5 with three homeruns and seven RBI's. In addition to Warner, Alex Del Rio went 3-3 with two homeruns and three RBI's, Tanner Allen went 4-6 with a homerun and six RBI's, Blade McKee went 2-3 with a homerun and four RBI's, and Justin Randle went 2-3 with a homerun and three RBI's to round out the top performers for Columbia.
In the second game against the Trojans, the Cougars put together 22 hits in the 19-10 win. They scored one run in the first, three runs in the second, seven runs in the third, three runs in the fifth, two runs in the sixth, and three runs in the eighth. The Trojans held an early lead in the game but Columbia's offense was too much to handle. Hannibal-LaGrange scored six runs in the first two innings, one run in the fifth, one run in the seventh, and two runs in the eighth but it was not enough as the Cougars were able to solidify the two game sweep.
Jeremy Rettig (3-1) was on the mound to start this one as the senior allowed three hits and four earned runs while striking out two in 1.1 innings on the mound. J.W. McGraw (5-0), Lane Threlkeld (0-0), and Jacob Venneman (0-0) came into relieve Rettig as the three combined to allow nine hits and three earned runs while striking out 10 batters in the final 7.2 innings of the game. Alex Del Rio led the way offensively as he went 3-3 with a homerun and six RBI's. In addition to Del Rio, Tanner Allen went 4-6 with a homerun and four RBI's, Reed Sprinkle went 1-4 with two RBI's, and Andrew Warner went 2-3 with two RBI's.
The baseball team is back in action on Saturday, April 14th when they play host to the Trojans for the final game of the three game series. This game will serve as senior day for the Cougars and prior to the game the seniors will be honored for their contributions to the program. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Atkins Park.
