Columbia, Mo. – This afternoon the Columbia College baseball team was back in action when they played host to the Central Baptist (Ark.) College Mustangs in the AMC Games of the Week. The Cougars played a doubleheader against the Mustangs and were able to take both games as they improved to 24-8 on the season and 11-6 in conference play.
In the first game against the Mustangs, the Cougars were able to put together six hits in the 7-4 victory. Neither side was able to get anything going through the first couple innings of the game as both pitchers were dealing early. Columbia College was finally able to get on the board first in the bottom of the third to take a 1-0 lead but the Mustangs quickly responded with a two run rally of their own in the top of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead into the fifth. The Cougars answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to retake the lead late in the game but a third run from the Mustangs in the top of the sixth tied the game at three. Columbia College continued to put the ball in play in the sixth and rallied for four more runs to take a 7-3 lead into the seventh. Central Baptist did their best to get back into the game and were able to bring one final run across but that was as close as they would get as the Cougars picked up the final outs to solidify their fifth straight win.
Dakota Stone (4-1) was on the mound for this one as he allowed seven hits and two earned runs while striking out four batters in 5.1 innings of work. Derek Sallee (3-3) came into relieve Stone in the sixth and allowed just two hits and one earned run while striking out two in the final 1.2 innings of the game. Offensively, the Cougars were led by Jordan Wright who went 3-3 with an RBI, Alex Del Rio who went 1-3 with four RBI's, and Blade McKee who went 1-3 with two RBI's.
In the second game against the Mustangs, the Cougars put together an 11 hit game in a 7-5 win. Central Baptist got off to a good start in this one as they were able to get on the board in the top of the first inning following a lead-off solo homerun. The Cougars settled in as the game progressed and were able to take their first lead of the game in the bottom of the third following a two run rally. The Mustangs tied the game at two in the top of the fourth and then rallied for three runs in the top of the fifth to take a 5-2 lead in the ballgame. However, their lead did not last long as Columbia rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fifth and then closed out the game to solidify the doubleheader sweep.
Jeremy Rettig (3-1) got the start in this one as he allowed four hits and two earned runs while striking out two batters in 4.1 innings on the mound. Chris Wall (1-1), J.W. McGraw (4-0), and Craig Smith (3-1) came into relieve Rettig as the three combined to allow three hits and three earned runs while striking out five in the final 4.2 innings of the game. Jordan Wright led the way at the plate as he went 4-5 with a run scored. In addition to Wright, Alex Del Rio went 1-4 with two RBI's, Hunter Trowbridge went 1-1 with 2 RBI's, and Ward Mershon went 1-3 with an RBI to round out the top performers for Columbia.
The baseball team is back in action tomorrow, April 6th when they host the Mustangs for the final game of the three game series. First pitch is set for noon at Atkins Park.
