Belleville, Ill. - This evening the Columbia College men's baseball team was back in action as they completed the series against Lindenwood University-Belleville in an AMC matchup. Columbia split the doubleheader as the Lynx claimed game one 2-7 and the Cougars won game two 6-5. The Cougars are now 8-6 on the season and 4-2 in conference play.
 
In the first game, the Lynx were able to get on the board right off the bat with three runs scored in the first inning. Lindenwood-Belleville continued with their momentum as they extended their lead 5-0 in the third after scoring a two-run homerun. The Cougars tallied up a run in both the third and fourth to make it a 5-2 game in the Lynx favor, but were unable to score anymore for the remainder of the game. Lindenwood-Belleville scored two more runs in the sixth to give the Cougars the loss.
 
Jacob Ford (2-1) got the start on the mound as he only allowed four earned runs and was able to strikeout five batters in four innings of play. Lane Threlkeld, Jacob Hollingsworth, Tanner Beatty, and Roy Moore (0-1) relieved Ford and only allowed a combined three hits and struck out two batters in the final three innings. Offensively, the Cougars were led by Bradley Prebay who went 2-3 and had one RBI while Dalton Bealmer had a hit and a run scored.
 
To start off game two, both the Cougars and the Lynx got on the board with each of them scoring a run. Both teams battled it over the next few innings, but were evenly matched as the game remained tied at one. Lindenwood-Belleville scored a run in the top of the fifth to get their lead back, and added two more in the sixth. Columbia College responded with two runs of their own in the same inning to cut Lindenwood-Belleville's lead by one, 4-3. Dalton Bealmer and Justin Randle scored back-to-back homeruns in the seventh to give the Cougars their first lead of the game. Chase Urhahn timed his swing just right in the eighth as he hit a homerun to extend the Cougars lead 6-4. The Lynx made one final attempt to get back in the game in the final inning, but the Cougars stopped them at just one run to win 6-5.
 
Grant Starke (2-0) was the starting pitcher for the Cougars as he only allowed two earned runs and struck out four batters in 6.2 innings of play. Conner Darnell, Jordan Copeland, Reid Browning, Derek Sallee (0-1), and Lane Threlkeld came in to relieve Starke for a combined allowed one earned run while striking out two batters. The Cougars were led offensively by Chase Urhahn who went 2-3 with two runs scored and three RBI, Dalton Bealmer who had a hit with a run scored and one RBI, Justin Randle who also had a hit with a run scored and one RBI, and Kenny Piper who had a hit and one RBI to round up the top performers.
 
The baseball team is back in action Tuesday, March 5^th as they host Culver-Stockton College starting at 6 p.m.