Columbia, MO - Trailing after two-and-a-half innings, the Columbia College baseball team erupted for four runs in the bottom of the fourth and never looked back, defeating Missouri Valley College 7-3 on Monday afternoon at home.

Columbia begins American Midwest Conference action this weekend when they travel to Crowley's Ridge College for a three-game series.

The Cougars, now 9-6 on the season, were sparked by a pivotal fourth-inning rally that turned a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 lead. Dylan Carlton got things started with a two-run triple down the left-field line that plated Zac Fruend and Joey Marcinkiewicz to tie the game, and Tyler Renn followed with a run-scoring triple to right-center that gave Columbia the lead for good.

Carlton finished the day 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI, while Renn was equally impactful, going 2-for-4 with both a triple and a double to go along with two RBI. Marcinkiewicz added a two-bagger and an RBI of his own, and Braden Hemmer drove in a pair with a clutch single to left field in the eighth inning to cap the scoring at 7-3.

The pitching story of the game belonged to Jackson Forck, who took over in the third inning with the Cougars trailing and was nothing short of dominant. Forck tossed 6.1 innings of shutout ball, scattering just one hit while striking out eight Vikings. He earned the win to improve to 1-1 on the season.