OZARK, Mo. – The Columbia College baseball opened up the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament Monday evening, dropping an 8-4 decision to Williams Baptist. With the loss, Columbia falls to 29-12-1 overall and 17-3-1 in conference play.Â
The Cougars found themselves in an early hole they were never quite able to climb out of. Williams Baptist plated three runs in the second inning, two of them unearned, and Columbia's deficit grew to 5-2 in the fourth when the Eagles' Cade Parks deposited a two-run home run to left field off starter Parker Anderson.
Anderson punched out six batters over four innings of work, but a pair of wild pitches and some untimely miscues kept the Cougars from keeping it a one-run ballgame. Eric Fields came on in relief and provided some stability, posting four innings with four strikeouts and limiting further damage, and Aiden Strickland tossed a clean final frame.
At the plate, the Cougars had their chances. Hunter Hees was the offensive standout, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Tyler Renn reached base four times, going 2-for-3 with two walks and driving in a run, and Zac Fruend was a bright spot at the top of the order, ripping a pair of doubles and scoring twice. Braden Hemmer drove in two and Joey Marcinkiewicz chipped in a pair of hits and came around to score in the ninth inning.
The Cougars put together their best at-bat sequence of the night in the final frame, loading the bases with one out and pulling within four on a Hunter Hees walk. But, the Cougars were unable to push across the final runs leaving the bases loaded.Â
Columbia will live to see another day and play in a must-win game against the winner of UHSP and Mission tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.Â
Statistical Leaders:Â
WBU def. CC, 8-4
