It was a rough weekend in Texas for Northern Colorado baseball.
The Bears traveled to the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley for a four-game Western Athletic Conference series. One game was canceled due to rain. Then, UNC lost the other three, two of which were shutouts.
UNC (11-32, 7-20 WAC) fell to UTRGV (28-21, 19-12 WAC) 5-0, 10-0 and 15-2.
In game one, the Vaqueros got on the board first after an RBI single. Then, their pitcher prevented UNC from getting on base, striking out 11 Bears. Junior Matt Burkart was the only Northern Colorado player to record a hit, but he couldn’t get past first base.
UNC gave up four additional runs in the bottom of the fifth, two of which were unearned after a throwing error and wild pitch.
Junior pitcher Dylan Bowers recorded just four strikeouts and gave up three walks in the contest.
Freshman Garrett Fisher and junior Sam Leach both got on base with a walk and single, respectively, to start the matchup but Northern Colorado was unable to capitalize.
In the bottom of the frame, the Vaqueros didn’t let off the gas and jumped to a quick 1-0 lead that would soon turn into a much bigger deficit.
UNC allowed four runs in the third inning, two runs apiece in the fifth and sixth innings.
Then, UTRGV added one final score in the seventh to add insurance.
Finally, the Bears picked up a couple scores in the final game of the series, but their effort wasn’t enough to overcome the Vaqueros.
The Vaqueros came out of the dugout with hot bats, scoring six runs on four hits and a UNC error, in the bottom of the first frame.
Northern Colorado responded with two runs of its own. Junior Ben McKay and freshman Johnny Graham recorded back-to-back singles to start things off in the second. Then, Fisher and sophomore Hayden Heinze logged an RBI each to bring their teammates across the plate.
Unfortunately, thatap where the UNC scoring stopped, despite loading the bases in the fifth.
The Vaqueros, which appeared to be losing offensive steam, picked things back up in the bottom of the fifth with nine runs. They utilized seven walks, one wild pitch and three perfectly-timed hits to break the game wide open.
Northern Colorado was unable to recover from the poor pitching performance.
The Bears bullpen finished the game with 13 walks, just six strikeouts and two wild pitches. The Vaqueros, on the other hand, had six strikeouts to five walks and one wild pitch.
UNC will finish the regular season at Dixie State in St. George, Utah, this weekend. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, followed by a doubleheader Friday and a single game on Saturday.
