April 21, 2012
Bears and Huskies split on Saturday
By HEATHER KENNEDY
UNCBears.com
GREELEY –In both games of Saturday's doubleheader against Houston Baptist, the Northern Colorado Baseball team scored five runs. In game one, it was good enough for the 5-3 victory, but in game two it wasn't near enough as the visiting Huskies won 17-5.
The difference in the two games for the Bears (15-21, 6-5 Great West) was pitching. In the first game, sophomore right-hander Chris Hammer (4-1) threw his second-straight complete game in conference play, allowing just three runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Hammer has now thrown 21.2 innings without walking a batter and in league action, has 19.2 innings pitched with 18 strikeouts and no walks.
In the nine-inning nightcap, the Bears used six pitchers and walks were an issue as three of the six walks issued happened with the bases loaded, pushing runs across the plate for the Huskies (15-21, 7-4 Great West). The staff also had two wild pitches and two hit batters in the contest. Houston Baptist had a season-high 22 hits in the game and was aided by three Northern Colorado errors. Senior Nate Steinmetz (2-5) took the loss after pitching 4.2 innings. He allowed seven runs on 10 hits, walking one and striking out five.
Sophomore Colby Harrison, who acted as the designated hitter in the second game, was the only Bear on the day to have a multi-hit game, as he went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored. His two hits were also both for extra bases as he nailed a double and his first career triple.
Senior Casey Coy, junior Derek Baum and freshman Taylor Anderson also each had two hits, one in each game as the team combined for just 12 base hits over the doubleheader.
Northern Colorado looks to split the season series on Sunday in game four. First pitch is slated for noon.
