@NCBearsBaseball Starts Hot, Holds on Late

Tuesday, April 21

Greeley, Colo.

3:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

13-21

Metro State

22-17

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Metro State	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	3	5	5	1
Northern Colorado	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	X	6	15	2

Photo by: Rob Trubia

4/21/2015 6:47:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Northern Colorado baseball got out to a quick 6-0 lead, before having to hold on for a 6-5 victory

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY—Northern Colorado baseball got out to a hot start Tuesday afternoon, before having to hold on late for a 6-5 win over Metro State (22-17) at Jackson Field. The Bears (13-21) scored their six runs in the first four innings, before seeing the game tying run come to the plate in the top of the ninth.

During the first four innings of play UNC got six runs on 10 hits and a Roadrunner error.

It all got started with the first two at-bats for UNC when Reyn Sugai (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Jensen Park (Kaneohe, Hawaii) started off with back-to-back singles. After the next two hitters got out, Dan Reese (Casper, Wyo.) produced a two-out single through the middle for a 2-0 lead after one.

Northern Colorado tacked another run on in the second with a Payton Tapia (Fort Collins, Colo.) double, later driven in by Jacob Ek (Columbus, Neb.)

Ek finished 2-for-4 with the lone RBI on the day.

UNC added two more in the third when Brandon Vaughn (Louisville, Colo.) singled and later scored on a Marco Castilla (Littleton, Colo.) double smoked down the left field line. Cole Maltese (Superior, Colo.) Then brought around Castilla on a single in the inning.

Maltese had three hits for the day also with a lone RBI.

The Bears scoring run ended in the fourth when Jake Ekman (Littleton, Colo.) and Ek reached base via a hit by pitch and single. Park drove in his only run of the game scoring Ekman.

Park continued his hot streak with a 3-for-4 day scoring once to go with the RBI.

Starting pitcher Zach Heath (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) had a great outing going five innings strong, striking out four allowing just three hits and a run to earn the win.

Metro State scored its first run in the fifth, before scoring four runs in the last two innings.

The Roadrunners added one in the eighth, while making the Bears sweat with three more in the ninth.

Junior Allen Cook (Friendswood, Texas) pitched the final 2/3 innings to slam the door shut on the MSU comeback. With the good job by Cook, he earned his second save of the year.

The Bears will now travel to Texas-Pan American for a three-game WAC series. Going into the weekend UNC is still in sole place of fourth in the conference.