Big Fourth Inning Does in @NCBearsBaseball

Sunday, May 7

Bakersfield, Calif.

1:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

16-27, 5-13

CSU Bakersfield

26-17, 11-7

Northern Colorado

CSU Bakersfield

5/7/2017 7:54:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

CSU Bakersfeild eight run fourth did in UNC baseball Sunday in a 14-3 game.

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Northern Colorado baseball grabbed the early lead against CSU Bakersfield Sunday afternoon in the series finale, but was unable to keep it as they fell 14-3 in seven innings.

How it Happened
The game started off in the right direction for Northern Colorado when Alex Kiel hit his second home run of the season to left field in two hole. That put UNC up 1-0 heading to the bottom of the first.

Bakersfield didn't take long to respond, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first on four hits to make it a 4-1 game.

The Roadrunners added onto their lead in the second when Mahlik Jones singled through the right side to score a pair, extending the advantage to five runs at 6-1.

After stranding a pair in both the third and fourth inning, the bottom of the fourth inning turned out to be the costly inning for the UNC. CSUB batted through its whole line up before an out was ever recorded in the inning, while Northern Colorado had a pair of pitching changed during that time. The Bears used a double play and fly out to end the inning, but the damage was done with eight runs scored, digging the deficit to 14-1.

The Bears scored their second run of the game when Cole Maltese and Brett Minnick hit back-to-back doubles to left field to lead off the inning. Minnick, later on, became the third run of the game as UNC loaded the bases. Payton Tapia singled up the middle to bring home his teammate, making it a 14-3 ball game. That run would be the only one UNC pushed across with the bases loaded.

Northern Colorado was unable to extend the game beyond the seventh, when they went down in order to end the game.

Game Changer
Northern Colorado had the game still within reach going to the bottom of the fourth inning having threatened in both the third and fourth, just missing out on the timely hit. Bakersfield ended up scoring eight runs in the inning, seeing 10 straight batters reach safely before an out was recorded. That put UNC down 14-1 at the time, and they were unable to get under the 10-run rule.

Notable
- Alex Kiel, who hit an early home run to put UNC up 1-0 in the first inning, ended up going 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored.
- Brett Minnick had a strong game for the Bears recording three hits scoring once and driving in a run. He had one double in the game to add to his WAC leading total.
- Bear pitching struggled Sunday. Of the six pitchers used, only Jacob Howard was able to go over one full inning. He ended up pitching 2.1 innings.

What's Next?
Northern Colorado is off during the week before heading to Edinburg, Texas for a key three-game series against UT Rio Grande Valley starting on Friday, May 12th.