University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Tuesday, April 24
Greeley, Colo.
3 pm
University of Northern Colorado
22-19
7
vs
0
Metro State
19-21
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Metro State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
Northern Colorado
2
0
0
0
0
3
2
0
X
7
12
1
Recap: @NCBearsBaseball Complete Game Leads to Metro State Shutout
4/24/2018 9:40:00 PM | Baseball
Northern Colorado baseball shutout Metro State 7-0 Tuesday night.
GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado baseball took advantage of its opportunities while Metro State did not as the Bears defeated them Tuesday afternoon 7-0 at Jackson Field. UNC's pitching staff recorded the first shutout since last May 18, 2017, against Chicago State.
How It Happened
Starter Isaac Bracken recorded the first two outs of the game with relative ease but struggled to get the last one in the top of the first inning. Metro State loaded the bases with a pair of walks and hit by pitch, but left them that way as Sean Kennedy struck out to end the top of the first.
Austin Miller and Dean Lawson reached to start the bottom part of the first to put early pressure on the Roadrunners. Jack Pauley helped score the first run of the game with a single of his own to score Miller. Evan Johnson loaded the bases for the UNC. With them loaded, a wild pitch scored Lawson.
The Bears bats went quiet for a while, but the arms on the mound kept Metro State from taking advantage of traffic on the base paths. Over the third through sixth inning the Roadrunners stranded seven runners, keeping UNC up 2-0.
With the pitching taking care of business in the top half of the inning, Northern Colorado's bats woke up in the bottom of the sixth. Evan Johnson started a stretch of four straight Bears reaching safely. A single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Brett Minnick who delivered with the two-run single doubling UNC's lead. Following a pitching change for MSUD, Lawson walked to cap off the three-run inning.
Cole Maltese added another insurance run by hitting a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning, and a Billy Moreland walk made it 7-0.
Metro State loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth looking to get back into the game, but a well-turned double play between Lawson and Payton Tapia put the end to any comeback and Caden Maher struck out the last batter to secure the win.
Game Changer
Austin Miller's job as the leadoff hitter is to set the table for his teammates to drive him in later. Miller did his job on Tuesday going 3-for-5 with a run scored and either helped continue or start rallies.
Stat to Know
Northern Colorado pitched its first shutout since May 18, 2017, using seven different pitchers for the combined shutout. The seven pitched nine strong innings allowing just four hits, walking eight and striking out 11. MSUD stranded 12 runners on base.
Game Notes
- Besides Miller and his three hits, Dean Lawson and Jack Pauley also had multi-hit games, each with two.
- Each Bear reached base at least once in the game and seven of the nine starters recorded a hit.
- The home shutout is the first for UNC since April 30, 2017, against Utah State.
What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado heads out of state one last time this weekend by heading to the Windy City. The Bears travel to Chicago State for a three-game WAC series starting on Friday at 5 pm MT.
To stay up to date on all things UNC baseball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @NCBearsBaseball.
How It Happened
Starter Isaac Bracken recorded the first two outs of the game with relative ease but struggled to get the last one in the top of the first inning. Metro State loaded the bases with a pair of walks and hit by pitch, but left them that way as Sean Kennedy struck out to end the top of the first.
Austin Miller and Dean Lawson reached to start the bottom part of the first to put early pressure on the Roadrunners. Jack Pauley helped score the first run of the game with a single of his own to score Miller. Evan Johnson loaded the bases for the UNC. With them loaded, a wild pitch scored Lawson.
The Bears bats went quiet for a while, but the arms on the mound kept Metro State from taking advantage of traffic on the base paths. Over the third through sixth inning the Roadrunners stranded seven runners, keeping UNC up 2-0.
With the pitching taking care of business in the top half of the inning, Northern Colorado's bats woke up in the bottom of the sixth. Evan Johnson started a stretch of four straight Bears reaching safely. A single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Brett Minnick who delivered with the two-run single doubling UNC's lead. Following a pitching change for MSUD, Lawson walked to cap off the three-run inning.
Cole Maltese added another insurance run by hitting a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning, and a Billy Moreland walk made it 7-0.
Metro State loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth looking to get back into the game, but a well-turned double play between Lawson and Payton Tapia put the end to any comeback and Caden Maher struck out the last batter to secure the win.
Game Changer
Austin Miller's job as the leadoff hitter is to set the table for his teammates to drive him in later. Miller did his job on Tuesday going 3-for-5 with a run scored and either helped continue or start rallies.
Stat to Know
Northern Colorado pitched its first shutout since May 18, 2017, using seven different pitchers for the combined shutout. The seven pitched nine strong innings allowing just four hits, walking eight and striking out 11. MSUD stranded 12 runners on base.
Game Notes
- Besides Miller and his three hits, Dean Lawson and Jack Pauley also had multi-hit games, each with two.
- Each Bear reached base at least once in the game and seven of the nine starters recorded a hit.
- The home shutout is the first for UNC since April 30, 2017, against Utah State.
What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado heads out of state one last time this weekend by heading to the Windy City. The Bears travel to Chicago State for a three-game WAC series starting on Friday at 5 pm MT.
To stay up to date on all things UNC baseball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @NCBearsBaseball.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bracken, Issac (2-2)
L: Beecher Strube (3-3)
Batting:
2B: Donny Ortiz Jr. 1
Base Running:
SB: Hunter Donaldson 1 ; Trent Maloney 1
CS: Sean Kennedy 1
HBP: Trent Maloney 1
Batting:
2B: Tapia, Payton 1
HR: Maltese, Cole 1
RBI: Lawson, Dean 1 ; Maltese, Cole 1 ; Pauley, Jack 1 ; Minnick, Brett 2 ; Moreland, Billy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Miller, Austin 1 ; Lawson, Dean 1 ; Maltese, Cole 1 ; Pauley, Jack 1 ; Johnson, Evan 1 ; Zoba, Matt 1 ; Tapia, Payton 1
SB: Johnson, Evan 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballUT
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
C
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