University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, February 20
Lakewood, CO
11 a.m. MT
University of Northern Colorado
at
Colorado Christian University
Bears add Colorado Christian to the schedule, begin season Saturday
2/18/2021 3:25:00 PM | Baseball
GREELEY, Colo. – February weather can be a bit like dodging fastballs.
With the weather in Wichita putting a damper on the Bears' scheduled series, Northern Colorado has pivoted to substitute the matchup with one in Colorado against Colorado Christian.
UNC and CCU will play two doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 20 & 21) with both starting at 11 a.m. Saturday's games will be a nine-inning contest, followed by a seven-inning one. Sunday will feature two nine-innings games.
It'll be 346 days since head coach Carl Iwasaki and his squad has played meaningful innings on a baseball diamond. The Bears were in the middle of a road trip through Nebraska when its season was cut short due to COVID-19.
UNC picked up two wins over Houston Baptist and two over North Dakota State in a non-conference season that featured the preseason No. 1 team in the nation Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The Bears return a large chunk of that 2020 roster, including outfielder Jake Gitter who started all 17 games UNC played in, hitting .283 with 13 runs, 11 RBI, four home runs and four doubles. In 2019, the New Orleans native hit .310, led the team in doubles with 15 and hit four home runs in 44 games.
Matt Burkart, Johny Graham, Hayden Heize and Josh Glenn also make their returns to Greeley, all of which have had a myriad of success at the dish at UNC.
On the mound, pitching coach Dan Martony welcomes back Dylan Bowers and Sam Colehower as two powerful arms who will look to set the tone early in 2021. Bowers started four games for the Bears in 2020, striking out 13 batters in 14 innings pitched. Meanwhile, Colehower clocked a 2.16 ERA in 2019, striking out 17 and walking just seven batters in 16.2 innings of work.
Jacob Salim will also make his debut in a Bear uniform this year after transferring from Oral Roberts. In two years as a Golden Eagle, Salim struck out 14 batters in 25 innings of work. As a junior, Salim boasted a 2.38 ERA in five appearances from the ORU bullpen.
Sam Leach has been rock-solid on both sides of the ball during his time in the Blue and Gold. The junior from Seattle, Washington hit .311, playing in all 47 games in 2019. The righty added 19 RBI and 10 doubles while also appearing in 10 games on the mound, starting four. Leach struck out 11 in 14.1 innings of work.
Northern Colorado's dugout has also received a face-lift over the past year. Since Pat Jolley joined the staff in 2019, the Bears have also added Dan Martony as pitching coach in the summer of 2020 and former MLB manager Jeff Banister in September. UNC also announced Colorado native Joe Kraus as the volunteer assistant for the season.
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
Second-year head coach Paul Koss is looking to qualify for the RMAC tournament for the first time. All-conference member Blake Mattey returns for his senior season. Last season, Mattey averaged .375 at the plate and posted two or more hits in seven of the Cougars' 13 games.
CCU's expected rotation includes Kyler Riordan, Tyler Henning, Justin Kiedinger, Devin Sutorius and Connor McCollum.
In 2019, Colorado Christian finished 9-41 with an RMAC record of 8-28.
A LOOK AHEAD
Northern Colorado will welcome South Dakota State to Jackson Stadium next weekend (Feb. 26-28). The Bears and Jackrabbits will meet for a four-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday.
To stay up to date on all things UNC baseball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook and Twitter.
With the weather in Wichita putting a damper on the Bears' scheduled series, Northern Colorado has pivoted to substitute the matchup with one in Colorado against Colorado Christian.
UNC and CCU will play two doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 20 & 21) with both starting at 11 a.m. Saturday's games will be a nine-inning contest, followed by a seven-inning one. Sunday will feature two nine-innings games.
It'll be 346 days since head coach Carl Iwasaki and his squad has played meaningful innings on a baseball diamond. The Bears were in the middle of a road trip through Nebraska when its season was cut short due to COVID-19.
UNC picked up two wins over Houston Baptist and two over North Dakota State in a non-conference season that featured the preseason No. 1 team in the nation Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The Bears return a large chunk of that 2020 roster, including outfielder Jake Gitter who started all 17 games UNC played in, hitting .283 with 13 runs, 11 RBI, four home runs and four doubles. In 2019, the New Orleans native hit .310, led the team in doubles with 15 and hit four home runs in 44 games.
Matt Burkart, Johny Graham, Hayden Heize and Josh Glenn also make their returns to Greeley, all of which have had a myriad of success at the dish at UNC.
On the mound, pitching coach Dan Martony welcomes back Dylan Bowers and Sam Colehower as two powerful arms who will look to set the tone early in 2021. Bowers started four games for the Bears in 2020, striking out 13 batters in 14 innings pitched. Meanwhile, Colehower clocked a 2.16 ERA in 2019, striking out 17 and walking just seven batters in 16.2 innings of work.
Jacob Salim will also make his debut in a Bear uniform this year after transferring from Oral Roberts. In two years as a Golden Eagle, Salim struck out 14 batters in 25 innings of work. As a junior, Salim boasted a 2.38 ERA in five appearances from the ORU bullpen.
Sam Leach has been rock-solid on both sides of the ball during his time in the Blue and Gold. The junior from Seattle, Washington hit .311, playing in all 47 games in 2019. The righty added 19 RBI and 10 doubles while also appearing in 10 games on the mound, starting four. Leach struck out 11 in 14.1 innings of work.
Northern Colorado's dugout has also received a face-lift over the past year. Since Pat Jolley joined the staff in 2019, the Bears have also added Dan Martony as pitching coach in the summer of 2020 and former MLB manager Jeff Banister in September. UNC also announced Colorado native Joe Kraus as the volunteer assistant for the season.
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
Second-year head coach Paul Koss is looking to qualify for the RMAC tournament for the first time. All-conference member Blake Mattey returns for his senior season. Last season, Mattey averaged .375 at the plate and posted two or more hits in seven of the Cougars' 13 games.
CCU's expected rotation includes Kyler Riordan, Tyler Henning, Justin Kiedinger, Devin Sutorius and Connor McCollum.
In 2019, Colorado Christian finished 9-41 with an RMAC record of 8-28.
A LOOK AHEAD
Northern Colorado will welcome South Dakota State to Jackson Stadium next weekend (Feb. 26-28). The Bears and Jackrabbits will meet for a four-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday.
To stay up to date on all things UNC baseball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook and Twitter.
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