UNC's ninth-inning rally comes up short against SDSU

Friday, April 15

Greeley, Colo.

2 p.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

7-25, 0

South Dakota State

12-16, 0

South Dakota State

Northern Colorado

4/15/2022 6:14:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: By Thomas Hoffman, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado fought tooth and nail on Friday afternoon at Jackson Field. A late, ninth-inning rally had the fans on their feet but South Dakota State was able to make the final out as the Bears fell, 8-7.

Coming off his best performance at UNC, sophomore starting pitcher Ian Torpey delivered another strong effort against the Jackrabbits.

Torpey cruised through the first two frames to make sure his team had the opportunity to take the lead at the plate. Something they would do in the bottom of the second.

A Craig Kenny single kickstarted the big inning. After Aiden Leahy sacrificed to move Kenny to second and a wild pitch got the catcher to third, Jake King was presented a golden opportunity to score the game's first run.

King delivered with a single through the left side but the Bears weren't done just yet. A batter later, Shaydon Kubo supplanted Josh Glenn for the team home run lead, launching a two-run shot to put his team up, 3-0.

South Dakota State responded with a run in the third inning and two more in the fifth tied the game at three apiece.

Meanwhile, after a solid 6.0 innings and eight strikeouts for Torpey, Colorado native Owen Lockner took the reins, getting through the seventh and eighth with relative ease.

Northern Colorado left the bases loaded in the fifth but it was in the seventh inning where UNC clawed back into the conversation. Pinch-hitting for his twin brother, Cameron Cromer stepped to the plate with two on and one out. His two-RBI single scored Glenn and Cade Moeller, leapfrogging the Bears back into the lead, 5-4.

SDSU tied things up in the eighth inning but seemingly broke the game open with three runs in the top of the ninth.

Carl Iwasaki's squad wasn't going down without a fight, though.

UNC juiced the bases full, allowing Jacob Banister and Hayden Heinze to dial-up RBI singles. All of the sudden, the home side was within one.

The rally was not to be, however, as the Jacks' closer claimed the final out and the win, 8-7.

Game Notes

Shaydon Kubo launched his fifth home run of the season.
Aiden Leahy claimed his first triple of the year and second in his career.
Hayden Heinze recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the year.
Cameron Cromer delivered one hit, one walk, two RBI and a run scored coming off the bench.

What's Ahead
Northern Colorado will face SDSU two more times across the weekend. Saturday and Sunday's games are set for Noon MT. Admission to Jackson Field is always free.

To stay up to date on all things UNC Baseball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook and Twitter.