CLEVELAND STATE DROPS TWO GAMES TO COLUMBIA STATE
COLUMBIA – Cleveland State’s trip to Columbia State got started off on the wrong foot Friday afternoon.
COLUMBIA – Cleveland State's trip to Columbia State got started off on the wrong foot Friday afternoon.
The Cougars (18-9, 5-6) dropped the first two games of the series to the Chargers (18-15, 6-5), losing 8-7 in game one and 9-3 in game two.
"They outplayed us in all phases of both games," Cleveland State head coach Mike Policastro said.
"We were never really in either game. We could not keep them of base and we could not make a play to get out of an inning. Offensively, we left too many runners in scoring position. It will be a big challenge for us to get a win in the third game."
The Cougars and the Chargers close out their series today at 10 a.m.
Game One
The first game started out on a sour note for Cleveland State, as their hosts took a 4-0 lead in the first inning. That lead became a 5-0 lead after the third inning.
The Cougars scored two runs in the topo of the fourth, but allowed the Chargers two more runs before the inning was closed out to trail 7-2.
In the top of the fifth, Cleveland State scored three unanswered runs which cut their deficit to just two.
The Cougars tied the game up at seven in the top of the seventh, but were unable to keep the Chargers from scoring their final run, which gave them the win.
Cameron Payne was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Sean McDermott, who was 2-for-3, hit a homerun and had an RBI. Hagan Kennedy went 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in a runner.
Game Two
After falling by only one run in the first game, Cleveland State was unable to turn things around in the second game.
Columbia State picked up three runs in the first inning and held the Cougars off the board until the fourth inning, where they scored two runs to make it 3-2.
The Chargers racked up four runs in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the bottom of the sixth, while the Cougars drove in only one more run in the sixth.
John Sharpe, Devon Gardner and Brett Browning each had an RBI in the game. Gardner and Browning also were 2-for-3 at the plate.
Cameron Payne and Noah Hill both hit a double in the game and Brandon Mason was 2-for-2 at the plate.
