Cowboys Split Day Two

Lakewood, CO- The New Mexico Highlands University Baseball team took on the Colorado Christian University Cougars today in a doubleheader.
 
Colorado Christian University Cougars Game 2
Senior Brad Blackwell got the first hit of the day as he singled up the middle in the top of the first. Junior James Cordova also got on base with a single, but both would be left stranded. The Cougars got going in the bottom of the inning as they scored a run to take the early 1-0 lead.
 
Sophomore Joseph Cilladi led off the top of the third with a walk. Senior Easton Garcia also got on base with a single, but the side would be retired before the two could reach home. Senior pitcher Dylan Norris had two runners on base in the bottom of the inning, but he worked himself out of trouble without giving up further damage.
 
The Cowboys went down in order in the top of the fifth, and the Cougars were able to score one more run in the bottom of the inning to give them the 2-0 lead after five innings.
 
Cordova was hit with  a pitch in the top of the sixth, giving the Cowboys a base runner. Junior Eduardo Perez came up with a huge triple that scored Cordova, then Perez was able to score on a Cougars error. The Cowboys were able to keep the game knotted at 2-2 as they kept the Cougars off of the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning.
 
The Cowboys couldn't muster up a hit in the top of the seventh as they went down in order. The Cougars were able to pick up the game winning run in the bottom of the inning.
 
The Cowboys would fall in the first game of the day, 2-3.
 
Colorado Christian University Cougars Game 3
The Cowboys got out to a slow start at the bats as they went down in order in the top of the first. Senior pitcher Max Siedlecki started the game on the mound for the Cowboys. The Cougars got out to a quick start as they put up 3 runs in the bottom of the inning.
 
Junior Eduardo Perez got on base in the top of the second on a Cougars error. Sophomore Travis Spruiell came up to the plate and got the Cowboys on the scoreboard as he crushed a 2 run homerun, scoring Perez as well. Senior Emilio Medina singled to left field for his first hit of the day. Sophomore Joseph Cilladi brought Medina home with a single, knotting the game up at 3-3. The Cougars pushed two more runs across in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead.
 
Junior Codie Simmons picked up the RBI in the top of the third with a ground out as Junior James Cordova scored. On the very next at bat, Spruiell doubled down the right filed line, scoring Perez to knot the game up once again. Senior Brian Chaparro came up with a monster homer as he also scored Medina and Spruiell, giving his team the 8-5 lead. Senior pitcher Phil Trujillo worked the strike zone well in the bottom of the inning as he only allowed one hit.
 
Perez smacked a triple for the first hit of the fourth, then scored on a wild pitch to extend the Cowboys lead to 9-5. Trujillo got in a bit of trouble in the bottom of the inning, but he worked himself out of it without surrendering a run.
 
Medina led off the top of the fifth with a nice single to third base. Chaparro cruhed his second homerun of the day in the next at bat, scoring Medina as well. Cordova brought Cilladi home with a double down the right field line. Simmons capped off the inning with a single that scored Cordova. Trujillo kept the Cougars off the board once again, securing a 13-5 lead after five innings for the Cowboys.
 
Cilladi got on base with a double in the top of the sixth, then Senior Easton Garcia brought him home in the next at bat. With only one out and runners on the corners, Senior pitcher Corey Nelson entered the game. His first batter hit into a double play and got the Cowboys out of the inning with their lead still intact.
 
The bases were loaded in the top of the seventh when Garcia came to the plate. He smacked a triple that cleared the bases as Cilladi, Chaparro, and Spruiell would find home plate. Perez picked up 2 more RBIs on a single to left field, scoring Senior Brad Blackwell and Garcia. In Spruiell's next at bat, hit slapped a double that scored Perez and Cordova.
 
Nelson closed the game strong as he secured the 21-5 victory for the Cowboys.
 
The Cowboys will wrap up their series with the Cougars tomorrow, May 7^th, at 12:00 p.m.
 
Go Cowboys!