Cowboys drop two games to UCCS on Friday afternoon

Las Vegas, NM --- The New Mexico Highlands baseball team dropped a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games on Friday evening against UCCS, losing the final game 7-8.
 
After a solo shot from Gaylan Young in the first inning in game three, the Mountain Lions held the Cowboys scoreless for seven straight innings, which included 8 strikeouts and one hit from UCCS pitcher Daniel Silva (2-0). The Mountain Lions scored 7 runs in that span to take a 7-1 lead over the Cowboys going in to the bottom of the ninth inning.
 
Joe Kuhn scored two runs for the Cowboy with a double to center after Estevan De La O walked and Charles Morgan singled to third base however, the Mountain Lions took game 3-7.
 
Young, Morgan, Kuhn, and Fabian Ferreira all recorded a hit for the Cowboys and Kuhn led the team with 2 RBI. Kalen Hammer received his first loss of the season after giving up four runs off five hits and five strikeouts while reliever Robbie Alarcon finished with three runs off four hits and three strikeouts.
 
The Cowboys jumped to an early 3-0 lead in game 4 after the first inning after taking advantage of a fielding error by UCCS first basemen Jake Anderson. Young doubled down the left field line, Jesus Chavez hit a deep sacrifice fly to right field and Jared Brown singled up the middle to score three runs for the Cowboys.
 
Jake Anderson responded with a homerun of his own in the second inning before UCCS would take a 5-3 lead over the Cowboys after scoring four runs in the top of third inning. The Cowboys then tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with a Gavin Gifford homerun and a single from Nicolas Aldarete scored Ferreira from third.
 
In the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Cowboys took the lead as Jared Brown blasted a two-run homer over left field. But, the Mountain Lions quickly tied the game at 7 in the top of the sixth inning as Anderson scored two runs with a single up the middle.
 
The Mountain Lions scored a run in the top half of the seventh inning to take an 8-7 lead as Ashton Roy stepped in to lead off the Cowboys in the bottom half. Roy struck out swinging before Young showed life for the Cowboys with a single through the left side. Chavez followed with a one out single to center field to advance Young to second before Brown hot a pop up to first base and Gifford striking out swinging.
 
The Cowboys finished with 9 hits and one error as Young and Brown (3 RBI) finished with two hits apiece. Angel Castillo received the start on the mound for the Cowboys allowing five runs off eight hits and a strikeout in 5 innings. JT Mossberg (1-3) received the loss for the Cowboys after giving up two runs off one UCCS hit.
 
The Cowboys will be back in action next weekend as they take on MSU Denver in a four-game series with game one starting at 2 pm on Friday March 19^th in Las Vegas, NM.
 
GO COWBOYS!!