Club baseball plates 31 runs in series win over MSU Denver
Fall Ball exhibition series in the NCBA entail walks, errors and lots of runs.
That’s what led the Colorado Buffaloes club baseball team to a 2-1 series win over Metropolitan State University of Denver last weekend.
Following a three-game series win over the Colorado School of Mines, the CU club team got its first taste of future conference play against the Roadrunners. MSU Denver, in its first series of the year, had a handful of good moments but fell apart late to advance the Buffs' autumn record to 4-2.
Game 1
A gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Scott Carpenter Park was the setting of the first two games in this series.
The Buffaloes got on the board early and came around to score four runs in the first two innings. New senior president of the club, Jud Stafford, grabbed two RBI in his first at-bat, scoring Duke Medina and Shane Nicklaw, who both reached via a walk.
The Buffs brought up seven batters in the second, with the top of the order in Will Roberts and Medina delivering with runners on base. Starting pitcher Tyler Gray held CU’s early four-run lead across the two frames and escaped a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the top of the second inning run-free.
Already leading, Colorado piled on eight runs in the bottom of the fourth to put the game out of reach. The Buffs nearly hit around twice and took 14 plate appearances in the inning, capitalizing on five walks and five base hits.
Since both games one and two were scheduled for Sunday, two shortened seven-inning games were set. Traditionally, a 10-run lead after five innings would inflict a mercy rule. CU led 12-1 after the fifth, but since it’s Fall Ball and both teams are more focused on player performances, both clubs agreed to play one more inning to get more players at-bats.
The Roadrunners took advantage of the extra frame and put six runs on the board. CU walked a few batters, but MSU Denver connected with five hits of their own to end game 1 on a positive note. Still, the Buffaloes won 12-7, bringing the bats early Sunday afternoon and ending with nine hits.
Game 2
The middle game had real, conference-play Spring season ambience.
The Roadrunners completely flipped the script from game one and tossed out a mystery pitcher who shut down Colorado. Since it’s the Fall and team rosters aren’t close to being finalized, all the information on the Roadrunners ace is the name “Kellogg”. He wasn’t with the team last Spring and isn’t listed on MSU Denver's GameChanger roster either.
But no name was needed for his show on the rubber. Kellogg started the game nine-up, nine-down, and struck out five along the way.
During his control, the Roadrunners took a 4-0 lead off a rocky three innings from CU’s Brayden Levy and Victor Moreno. But that’s when things started to shift.
Colorado started to see Kellogg in the fourth, breaking the perfect game with base hits from Luke Tofigh and Rowan Hopson. Although unable to score, they chased Kellogg in the fifth and got two runs in the process.
Trailing 5-2, the Buffs were nearly able to close the gap and scored two more in the bottom of the sixth. Back-to-back RBI base hits from Finn Simones and Gray suddenly made it a one-run game.
A brief top of the inning brought the offense back up, but Colorado wasn’t able to capture the momentum and fell just shy in game two, 5-4.
Game 3
Switching locations, Denver’s Athletic Assembly Complex was home to the full nine-inning series conclusion, where a late push secured the series win.
Chase Ambhuel tossed a great start for CU, covering the first four innings and allowing just one hit along the way. Colorado tacked on two runs in the second and one in the fourth to give him a cushion, but it was the sixth inning that separated the two clubs.
The Buffs scored five runs on four hits, with RBI from Aidan Mehlburg, Jackson Gascou and Jack Meiser. An additional run in the seventh gave Colorado a 9-2 lead.
CU repeated the offensive burst with six insurance runs in the top of the ninth, taking game three, 15-5.
The Roadrunners gave the Buffaloes lots of free bases in their home debut, committing eight errors and walking nine.
“I thought the team played well this weekend,” Stafford said. “I also thought the pitchers did well pounding the zone and minimizing free passes this weekend, which is going to be a big point of emphasis all year.”
Looking Forward
Colorado concludes its shorter Fall Ball schedule with the Rocky Mountain Showdown next weekend. CU and Colorado State have bashed for the Mid-America West for the last decade, and the next chapter unfolds at Scott Carpenter Park.
It will be a two-game set, with the seven-inning doubleheader beginning at 1 pm MT. Both games will stream on Sko Buffs Sports.
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