| A College of Eastern Utah slugger swings for the fences in a spring game last season. |
Traveling north to take on Southern Idaho, CEU lost four fairly close games. CSI defeated CEU by the score of 6-4, 8-7, 2-7, and 3-4 in last weekends’ series.
Cole Evans took the mound to lead off the series; he went five innings for the Eagles, giving up four hits. Travis Ayoso came on in relief and gave up two more. It was the first inning that plagued the team as they got down by three before they knew what hit them. The Eagles were only down by a run in the sixth when CSI scored twice to wrap up the game. CEU could not answer and lost the first.
CSI took a four run lead in the first inning of the second game against starter Jayson Madson as the Eagles again needed to climb out of a hole. Down 2-7 going into the sixth, they strung together a run that moved them within striking distance with a four run rally. Scoring again in the seventh to tie it up the game went into extra innings. Unable to score in the eighth, reliever Jake Bankowski gave up his only run to let the game slip away.
Leading off the Saturday double header was pitcher Marcus Hamatake. CEU jumped on CSI in the first to take a 2-1 lead. In the second, CSI jumped on Hamatake for 3 to go up 4-2. Jordon Salmon came on in relief and gave up three more for the only blow out of the weekend. CEU bats were relatively quiet and the team only eked out six hits in the game.
Trying to salvage at least one game in the series, the final game was a defensive effort on both sides until the fourth. After three scoreless inning by both teams, CSI broke the deficit first with a big three runs. With a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth, CEU tied the game back up. Bankowski took over for starter Seth Spainhower, but could not close out the game for the save. CSI score in the seventh to sweep the series with the Eagles.
The team returns home to take on Weber State in a pair on the 20th and then head to Carson City Nev. for a four game set with Western Nevada. They will be home again on April 6 and 7 to take on SLCC.