DENVER – The Regis University baseball team kicked off its 2021 campaign with a commanding 15-10 victory over Washburn at Regis Baseball Field on Friday.
 
How It Happened: With the bases loaded while holding a commanding 10-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, redshirt junior outfielder McKay Banks hit a bases-clearing double to left field, bringing home sophomore infielder Austin Vaught, senior outfielder Andy Beyene, and senior utility player Thomas Alexander from third, second, and first base, respectively, to give the Rangers a 13-2 advantage, which proved to be enough in the end for Regis to earn a win for its season-opener.
 
Redshirt sophomore infielder Colten Chase then brought Banks home on the next at-bat with a two-run home run to right field, extending the RU lead to 15-2.
 
The Ichabods started chipped away at their deficit in the last three innings of the game. Perhaps the most notable piece Washburn took out of the Rangers' lead occurred in the top of the ninth. With WU down, 15-5, and senior outfielder Cole Emerson on third, senior infielder Carson Sader on second, and senior outfielder Wyatt Featherston on first, redshirt sophomore infielder Brett Ingram hit a grand slam to right to shrink the Ichabods' deficit from 10 to six. The grand slam made the score, 15-9.
 
Washburn tacked on one more run later in the inning when junior outfielder Parker Dunn scored an unearned run, which moved the game to its final score.
 
Dunn gave WU an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first when he homered to right center, scoring senior infielder Eric Hinostroza from second. Hinostroza singled up the middle on the contest's opening at-bat.
 
Chase then doubled to left to open the bottom of the first and later scored on senior catcher Roger Riley's RBI groundout to second to put Regis on the board, down by a score of 2-1.
 
In the bottom of the second, senior infielder Brevin Owen, who doubled to right to open the inning, scored on senior outfielder Coby Zimmerman's double down the left-field line to tie the game, 2-2.
 
On the next at-bat, Alexander knocked a two-run, tie-breaking home run to center to give RU the lead, 4-2, a lead that it did not surrender.
 
A Riley double down the right-field line in the bottom of the fourth brought Banks home from second while growing the Rangers' lead to 5-2. Banks singled to center to start the inning.
 
Regis added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to lead, 8-2. Vaught scored from second on an Owen single up the middle, and Banks doubled down the left-field line to score both Owen and Alexander from second and first, respectively.
 
The first two runs of RU's seven-run sixth occurred when sophomore infielder Matt Marlow hit a single up the middle to score Riley from second. Riley doubled down the right-field line to reach base to kick off the inning. Marlow later scored on a wild pitch, which brought the Rangers to a 10-2 lead.
 
Game Notes: Banks finished with a 3-for-4 showing with the bat, scoring two runs and hitting a game-high five RBI. Riley turned in a 3-for-5 day at the plate and had one run scored and two RBI. Chase went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Marlow finished with a 2-for-5 performance with one run scored and an RBI. Owen recorded a 2-for-2 day with two runs scored, one RBI, and a walk. Junior pitcher Justin Kleinsorge (1-0) claimed the win in his 6.0 innings of work in which he gave up two runs and five hits while striking out nine and walking no one.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: Regis starts the season with a 1-0 record overall. RU continues its season-opening series with the Ichabods (0-1) in a Saturday doubleheader with the first game slated to start at 11 a.m. and the second game scheduled for a 2 p.m. start time.