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7
UCCS UCCS 10-21
15
Winner Regis (CO.) RUBB 18-16-1
UCCS UCCS
10-21
7
Final
15
Regis (CO.) RUBB
18-16-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
UCCS UCCS 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 0 1 7 9 5
Regis (CO.) RUBB 0 7 0 2 2 0 2 2 X 15 16 2

W: Kleinsorge, Justin (3-2) L: Jonathan Cowles (3-5)

Koontz LaComb
Ted Betsy, Regis Athletics
Regis outfielder Kyle Koontz (#18) rounds third after hitting a home run in Friday's 15-7 win over UCCS.

Game Recap: Baseball | | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Rangers strike for seven-run second inning, roll to 15-7 win over UCCS in series opener

DENVER, Colo. —  Baseball bliss was in the air Friday in the Denver metro area as the Colorado Rockies celebrated Opening Day down in LoDo. Just a few miles north, the Regis University baseball team had its own work to attend to, steamrolling the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, 15-7, in Game One of the teams' four-game set.

Regis (18-16-1 overall, 11-6 RMAC) was propped up by a dynamic offensive attack on Monday as the team produced 16 hits from eight different players in the victory.

"I was very happy with our offense (Friday). I thought it was a team offensive game where we had a lot of different guys execute at-bats, move runners and drive runs in," said Regis head baseball coach, Drew LaComb. "We were tough outs at the plate today. UCCS is a very talented offensive team, so we knew the game could shift at any moment. All in all, it was a very good day. We were able to grab some early momentum in the series."

HOW IT HAPPENED: After a scoreless first inning, the Rangers took firm control of the game with a seven-run second inning.

Graduate student Brevin Owen got the scoring started with a RBI double. Sophomore third baseman Braxton Boyle and redshirt junior Colten Chase each delivered two-run singles in the inning, as well, before graduate student outfielder Kyle Koontz capped the inning in style with a two-run home run to left; his third long ball of the 2022 spring.

"That inning really put us in the driver's seat and allowed us to do a lot of different things. It gave our club the ability to play a little looser and with a little more freedom," LaComb said of the second inning outburst. "It was a huge advantage, but we knew there were still seven innings of baseball left. My biggest emphasis to the guys there was I didn't want us to settle at the plate the rest of the game. We had to continue to play and continue to compete."

The Rangers' lineup was able to do just that as they continued to tack on runs throughout the afternoon. Regis struck for two runs in the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth innings as it methodically built its 15-7 lead.

Front and center for the Rangers' offense was the top of their batting order in sophomore outfielder Levi Padilla, Chase and Koontz as the trio all recorded multi-hit games and combined to finish a staggering 9-for-15 with seven runs scored and six runs driven in.

Padilla slashed 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI from the leadoff spot, finishing just a home run shy of the cycle, while Chase was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI and Koontz added three hits (3-for-5) and two runs scored in addition to his home run.

"There's a reason we have those guys up there (top of the order). They've been going about their business the right way lately. Our coaching staff has a lot of trust in those guys to put good at-bats together," LaComb said. "That's what you ask out of your 1-3 hitters. We don't expect Levi to finish with four hits every game, but the fact they were able to produce like that was awesome."

Owen and junior infielder Austin Vaught each added two hits apiece on Friday, as well, to give Regis five different players with multi-hit performances.

On the mound, senior right-hander Justin Kleinsorge — the RMAC leader in strikeouts this season with 71 in 50.1 innings — picked up his third win of the season with a workmanlike 5.2 innings pitched. He limited UCCS to four runs on five hits while issuing four walks and striking out seven.

"I don't think Justin had his best command, he was a little up in the zone, but he continued to battle and find a way to get outs," LaComb said of Kleinsorge. "We can depend on him and we like running him out there on Fridays because of that."

UP NEXT: Regis will look to take a stranglehold of the series when the two teams square off in a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. at the Regis Baseball Field.

"We want to continue to build off the offensive success we had today. I think UCCS is going to make adjustments and reassess on the pitching side, so we need to be ready to make adjustments (Saturday) as well," LaComb said. "We'd like to pitch and play catch a little better tomorrow, as well. With seven inning games, there's less room for error. We want to continue to put pressure on the opponent, but we need to clean some things up for us to have a good day tomorrow."
 
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Scoring Summary

Score By Innings
Play UCCS RUBB
RUBB BOT 2nd Owen doubled down the rf line, RBI (1-1); Beyene advanced to third; Riley scored. 0 1
RUBB BOT 2nd Boyle singled through the right side, 2 RBI (0-0); Owen scored; Beyene scored, unearned. 0 3
RUBB BOT 2nd Chase singled up the middle, advanced to second on the throw, 2 RBI (0-0); Vaught scored; Boyle scored. 0 5
RUBB BOT 2nd Koontz homered to left field, 2 RBI (2-2); Chase scored. 0 7
UCCS TOP 4th K. Wigington homered to left field, 3 RBI (0-1); Pastorello scored; J. Hegmann scored. 3 7
RUBB BOT 4th Marlow reached on a fielder's choice, RBI (2-2); Koontz out at second 2b to ss; Chase advanced to third; Padilla scored. 3 8
RUBB BOT 4th Riley reached on a fielder's choice, bunt (0-0); Marlow advanced to second; Chase scored on an error by c, unearned. 3 9
RUBB BOT 5th Padilla tripled to right field, RBI (0-0); Vaught scored. 3 10
RUBB BOT 5th Padilla scored on a wild pitch. 3 11
UCCS TOP 6th M. Johnson singled to right field, RBI (0-1); K. Sato scored. 4 11
UCCS TOP 7th K. Wigington singled to center field, RBI (0-1); Pastorello advanced to third; J. Hegmann scored, unearned. 5 11
UCCS TOP 7th Faragallah flied out to rf, SF, RBI (0-1); Pastorello scored, unearned. 6 11
RUBB BOT 7th Marlow reached on an error by 3b, advanced to third, RBI (0-0); Koontz scored, unearned; Padilla scored, unearned. 6 13
RUBB BOT 8th Miller doubled down the lf line, RBI (1-1); Banks scored. 6 14
RUBB BOT 8th Padilla singled to right field, RBI (0-0); Miller scored. 6 15
UCCS TOP 9th M. Johnson reached on an error by p, advanced to second (2-2); B. Madison advanced to third; Faragallah scored, unearned. 7 15

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