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4
Augustana AUGIE 2-2
19
Winner Regis University RUBB 8-7-1
Augustana AUGIE
2-2
4
Final
19
Regis University RUBB
8-7-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Augustana AUGIE 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 4 0
Regis University RUBB 6 5 0 0 3 0 5 0 X 19 14 0

W: Phelan, Riley (1-0) L: Kranz, Caleb (0-1) S: Bruder, Griffin (1)

Levi Padilla_Reagan Guthrie 2.25
Billy Saunders, Regis Athletics
Regis seniors Levi Padilla (#51) and Reagan Guthrie (#13) celebrate during Sunday's win over Augustana.

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

Rangers erupt early, cruise to 19-4 win on Sunday to earn series split with Augustana

DENVER, Colo. — Riding high from its 6-5 walk-off win less than 24 hours earlier, the Regis University baseball team provided a statement win during Sunday's series finale against Augustana University, earning a 19-4 rout of the 2023 DII World Series qualifiers to earn a 2-2 series split.

With the win, the Rangers (8-7-1 overall) moved back above .500 and head into their bye week on a high note as they prepare to open RMAC conference play March 8-10 out in Alamosa against Adams State.

"Baseball is a huge game of momentum and, obviously, Augustana had it in the first two games of the series and late into the last game yesterday before our bats were able to get us back in it. And we were able to carry that into today," said Regis head baseball coach, Pat Jolley. "Offensively, we were able to execute at a high level, hit the ball hard and were really able to keep that momentum on our side the entire day."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Regis wasted little time throwing its first haymaker, striking for a six-run first inning and chasing Augustana (2-2 overall) starter Caleb Kranz before he could get out of the first.

A quartet of juniors were behind the first inning explosion as outfielder Garrett Rede brought home the game's first run on a RBI groundout. Designated hitter Matt Graf followed with the first of his team-high three hits on the afternoon to drive in another run before Mattias Sessing and CJ Difiglia capped the six-run frame with a pair of two-run doubles.

After the Vikings briefly trimmed the deficit to 6-2, the Rangers broke the game open with a five-run second inning highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Graf and a run-scoring double from junior second baseman Tanner Rice that ballooned the Rangers' lead to 11-2.

Graf finished 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored, anchoring a bottom-half of a Regis lineup that saw its 6-9 hitters combine to go 9-for-17 with eight runs scored and 10 RBI.

"I thought Matt was huge and arguably the difference maker for us today," Jolley said. "And the rest of the guys behind him in the order just kind of followed suit. We've tried to keep preaching to those guys to keep plugging away and good things will eventually happen. Being able to get that kind of production from the bottom-half of the lineup just adds length and depth to our starting nine."

On the mound, after 4.1 quality innings from senior right-hander Luke Douthitt, the pivotal moment for the Rangers fell into the hands of junior Riley Phelan as the lefty inherited a bases loaded, one-out jam in the fifth when the Vikings were threatening to get back in the ballgame.

Phelan extinguished the threat, inducing a pop out and groundout that limited Augustana to just one run in the inning. Phelan was credited with his first win out of the bullpen in 2024 and has allowed just one unearned run across his first four appearances in a Regis uniform.

"Phelan being able to come in and limit the damage to just one run was absolutely a huge moment in the game," Jolley said. "He's another guy who didn't make the first travel roster of the season, didn't allow that to negatively affect him, and he has come out the last two weekends and gotten some really important outs for us."

The Rangers would again capitalize on the momentum shift as they scored the final eight runs of the game unanswered to cruise to the 19-4 final.

Senior catcher Reagan Guthrie produced back-to-back RBI knocks in the late innings, while fellow senior Levi Padilla launched his first home run of 2024 — a leadoff shot to right field in the seventh — to help highlight an afternoon that saw the Regis lineup produced 19 runs on 14 hits.

Rounding out the Rangers' top performances Sunday was junior left-hander Griffin Bruder, who earned the unconventional save after tossing four no-hit innings of relief to finish the ballgame. Bruder only needed 46 total pitches, allowed just one walk and struck out five in the 13 batters he faced.

"Griffin is still coming back from injury earlier in the year so it was great to see him pitch well and build that arm strength back up a little bit," Jolley said. "He throws multiple pitches for strikes and there's some deception with his delivery that makes him tougher to hit and we're really excited to see what he continues to do because he has good stuff."

GAME NOTES
  • Eight different Regis players finished with at least one of the team's 14 hits.
  • Difiglia and Graf paced the Regis offense with 3 RBI apiece.
  • Each team had five batters earn their way on with hit-by-pitches.
  • Regis starter Luke Douthitt struck out six in 4.1 IP.
  • The Rangers' pitching staff registered 45 strikeouts in the series.
UP NEXT
Regis will have next weekend off before jumping into RMAC conference play March 8-10 on the road against Adams State (4-8 overall).

"I thought this series was huge for our team. You look at the first two games and Augustana threw some big overhand rights in Game One and Game Two, but it was great to see how we bounced back," Jolley said. "We're trying to get our guys to believe in themselves that we can compete with some teams that are upper echelon. We have to continue to play at that level when we go against good teams."
 
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Scoring Summary

Score By Innings
Play AUGIE RUBB
RUBB BOT 1st Garrett Rede grounded out to ss, RBI; Levi Padilla scored. 0 1
RUBB BOT 1st Matt Graf singled through the right side, RBI; R. Guthrie advanced to second; A. Paniagua scored. 0 2
RUBB BOT 1st M. Sessing doubled down the rf line, 2 RBI; Matt Graf scored; R. Guthrie scored. 0 4
RUBB BOT 1st CJ Difiglia doubled down the lf line, 2 RBI; Tanner Rice scored; M. Sessing scored. 0 6
AUGIE TOP 2nd Mosser, M. reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Ballweg, L. out at second ss to 2b; Pinnow, R. advanced to third; Meiners, T. scored. 1 6
AUGIE TOP 2nd Winterstein reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Mosser, M. out at second 2b to ss; Pinnow, R. scored. 2 6
RUBB BOT 2nd Matt Graf singled through the left side, 2 RBI; Garrett Rede scored; A. Paniagua scored. 2 8
RUBB BOT 2nd Tanner Rice doubled down the lf line, RBI; M. Sessing advanced to third; Matt Graf scored. 2 9
RUBB BOT 2nd Tanner Rice advanced to third; M. Sessing scored on a wild pitch. 2 10
RUBB BOT 2nd Tanner Rice scored on a balk. 2 11
AUGIE TOP 3rd Dirksen, D. out at second p to 1b to ss, picked off; Hines, J. scored. 3 11
AUGIE TOP 5th Kolbeck, J. singled to shortstop, RBI; Meiners, T. advanced to second; Dirksen, D. advanced to third; Hines, J. scored. 4 11
RUBB BOT 5th Levi Padilla advanced to third; Clayton Conn scored on a wild pitch. 4 12
RUBB BOT 5th Garrett Rede singled, bunt, RBI; Levi Padilla scored. 4 13
RUBB BOT 5th R. Guthrie doubled to left field, RBI; Garrett Rede scored. 4 14
RUBB BOT 7th Levi Padilla homered to right field, RBI. 4 15
RUBB BOT 7th R. Guthrie singled up the middle, RBI; A. Paniagua scored. 4 16
RUBB BOT 7th Tanner Rice hit by pitch, RBI; M. Sessing advanced to second; Matt Graf advanced to third; R. Guthrie scored. 4 17
RUBB BOT 7th CJ Difiglia singled through the right side, RBI; Tanner Rice advanced to second; M. Sessing advanced to third; Matt Graf scored. 4 18
RUBB BOT 7th CJ Difiglia advanced to second; Tanner Rice advanced to third; M. Sessing scored on a wild pitch. 4 19

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