DENVER, COLO. – The University of Sioux Falls baseball team was held in check by pitcher Julian Garcia as Metro State picked up a 9-0 win on Sunday afternoon at the Regency Athletic Complex.
USF received two hits from freshman Rob Johnson but had just four overall in dropping a third straight game to Metro State, which improved to 5-4. With the loss, USF fell to 0-3.
Garcia (1-0), a redshirt left-handed freshman pitcher, worked six innings, striking out nine with four walks and throwing 102 pitches. Finishing up for MSU was Kris Lalk, who worked two scoreless innings, and Josh Moore, who had two strikeouts and shut down the Cougars in the ninth. In total, MSU pitchers recorded 12 strikeouts and walked six. On offense, MSU produced nine runs on 12 hits against five USF pitchers.
USF senior Eric Brothers (0-1) started and went 3 2/3 innings before being replace dafter allowing four runs on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Senior Jordan Jeske worked 1 1/3 innings with one hit, two walks and two strikeouts. Freshman Kacey Myrlie replaced Jeske and gave up one hit in one inning of work. Junior Patrick Anderson allowed two runs (one earned) and had a strikeout in one inning of work while junior Tucker Bishop allowed three runs and four hits in an inning on the mound.
After both pitchers (Garcia and Brothers) shut down the hitters for three innings, the Roadrunners broke through with three runs in the fourth. In that inning, Hunter Donaldson doubled and scored Ton Trent Maloney base knock for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, Nick Comito and Alex Walker scored on base hit by Jake Thurston, who led MSU hitters with three hits, two RBI and two runs scored.
Down 3-0, Brothers was replaced by Jeske, who was promptly gave up an RBI single to Jeff Levett, scoring Thurston. In the bottom of the sixth, USF escaped a bases loaded jam when Myrlie induced a fly ball to keep the score at 4-0.
A triple by Maloney, who had three hits and two runs scored, set up another tally for Metro State. Maloney scored on an error by USF to go up 5-0 in the 7th. After USF turned a double play, MSU added another run when Chris Spirek, who entered the game in the seventh as a pinch runner, scored on a passed ball for a 6-0 edge.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, MSU finished off the scoring with three runs on RBI doubles from Mitch Gibbons and Darryl Baca as well as an RBI single by Maloney.
Next for the Cougars will be a return trip to Colorado as they face Colorado-Pueblo for a three-game set on Feb. 20-22.
