Baseball has rough start to preseason
Up next for the Eagles is a four-game series in Douglas, Az on Feb. 7th and 8th against Cochise College followed up by four games against Eastern Arizona, in Thatcher on the 10th and 11th.
Baseball started their season in Las Vegas, Nevada with two games against Arizona Western and two against Central Arizona.
In game one, Utah State University Eastern and Arizona Western got into a high-scoring, 11-inning battle. The Eagles got on the board first with an Ethan Hixson RBI groundout scoring Vaughn Deming in the second inning. Arizona Western then tied it up with an RBI single in the fifth. Arizona Western scored 3 more in the eighth to take a 4-1 lead. USUE answered right back in the bottom of the eighth with RBI doubles from Ty Barker and Vaughn Deming. Davis Kirby then hit an RBI single to tie up the game. After a scoreless ninth, the teams headed to extra innings. In the top of the 10th,, Arizona Western put up three runs. In the bottom of the inning, Davis Kirby blasted a three-run homer, scoring Korbet Pope and Gavin Douglas to send it to the 11th. In the 11th, Arizona Western scored five runs. USUE fought back with an RBI groundout from Douglas along with an RBI double from Ty Barker, but it was not enough losing 12-9.
Tyler Fitch was great on the mound, throwing five innings and giving up two runs both were unearned. Offensively Dakari Armendariz and Davis Kirby led the way with three hits. Kirby also led with 4 RBI.
Game two did not go as well for USUE, giving up six in the first and the game went downhill from there, losing 16-0. Armendariz and Mack Bright mustered the only two hits in the shortened 5 inning game.
In Game three, USUE took on No. 1 Central Arizona. The Vaqueros got out to a 7-0 lead and did not look back. In the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles scored two runs thanks to a Mack Bright single scoring Seth Nate and an RBI groundout from Gavin Douglas. The Vaqueros scored one more in the eighth, beating the Eagles 8-2.
The Eagles had six hits, two from Mack Bright and two from Ty Barker. Dylan Hawkes started and went three innings. Carson Hawkes followed him out of the bullpen, tossing six innings and giving up one hit.
Game four was a low-scoring battle between these two teams. The Vaqueros scored two in the sixth from a single and double. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Eagles fought back with a pinch-hit single from Luke Erickson followed up by an error putting Parker Joos on base. Tyler Nelson singled home a run but it was too little too late for the Eagles losing 2-1.
Ky Decker and Westin Corless were great on the mound for the Eagles. Decker went 5.2 innings, giving up two unearned runs and striking out seven. Decker was named Scenic West Athletic Conference player of the week for his performance. Corless went 3.2 innings, out of the pen, giving up no runs and striking out three. The Eagles scattered four hits throughout the nine innings.
Up next for the Eagles is a four-game series in Douglas, Az on Feb. 7th and 8th against Cochise College followed up by four games against Eastern Arizona, in Thatcher on the 10th and 11th.
