The Cleveland State Baseball team had their home opener on Sunday, a doubleheader against Vincennes University. It was a sweep for the Cougars, winning game one, 10-1, and game two, 3-2.
Trey Martin got things started for the Cougars in the 3rd inning, blasting a solo home run to right field. Vincennes quickly answered in the top of the 4th inning, tying the game up a 1 a piece. The bottom of the 4th inning was where the Cougars opened the floodgates, scoring 6 runs, including a Hunter Oliver RBI double. Vincennes had no answer after the 4th inning, while Cleveland State added two more runs to their total, eventually ending the game in a 10-1 Cougar victory. Hooper Mills got the win on the mound, going 6 innings, allowing 1 earned run while issuing 8 strikeouts.
As for game two of the doubleheader, the Cougars took care of business with a 6-5 victory. Sophomore Hooper Mills got the first Cleveland State run on the board with a score off a wild pitch in the 2nd inning. Vincennes answered in the top of the 3rd inning, tying the game at 1 each. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, CSCC catcher Hunter Oliver crushed a 2 run homerun regaining the lead for the Cougars. By the top of the 6th inning, Vincennes had taken a 5-3 lead. Cleveland State answered with a 3 run performance in the bottom of the 6th inning and after a shutout 7th inning, Cleveland State wins with a final score of 6-5. Starting pitcher Ryan Lloyd finished with 5 innings pitched, allowed 2 earned runs and tossed 7 strikeouts. Reliever Greg Tye ended up with the win, going 1.1 innings while striking out 2.
The sweep puts Cleveland State's record at 4-2. They'll look to continue in the win column as they take on Gordon State College at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, February 20th at home.