Cougars Sweep Doubleheader vs Clark State
Cleveland State's baseball team swept Clark State in a doubleheader on Thursday, winning game one by a score of 8-5 and game two by a score of 13-3.
Ryan Inches was on the mound for the Cougars in the first game. Inches threw 5 innings, allowing 0 earned runs while striking out 6. The performance moved Inches record to 4-1 on the season. Clark State got thing going early, scoring 2 runs in the first inning. The Cougars quickly answered with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the 2nd inning thanks to a Trey Martin RBI and two Clark State errors. Cleveland State added 5 runs to their total by the end of the 6th inning increasing their lead to 8-2. Clark State attempted the come back and scored 3 runs in the top of the 7th inning but Cleveland State was able to end the game, winning with a final score of 8-5.
As a team the Cougars scored 8 runs on 11 hits thanks to 3 RBI's from Hunter Oliver, 2 RBI's from Trey Martin and an RBI by Trey Vanderpool. Noah Hill, Brandon Mason and Cameron Payne each recorded a double in the game. Noah Hill also tallied a stolen base while Tucker Mendenhall snagged two bags.
Game two of the doubleheader was a much more convincing win for the Cougars as they defeated Clark State by mercy rule with a final score of 13-3.
Jackson Etter was on the mound for Cleveland State in this one and threw 5 innings, allowing 1 earned run, throwing 3 walks while striking out 4. Today's win puts Etter's record at 3-0 on the season. Clark State started out with a three run lead by the 3rd inning. The Cougars answered back by opening the flood gates, scoring 2 runs in the 3rd inning, 5 runs in the 4 innings and 6 runs in the 5th inning. Caleb Collins launched a 2 run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, ending the game on a mercy ruling.
The Cougars scored 13 runs on 14 hits while also drawing 5 walks. Hunter Oliver, Caleb Collins and Cameron Hankins each blasted a home run in this game. Caleb Collins, Hunter Oliver each record 3 RBIs while Rhett Baldwin recorded 2 RBIs. Cale Morgan, Logan Peterson, Hooper Mills and Cameron Hankins also contributed, each collecting an RBI of their own. Hunter Oliver also finished with a stolen base.
The sweep puts the Cougars record at 16-7 (4-2) on the season. So far, Cleveland State is boasting a .305 batting average with 18 home runs and a 12-2 home record. Look out for the Cougars as the look to remain in the winner's column as they take on Chattanooga State in a single game on Friday, March 16th at 2:00 PM and a doubleheader on Saturday, March 17th starting at 12:00 PM.
