CSU Baseball rolls through Cali tournament and follows it up With a route of Metro State

The week of March 13th, the Rams baseball team travelled to Sunnyvale, California in a six-game tournament. The teams included St. Mary’s college, Chico State University, Northern Arizona, Miramar University, and Washington State University.

Game one of the tournament was a bout against St. Mary’s University. This was the only hiccup of the tournament for the Rams as the Rams would fall by a score of 5-3. The offense for the Rams was highlighted by Matt Davis, who recorded two hits with a run scored and Matt Hart who drove in two of the Rams runs. The pitching was led off by Phelan Castellano, he went four innings giving up three earned runs and four total runs. The Rams attempted a comeback in the late innings but were unsuccessful as St. Mary’s University took the inaugural game from the Rams.

Game two was a complete turnaround for the Rams as they smoked Chico State by a score of 15-0. The onslaught was led by two specific players in Mack Morford, who went 2-3 with a home run and 3 RBI’s and Matt Davis, who had a monster game going 3-3 with two home runs and an astounding 8 RBI’s. On the bump was sophomore pitcher Jared Van Vark, who went four strong innings giving up zero runs and striking out two Chico State players.

Game three was a face off against the hosts of the tournament, Washington State University. This game was more of the same for the Rams as they put up 19 runs in a 19-3 victory over Washington State. The offense had a field day at the plate as Mack Morford and Brandon Severinsen highlighted the high-octane offense. Morford went 3-4 with a homerun and 5 RBI’s while Severinsen put up a 2-5 day with a homerun and 4 RBI’s. The pitching performance was led by Clint Watt, as he only gave up one run on five innings pitched while striking out three. The door was shut on Washington State by Ryan Wargo and Sean Suelter, solidifying the victory for the Rams.

Game Four featured the Rams versus Miramar University. For the Rams, it was just another fantastic day at the park as they routed Miramar University 14-2. The Rams were led by starter Kevin Roberts who went 5 and a third only giving up two runs and striking out four. At the plate, it was more of the same offense for the Rams as veteran players Matt Smith and Matt Davis led the charge against Miramar University. Smith went 2-3 with 3 RBI’s and Davis went 1-3 with a homerun and racking up even more RBI’s by adding 4 more to his resume for the tournament.

In Game five the Colorado State Rams faced off against top 20 ranked Northern Arizona in a nail biter which saw your Rams emerging victorious by a score of 8-7. The start was given to Jared Van Vark who went four strong innings striking out three and giving up no runs. The tide quickly turned for the bullpen as they recorded 6 earned runs and 7 total runs in the remaining five innings of the game. This didn’t halt the offense though as the Rams offense was led by Matt Davis and Brandon Severinsen. Davis drove in two runs on one hit while Severinsen changed the momentum of the game with a towering shot into right field for his second homerun of the tournament as it put the Rams back in the game against Northern Arizona. After the Rams put up the go ahead run in the eighth inning, Mark Singleton came in to shut the door on Northern Arizona and solidified the victory for the Rams.

The final game of the tournament was played against Chico State in which the Rams pounded the Wildcats 19-8. The big guns on offense were Trevor Bruton, who tallied a homerun and 4 RBI’s and Matt Hart who also hit a homerun and drove in 4 runs. Phil Miller got the start but exited the game in two innings giving up 5 earned runs. The game was then taken over by Brad Johnson who pitched five strong innings striking out two batters and giving up zero runs.

The Rams would become the tournament Champions with a 5-1 record and putting up an astounding 78 runs on the trip.
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The Rams would return home on Tuesday night, March 22nd to face Metro State in an exhibition game. The Rams beat down on Metro State winning 21-2. The offense was led by Matt Davis who went 5-5 with 4 RBI’s on the day and Matt Hart who went 2-2 with 3 RBI’s. In the later innings of the game Jared Van Vark launched a home run to left field for a grand slam that slammed the door on Metro State. The pitching was led by starter Phil Miller who went three innings giving up two runs, he was followed up by Mack Morford, Phelan Castellano, and Matt Mader who closed out the game for the Rams.

In the upcoming week, your Colorado State Rams will face off in a conference series against Wyoming University starting on Saturday March 25, 2017. Games will start at 12pm and 2pm on Saturday and the same goes for Sunday’s games. Looking forward to seeing everyone out this weekend, Go Rams!