For the final series of the regular season, the Utah State Eastern baseball team traveled to Rangely, Colorado to face the Colorado Northwestern Community College Spartans. The Eagles needed two wins to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Scenic West Athletic Conference postseason tournament.
The series started hot for the Eagles, as Cam Ford led off the game with a solo home run. The Eagles continued to dominate their way to an 8-0 run-rule victory over the Spartans. Ford, Gaige Woods, and Reid Deede each homered in the win. Harley Vicchrilli tossed seven scoreless innings with a nine-strikeout performance.
The Eagles exploded for a dominant 17-1 win in game two of the series. Eastern scored six runs in the top of the first inning, setting the tone for an offensive explosion. Four different Eagles recorded multiple RBIs, led by four from Reid Deede. Makaio Swensen and Jake Lindsay mashed home runs in the game. Makaio Swensen started on the mound and finished just one strike short of a no-hitter. He had seven strikeouts in the contest.
The third game of the series was low scoring, and the Eagles fell short of a win, falling 3-2. Â Eastern cut CNCC's lead to just one in the third inning, but neither team was able to score again. Conner Hall homered in the game and went 2-3 offensively.
Searching for a series win, the Eagles needed a response in the top of the third, where they trailed 2-1. The Eagles exploded for 10 runs in the third, taking an 11-2 lead after the frame. Eastern would score another three runs before the end of the game, winning 14-3. Cam Ford hit two home runs, and Truman Duryea added another to lead the Eagles.
With the series win, the Eagles will enter the SWAC tournament as the No. 3 seed. They will have to face No. 2 seed Salt Lake Community College. The first round will be a three-game series, hosted by SLCC. The first game will be on Thursday, April 30, at 1:00 p.m.
