After coming up empty handed in the first two games of their series with Columbia State, Cleveland State was able to pick up a win in the third and final series game on Saturday.
The Cougars (19-9, 6-6) closed out their weekend with an 8-7 win over the Chargers (18-16, 6-6). Ultimately, Columbia State took the series 2-1.
“We were able to salvage the final game of the series,” Cleveland State head coach Mike Policastro said.
“Corey Linz gave us an outstanding start, going seven innings holding Columbia to three runs.”
Linz (3-1) pitched for seven and ¾’s innings and gave up only two earned runs.
The Cougars host Bryan College’s JV team in a doubleheader on Wednesday, with games at 2 and 4 p.m.
Cleveland State got off to a better start Saturday, taking a 3-1 lead after the second inning. Their hosts closed that lead to just one run in the third.
That 3-2 lead became 4-2 after the fifth inning. Both teams added another run to the scoreboard in the eighth.
The Chargers were able to drive in four runs to the Cougar’s three in the ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough to steal the 8-7 win away from Cleveland State.
“The ninth inning was hairy, as we had an 8-3 lead and hold Columbia State off with Caleb Collins getting the last out with a strikeout while the tying run was on third base,” Policastro detailed.
The coach was happier with his team’s performance at bat in the third game.
“Offensively we had 14 hits and were lead by Cameron Payne and Brandon Mason, Devon Gardner and Brett Browning, who all had multiple hits,” Policastro said.
John Sharpe, John Ransom, Gardner, Payne, who was 3-for-5 at the plate, Browning and Mason each had an RBI in the game.