UCCS

The 2009 Mountain Lions have their team set and ready to go for the fall. The official change has been made into Division II for the Lions which has brought forth much excitement from players, fans, and administration. Moving down into the Division II District VIII conference. They split the District VIII into a North and a South Conference, where the Lions join the South Division along with Western State, Fort Lewis and Colorado College.

The Fall Season started off with practices and scrimmages early in the semester, and the Lions are confident with the team they have going into the first games of the season, and the spring as well. They will be tested early on with 4 tough games against new division rival University of Denver at Spurgeon Field in Colorado Springs. They will then head up to Denver, Colorado for the Denver Invitational Tournament hosted by the University of Denver. They will face former their former conference rivals from the University of Colorado-Boulder on October 3rd in Denver, CO at South High. The Mountain Lions also go on to play University of Northern Colorado the next day. This will be a great start-off for the new look Lions facing DU, University of Kansas, and University of Wyoming as well. Game scores will be posted on the web so please follow up on us and come out to support the team! 

The Mountain Lions are on the verge of moving back down to the NCBA's Division II League. After talking with league representative Peggy Lallis and other league officials, it seems likely that the UCCS Mountain Lions will be headed back to Division II. After moving up with the likes of Colorado State, University of Colorado-Boulder, and Northern Colorado, the team struggled to find a home in the tough Mid-Western Conference. "We did the best we could to compete at the Division I level, but we really just find it a better fit for us, at this particular time, to move back down with some of the other Division II schools," coach Jason Conger stated.

UCCS would potentially join the District VIII Conference which currently includes: Wyoming, University of Denver, Fort Lewis College, Colorado College, Western State, and Johnson and Wales. UCCS was formerly a powerhouse in the Conference winning three straight Conference Championships before moving up to Division I. The next two years were fairly dismal for the Mountain Lions losing the core of the program over the course of their transition to a new division. Many players look to return from this group who are dedicated to bringing back the glory days of UCCS Baseball. Conger added, "Coach Gaffney set a standard for this program from the day he started it, and with the group of players we have returning, and the new ones we will have coming out, I believe we can really make a name for ourselves again."

The UCCS Baseball team has shown improvement over the past year from a disappointing 2008 season. The Lions showed promise starting off the season against the Air Force Prep School. They got a great pitching performance from Tyler Wendt and timely hitting from Chris Stroh, Jason Conger, Anthony Bigus and Brandon Blackman. They then played the CU-Buffs at home and had a personal high 9 runs scored. The team then headed to Johnstown to play CU-Boulder again. They had a rough game at the start then bounced back with a surprise pitching performance by sophomore Jason Conger. Freshman Brandon Blackman led the offense for the Mountain Lions tagging on three hits and three RBIs in the game. Hanbyul Yoon added 2 hits including a triple and 2 key RBI's as well.  After leading the game into the 5th 5-4, the CU bats came out and the game ended in a disappointing 11-5. UCCS then headed out to Greeley, CO to play the UNC Bears. Junior Ty Young threw an excellent 5 innings putting the Lions ahead 9-6. Senior Joe Hanel led the offense with a double and a 2-run home run. Matt Foster added more offense as the Lions had no problem with the UNC pitching. Brandon Blackman came in to close the game and threw two great innings. However, the Bears threw together a few timely hits and edged off the Mountain Lions 10-9. UCCS now awaits the defending National Champion CSU Rams to finish off their season. The offense of the Lions led by Chris Stroh and Hanbyul Yoon look to put a charge into the team as they prepare for a tough stretch of games to end the season.

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Baseball Founder and President Tim Gaffney has left the program after 4 1/2 years both playing and coaching the team. "It's time for me to hand the program off to someone else and move on," said Gaffney recently. "It is something that has really grown on me, and I'm sure I'll drop in to watch a couple games next year." Gaffney leaves the program after 3 consecutive Conference Championships (2005-2007) and a losing season (2008). Gaffney's ultimate goal for the program was to build the program into an NCAA sport at UCCS. "I really wanted to grow the program into the NCAA before I left, but that's all up to the athletic department now," explained Gaffney. "Look what we did without scouting, significant NCAA-level funding, and two practices a week. I've sent letters to the Athletic Director (Steve Kirkham) after every season to update him on our progress, and have only heard back twice. One of which was from his assistant."

Although he believes there should have been more haste on the school's part to help move the team along, Gaffney is content with what the program has become to this point. "Even though I had high expectations for this program when I first had the idea, I would never have imagined we would have the success that we did through all the hard work. It's really a tribute to having a dream and a goal and then accomplishing more than you ever thought."

Before leaving the program, Gaffney wanted to make sure that it was left in good hands that would keep it moving forward. He contemplated leaving after the 2007 Conference Championship season, but then made a last-minute decision to return for one more year because of personell issues. "The person who was supposed to take it over last year received a scholarship to study abroad, and the club was left in limbo." Gaffney used the 2008 season to evaluate who would be the next President/Coach of the program. Freshman Jason Conger and Sophomore Chris Stroh approached Gaffney after a game and told him they were interested in running the program next year. "It was ironic because Jason was one of the guys I had in mind that would be up for the task. He's real competitive on the field, and gives 100% on every play. That's my kind of player. Stroh is the type of guy that will be great as a manager and coach. I was able to watch him manage a couple games, and his organization and mind for the game is very impressive."

Gaffney leaves behind a program that has made an impact on the university, the public, and the league (NCBA). He is reassured that the program will be in good hands, and that the past will always be a positive memory. "I think of it as a masterpiece that has been created, and since it is never finished, it needs to be handed down for generations so that each generation can put its own mark on that masterpiece," stated Gaffney. "UCCS baseball is a huge tradition already at the school and in the community. I can't wait to see how it evolves in the coming years. I'll always be watching it." 

UCCS pitcher Tyler Wendt took the mound Sunday afternoon against University of Northern Colorado with his team already down 0-2 in conference play and the Bears threatening to hand UCCS their second sweep in their 4 year existence. Taking a 5-4 lead into the sixth inning, the Mountain Lions allowed three runs to score and found themselves down 7-5 with one last chance to keep the game alive. UCCS could only muster up one more run before suffering a 7-6 loss to fall to 0-3 in conference play. “The most disappointing thing about it is the fact that we got swept,” said Mountain Lion head coach Tim Gaffney. “I don’t care who it’s against, we are a much better team than what we demonstrated at times during the game. We did play one of our better games, but to come away with a one-run loss when the momentum was going our way for most of the game is very frustrating.” Wendt pitched 6 innings and only gave up three earned runs. “I felt good overall pitching as well as I did,” stated Wendt. “That is the type of game I thrive on being a factor in, and after four years playing for this team it’s disappointing to lose, especially the third game in a row of a conference series.”

Although the Mountain Lions did not start the season like they had wanted to, it is still early in the season, and Gaffney believes they will be able to bounce back and make some noise. “This program prides itself on perseverance and a pride that we’re never going to give up. I think we’ve proved that enough over the course of the past four years.”

The Mountain Lions travel to La Salle, CO where they will play CU-Boulder this Saturday and Sunday in a three game series.

The UCCS Mountain Lions travelled to Mesquite, Nevada to play in the 4th annual Swing into Spring Tournament hosted by Weber State. After losing to UC-Santa Cruz and Idaho State, the Mountain Lions pulled out an 8-7 win over Montana in 8 innings. Sparked by huge plays on both sides of the ball by first-year players, the Mountain Lions cruised to a four run lead behind the pitching of Junior Chris Stroh. R.J. Avila provided a boost after a bases-empty walk, as he stole 2 bases and scored. The UCCS attack was not over yet, as Frank Vaughn, Matt Pizzo and Tyler Wendt also scored in the inning to put the Mountain Lions ahead by 4.

The real excitement came in the bottom of the seventh with 1 out with the bases loaded for Montana and the Mountain Lions up by 1 run. A fly ball was hit hard into right field to Freshman Wade Becker, who tracked the ball and made the out to prevent the walk-off win. The Mountain Lions scored one more in the top of the eighth to hang on and win the game.

The Mountain Lions' next games will be their opening conference series this Saturday and Sunday as they travel to Greeley to take on the University of Northern Colorado. 

This weekend, the Mountain Lions will travel to Gunnison to play Western State (8-7) with a misison to wrap up the conference. The Johnson and Wales Wildcats (7-5), are the only other contender in the conference as they will head to Fort Lewis (2-10). Assuming J&W sweeps Fort Lewis, the only way UCCS can clinch the title this weekend is if they sweep Western State.

The heat is on this weekend for both teams. Something has to give as the two will meet next weekend in what could be the deciding series to determine who goes to the Regional playoffs in Hutchinson, Kansas.

La Salle, CO--The Mountain Lions improved their record to 7-2 in the conference after taking 2 out of three games from the Johnson and Wales Wildcats this past Saturday and Sunday at Big Foot Turf farms in La Salle, CO.

UCCS ten-run ruled JWU 11-1 in 5 innings the first game, then dropped the second game 11-4. However, the relentless Lions would come back for sunday's game determined to win. Trailing 6-4 in the top of the 8th, UCCS rallied to cut the JWU lead down to 1 going into the bottom half of the inning. Pitcher Tyler Wendt shut the door on the JWU offense in the eighth as he struck out the side, setting up the most remarkable performance in UCCS baseball history. The Mountain Lions were down to their last at-bat. They rallied from a 6-5 deficit to score three runs and eventuallly hang on to win 8-6.

The Mountain Lions move into the top spot in the Rocky mountain South conference with a 7-2 record, while Johnson and Wales falls to 7-5. UCCS' next games will be held this weekend, March 28th and 29th in Gunnison against Western State. A sweep of Western State will give the Mountain Lions their third straight conference title in as many years.