By Ben Rossi

Two of the top four teams in the Mile High Collegiate Baseball League clashed on Sunday, but were stuck with two rain and lightning delays at Rock Canyon High School . The Colorado Lumberjacks and Fort Collins Bandits finally got underway at 4:45pm, a game in which the tables would turn dramatically.

The Bandits got off to an early 3-0 lead in the  thanks to RBI’s by the top of the order hitters Tommy Alitz and Nathan Dill.

“Seeing the ball well and the team, everything’s contagious,” Dill said on his recent hitting success. “When we’re swinging it we’re winning those games.”

The Lumberjacks too exploited their offensive strengths. As the rain returned in the fourth inning, so did the Lumberjacks bats. A two-run RBI double to center by power hitting first baseman Elliot Hermann got the scoring started in the fourth. The game was then tied up at three apiece on a sacrifice fly by Craig Kenny. Each of these players would have big days at the heart of the RBI production, with four RBIs and three RBIs on the day respectively.

“When you’re put in a situation with runners on especially in team baseball, you just gotta try and do whatever you can to get those runs across, and that’s what I tried to do today,” said Kenny on his three-RBI performance.

While the Lumberjacks pitching got progressively better as the game wore on, the Bandits pitching struggled with their control. They walked five batters in the inning, which allowed the Lumberjacks to pull away with a 6-4 lead.

The game was really broken open in the eighth when a two out rally saw two walks, three of RBI singles, and an RBI double by Hermann. This scored five runs to cap off a 12-4 mercy rule of the Bandits.

Thankfully, this loss was a small stain that will likely wash away in no time for the Bandits, as they have a big game to look forward to. On Tuesday they will be facing off against the Boulder 14ers in the MHCBL’s first annual feature game. Alitz expressed his excitement for the opportunity,

“Really excited. This will be my second time playing on Metro’s field, got the spotlight on us, so we’ll need our coaches to lead us to a nice victory.”

The feature game will be on Tuesday night starting at 6:15 at Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Assembly Athletic Complex, located in beautiful downtown Denver. Admission is free for fans to attend.