TUCSON, Az. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team scored 13 runs, but it would not be enough to overcome the No. 7 University of Arizona Wildcats as Eastern fell,  16-13, Saturday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field.
 
The Colonels (0-2) jumped out to an early lead in the first when senior Ben Fisher singled through the right side, scoring junior Cornell Nixon from second base.
 
Eastern added to its lead in the second when sophomore Ryland Kerr singled to center field, bringing freshman Nick Howie home and giving the Colonels a 2-0 lead.
 
The third inning, however, is where EKU did the most damage. Fisher led off with a double, followed by a walk from senior Logan Starnes. Freshman Miles Jones singled to left field in his first at-bat as a Colonel to load the bases. Howie and fellow freshman Jacob Abbott followed Jones up with singles of their own to right field, both of which scored runs, putting EKU up 4-0. Kerr, not to be outdone by his teammates, notched his second RBI of the night with a single to left field. After a pitching change for the Wildcats, junior Daniel McFarland picked up a RBI of his own when he brought Howie home on a fielder's choice. Nixon came to the plate next and scored Abbott on a right field single. After a throwing error allowed senior Shea Sullivan to reach base and brought McFarland home, Fisher was walked in his second at-bat of the inning. Finally, a wild pitch advanced all the runners, allowing Nixon to cross the plate and cap off a seven-run inning for the Colonels and giving them a 9-0 lead halfway through the third inning.
 
The Wildcats (2-0) would claw back into the game in the bottom half of the inning, scoring five runs of their own as they chased off Max Ford in his first start as a Colonel. Ford finished with 2.1 innings pitched and gave up four earned runs.
 
EKU added some insurance runs in the top of the fourth as McFarland notched a two-out single to center field. After a Nixon single moved McFarland to third, Sullivan launched one to left field to bring McFarland home. Fisher followed Sullivan and doubled to right field, plating Nixon and Sullivan and giving EKU a 12-5 lead.
 
Arizona started cutting into the Eastern lead with a one-run bottom of the fifth, making it a 12-6 game. Eastern got the run back in the top of the sixth when Fisher picked up his team best fourth RBI of the day and gave EKU a 13-6 lead, but from there Arizona would take over.
 
The Wildcats got within one with a six-run sixth, and used a pair of two-run innings to pull away. The Eastern offense could not spark a rally in the ninth, falling by a score of 16-13.
 
Fisher led the way for EKU with three hits and four RBIs. Nixon made some noise as well, going 4-for-6 with a RBI and two stolen bases. Sullivan and Kerr both finished with three hits and two RBIs each.  
"I'm really proud of today's effort. We really responded after a tough game last night," said EKU Head Coach Edwin Thompson. "We came out and put the pressure on them early, unfortunately we came up a little bit short against a really good team. They're a top 10 team, and they play like it. If you don't stay on top of them, they'll make you pay for it. Lots of young guys stepped up tonight, we'll be ready for our next shot at them tomorrow."
 
Sophomore Aaron Ochsenbein is set to make his first start for the Colonels in game three of this four-game series against Arizona. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. eastern on Sunday.