CSU-Pueblo 7, Regis 4
Continuation of Apr. 17 game: CSU-Pueblo 14, Regis 13
The ThunderWolves' 'Pack the Park' game was an unabashed success
Sunday night as the ThunderWolves grabbed a 7-4 win in front of
over 2,000 fans at Hobbs Field at the Runyon Sports Complex.
The Pack officially made it two wins Sunday, as "Pack the Park"
was the stage for the conclusion of Saturday night's
Regis/CSU-Pueblo game that was called due to darkness at Ranger
Field in Regis due to darkness after six innings with a 14-12
ThunderWolf lead. CSU-Pueblo preserved that lead Sunday
night, earning a 14-13 win.
The anticlimactic start to the night didn't damper the
performance of starter Matt Cole (Jr., Walnut,
Calif.). The Pack's hurler brought perhaps the most
experience on the team playing in front of large crowds - Cole
played two seasons for the ThunderWolf football team in front of
record crowds before leaving the team to switch to baseball - and
used that experience to pitch the game of his life.
Cole threw a masterpiece for eight innings, logging 99 pitches
and allowing just two runs on three hits, striking out three.
He shrugged off an early hiccup, allowing a solo home run to
Patrick Farrell in the second inning, and proceeded to mow down 18
of the next 21 batters.
Behind Cole's strong pitching, the ThunderWolf bats were given
license to tee off, exploding in four runs in the fourth inning,
headlined by a two-run double by Kyle Wager (Jr., Globe,
Ariz.) that almost cleared the wall, giving the Pack a 5-1
lead it wouldn't relinquish.
The night was special as the preceding Art and Lorraine Gonzales
Youth Baseball Clinic attracted over 500 youth baseball players
from the Pueblo community. The game's final attendance of
2,052, although short of the NCAA Division II attendance record of
3,683 set by the ThunderWolves during the first "Pack the Park" in
2005, was the ThunderWolves' largest home crowd since 2007.
The Pack's wins clinch a berth in the RMAC Tournament and moves
the ThunderWolves one step closer to an RMAC Plains Division
title. The ThunderWolves, now at 21-17 and 15-10 in the RMAC,
holding a half-game lead over Nebraska-Kearney in the
standings. CSU-Pueblo will try to sew up that division title
next weekend when it travels to Kearney for a three-game series
with the Lopers, which will likely determine the division
title.
