Western New Mexico 8, CSU-Pueblo 7
Western New Mexico 12, CSU-Pueblo 6

SILVER CITY, N.M. - For the second consecutive season, CSU-Pueblo played on the final day of the regular season with a chance to win the RMAC West Division title.  And for the second consecutive year, the Pack couldn't close the deal, getting swept by Western New Mexico Sunday.

The Pack couldn't complete a comeback in the first game, losing 8-7 before Western New Mexico went off for 12 runs to officially wrap up the division.

In the opener, CSU-Pueblo was rocking the Mustangs in the top of the 7th inning, having put five runs on the board and trailing 8-7 with just one out and a runner on second base.  But the ThunderWolves went down on strikes two batters in a row, and turning the late game of the day into the RMAC West Division championship game.

However, the ThunderWolves began trailing the Mustangs 4-1 after a three-run third by Western New Mexico, and then were down 9-2 after a five-run fourth.  The big innings all but clinched the game and the division for Western New Mexico, which hadn't been in first place in the division for over a month.

The losses have worse implications for the Pack aside from losing out on the division title.  CSU-Pueblo, which entered the week holding on to the eighth seed in the NCAA Division II Central Region softball rankings, meaning it was in position to be one of eight teams to earn bids in the Central Regional tournament, may fall after losing five of seven this past week.  The team poised to pass the ThunderWolves, the University of Mary, has gone 3-1 this week and currently possesses a better winning percentage than the ThunderWolves.  A fall in the rankings could put the Pack in a situation where it must win the RMAC Tournament to a get berth to nationals.

The ThunderWolves will begin the RMAC Tournament Thursday at Metro State College in Denver, facing Chadron State in the opener.