Pack still tied with Colorado Mesa atop RMAC standings after Saturday's split.

KEARNEY, Neb. (GoThunderWolves.com - March 31, 2012) - The ThunderWolves' nine-game win streak came to an end Saturday, but CSU-Pueblo remained in a first-place tie in the RMAC standings after 6-3 loss to Nebraska-Kearney followed by a 9-6 win.

The split keeps the Pack tied atop the RMAC standings with Colorado Mesa, each with 14-5 conference records.

CSU-Pueblo nearly took two from the Lopers, cruising along in a defensive battle in the early game, leading 2-1 in the fifth inning before Kearney put up five runs to take a 6-2 lead, effectively clinching the win.

But the Pack got its revenge in the late game, usurping an early and commanding Loper lead with a big inning of its own.

Nebraska-Kearney owned a 6-2 lead after two innings, and after CSU-Pueblo cut it to 6-3, it turned in four runs in the fifth inning to take the game over.

After the first three batters of the fifth inning reached base, Brandon Evans (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev.) knocked in the inning's first run on an RBI single.  Derek DiCarlo (Sr., Louisville, Colo.) did the same two batters later to cut the Loper lead to 6-5, and Andrew Castaneda (Sr., San Jose, Calif.) delivered the lead with a two-run single that put the Pack up 7-6.

CSU-Pueblo got insurance runs in very unlikely fashion, as Pack batters "took one for the team" multiple times, benefitting from three hit batsmen and a walk in the sixth inning, one of which sent home the inning's first run, as CSU-Pueblo went up 9-6.

Nick Flory (Jr., Chico, Calif.) claimed his first save of the season with a three-inning, one-hit performance on the mound to close out the game.

CSU-Pueblo, now 17-12 overall and 14-5 in RMAC play, will close out its series with Nebraska-Kearney, looking to claim its first series win at Kearney since 2007.