GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com – May 8, 2014) — Lonny Schoon (Colorado Springs, Colo.) hit two home runs while the Colorado State University-Pueblo ThunderWolves tallied a season-high four as a team before cruising to a 15-9 win over New Mexico Highlands University in the opening game of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament, which got underway Thursday here at Sam Suplizio Field.
The No. 3 seeded ThunderWolves, who are defending their tournament championship, have now won five of their last six RMAC Tournament games over the last two seasons and will play the winner of the second opening round game between fourth-seeded Colorado Mines and top-seeded and host Colorado Mesa in a winner's bracket game on Friday at 3:30 p.m. The winner of that will advance to the Saturday's championship game
CSU-Pueblo, now 28-22 overall, banged out 21 hits throughout the afternoon taking a 2-1 lead in the top of the third on a Dominick Bregar (Pueblo, Colo.) homer before a 2-run Schoon homer and five other unearned runs in the top of the fourth put the Pack in control, 8-1.
Schoon then led off the fifth with a solo shot, his fourth homer of the year to make the score 9-1 before a 3-run Cowboy rally chased Pack starter Victor Soto (Whittier, Calif.) from the game.
However, Mike Wagner (Jr., Golden, Colo.) then smashed a 3-run homer to center after Austin Mascorro (Jr., Oxnard, Calif.) and Bregar had singled to begin the sixth as the ThunderWolves extended their advantage to 12-4.
Catcher Eddie Williams (Sr., Castle Rock, Colo.) then plated Scott Hoyt (Sr., Longmont, Colo.) later in the inning to make the score 13-4 before a Schoon RBI double and ensuing Williams sacrifice fly made it a 15-4 game heading to the ninth.
The Cowboys would rally for five runs in the final inning but ran out of outs while dropping into the elimination half of the bracket.
Schoon finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBIs while Wagner went 4-for-6 with three RBIs. Bregar, Hoyt and Williams all had three hits apiece as well.
Dillon Given (Sr., Salinas, Calif.) earned the win for the Pack in middle relief as he went 2 1/3 innings while striking out three Cowboys. A total of seven ThunderWolf pitchers worked although Head Coach Stan Sanchez was able to save RMAC Pitcher of the Year Mike Fabrizio (Pueblo, Colo.) for later in the tournament.
Greg Hansen, a Second Team All-RMAC pitcher, took the loss for NMHU after giving up 15 hits and 12 runs, seven of which were earned, in five innings.
The Cowboys, who entered the tournament as the second seed and as the fourth-ranked team in this week's NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings are now 31-19 overall. They will play in an elimination game on Friday at noon against the loser of the Thursday night Colorado Mesa/Colorado Mines game.
The ThunderWolves, who have won five of their last six games, have now hit 13 homers in their last five games, doubling their season-total through the first 45 games of the year.
Related Item: Post-Game Press Conference
Related Item: Updated RMAC Tournament Bracket
Related Item: RMAC Baseball Championship Headquarters
