Box Score Las Vegas, N.M. (March 13, 2016) — In a wild series finale, Colorado State University-Pueblo baseball bested New Mexico Highlands University 8-7. The Pack trailed 3-0 entering the seventh, but scored six runs before stretch time. They would stop a three-run rally in the ninth to take the series three games to one.
CSU-Pueblo now stands 13-6 on the season with a 7-1 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games. They stand tied atop the RMAC's Plains Division with Adams State University.
Senior Jordan Godman (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev.) continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-5 at the plate. Godman drove in two more runs and scored a run of his own. He stole his RMAC leading 15th base of the season.
Godman finished the series with eight RBIs, seven runs scored, and four stolen bases. The reigning RMAC Player of the Week hit .647 for the weekend going 11-for-17 with a .684 on base percentage. Godman leads the RMAC with a .494 batting average, a .719 slugging percentage, 26 runs, 41 hits, and 15 stolen bases. The senior has a hit in all 19 Pack games this season.
Highlands took the lead in the first inning. A home run from Brad Blackwell put the Cowboys on top 1-0 after one. This would be the only earned run Kyle Peeler (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev.) would allow.
Several times over the next few innings, the Pack would threaten but could not push that first run across the plate. The Cowboys tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth courtesy of a pair of defensive miscues to take a 3-0 lead.
Down three in the top of the seventh, the Pack's offense needed a jolt. Cebulski provided that spark in a big way as he smacked his second home run of the series to lead off the seventh. Cebulski's solo shot, his second of the season, put the Pack on the board.
Mitch Doucette (Jr., Brockville, Ontario, Canada) stepped in next and was hit by a pitch. Jordyn Compehos (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev.) received a free pass. With two on and nobody out, Godman swatted a triple that plated two runs and tied the game at three.
Following Godman's third triple of the season, Gilbert Sauceda (Fr., Indio, Calif.) drew a walk. Dominick Bregar (Sr., Pueblo, Colo.) smacked a double that drove in both Godman and Sauceda as the Pack took a 5-3 lead.
With the double, Bregar extended his hitting streak to 21 games dating back to 2015. Bregar has hit safely in each of the Pack's 19 games in 2016. He leads the RMAC with 12 doubles.
Manny Menocal (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev.) doubled home Bregar as the Pack took a 6-3 lead. Cebulski would record the final out as the Pack batted around in the seventh.
After throwing six scoreless innings, Highlands starter Phil Trujillo surrendered four runs and did not record an out in the seventh. He took the loss for the Cowboys. In their half of the seventh, the Cowboys got a run back as they trimmed the Pack's lead to two.
In the top of the ninth, CSU-Pueblo added a little insurance. Bregar belted his second double of the day. Oliver Jackson (Jr., Mission Viejo, Calif.) singled to put runners at the corners for Taylor Snyder (Jr., Elk Ridge, Utah). Snyder scored Bregar on a sacrifice fly that gave the Pack a three run cushion.
Later in the ninth, Cebulski plated his second run of the day with a double that plated Menocal. Menocal had reached base on a fielder's choice. Cebulski's second extra base hit of the day gave the Pack an 8-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
The Cowboys rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth. With the tying run on base, Josh Nuernberg (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev.) struck out Blackwell to clinch the win for the Pack. The save was Nuernberg's second of the series and third of the season.
Peeler earned the win for CSU-Pueblo as his record moves to 3-0. Peeler allowed just five hits and two walks in six innings of work. He struck out two.
The Pack defeated the Cowboys for their second consecutive series win. CSU-Pueblo will return home next weekend to Adams State in a four-game series beginning Friday, March 17 at 6 p.m. at Rawlings Field. Either the Pack or the Grizzlies would take sole possession of first place in the Plains Division with a series win next weekend.
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado State University – Pueblo competes in 22 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
