PUEBLO, Colo. (March 15, 2019) - Colorado State University-Pueblo Baseball knocked off Regis University 10-8 Friday night at Rawlings Field thanks to a small ball approach.
 
Dakota Popham (Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored three runs. Popham had three hits in four trips including a double. He also drew a walk and knocked in a run.
 
Easton Adler (Jr., Mead, Colo.) went 3-for-3 with a double. He scored a run and drove in one more.
 
Beau Brieske (Jr., Chandler, Ariz.) struck out 15 batters in 6.1 innings. Brieske's 15 strikeouts are the most by a Pack pitcher since 2008 when Jesus Hernandez struck out 15 against Colorado School of Mines.
 
Brieske earned the win to improve to 3-2. He surrendered just six hits and one walk. Brieske allowed three earned runs. The righty has struck out 66 batters this season, the most in the RMAC.
 
Gilbert Sauceda (Sr., Indio, Calif.) reached base four times. Sauceda drew three walks and went 1-for-2. He scored two runs. Sauceda slugged a double and stole a base.
 
Rion Santamaria (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk. Like Sauceda, Santamaria doubled and stole a base. He scored and drove in a run.
 
Jesse Holguin (Fr., Colton, Calif.) and Adrian Martinez (Jr., Tucson, Ariz.) each had a team-high two RBIs.
 
The Pack got off to a strong start. The ThunderWolves scored three runs in the bottom of the first. JP Hopkins (R-Jr., Chino Hills, Calif.) drove in Sauceda with a single that put the Pack on the board. Popham and Adler clubbed back-to-back doubles to make it 3-0.
 
Brieske cruised through the first three innings, but the Rangers scored two in the fourth and one in the fifth to tie the game.
 
The Pack used small ball to reclaim the lead. Daniel Abiles (Jr., Chandler, Ariz.) dropped down a perfect bunt single that drove in Popham. Adler scored a Kodee Martin (Jr., Platte County, Mo.) bunt to give the Pack a 5-3 lead. Abiles finished 2-for-4.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Pack erupted for four runs. Martinez mashed a two-run pinch-hit single that scored Santamaria and Robbie Espinosa (Sr., Yorba Linda, Calif.). Holguin plated Popham and Martinez with a base knock to make it 9-3.
 
The Rangers answered with four runs in the seventh. CSU-Pueblo added an insurance run in their half of the seventh as Santmaria smacked a double to bring in Sauceda.
 
Regis scored one in the eighth. However, Andrew Coverly (Jr., Centennial, Colo.) would shut the door. Coverly fanned five batters in two innings to earn his third save of the year.
 
With their win, the Pack improved to 8-9 overall with a 3-2 record in RMAC play. Regis fell to 5-13 (0-5 RMAC).
 
The Pack and Rangers will meet in a doubleheader Saturday. First pitch at Rawlings Field is slated for 1 p.m.
 
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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.