PUEBLO, Colo. (May 3, 2019) -  Strong pitching a tremendous game from Connor Hughes led Colorado State University-Pueblo Baseball to a 5-1 win over University of Colorado Colorado Springs Friday night at Runyon Field.
 
A whopping 3,197 fans celebrated the 15th annual Pack the Park event. The win propelled the Pack into fourth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings. CSU-Pueblo now stands 25-22 overall with a 20-14 record in RMAC play.
 
Hughes (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.) dominated on his senior night. The Pack's center fielder finished 3-for-4. He drove in four of the Pack's five runs. Hughes hammered his second home run of the season in the eighth inning to lead the Pack to victory.
 
Gilbert Sauceda (Sr., Indio, Calif.) drew two walks. Sauceda tied the RMAC record with 151 career walks. He went 1-for-3.
 
Rion Santamaria (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) scored two runs. Santamaria went 1-for-3 with a stolen base.
 
Easton Adler (Jr., Mead, Colo.) went 1-for-3 with two walks. Adler also stole his team-leading 16th base of the season.  Eight of the nine Pack starters had a hit.
 
Josh Dahl (Sr., Glendale, Ariz.) threw seven innings of one-run ball. Dahl struck out seven batters. Despite a strong showing, Dahl finished with a no decision.
 
Justin Jaime (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) threw 1.2 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win and improve to 2-0. Jaime struck out five batters and only allowed two base runners.
 
After the first two Mountain Lions reached base in the first inning, Dahl settled in, striking out the next three batters he faced to get out of the inning. 
 
In the bottom of the second, the Pack got on the board. Santmaria singled to lead off the inning. After a Stone Romero (Jr., Albuquerque, N.M.)  single sent Santamaria to third, Hughes plated Santamaria with a knock of his own to put the Pack up 1-0.
 
UCCS tied the game in the top of the fourth. The Pack gunned down the go-ahead run at third to keep the game tied at 1-1 after four.
 
The Mountain Lions threatened to break the game open in the seventh. UCCS loaded the bases with two outs. Eric Richards sent a ball towards the right center field gap. Hughes made an incredible diving catch to record the third out and keep the game tied at one.
 
The Pack broke through in the eighth. Santamaria was plunked. He stole second and scored thanks to a pair of errors to put the Pack up 2-1. Later in the inning, Hughes bashed a pitch over the right field wall. Pinch runners Zac Hanenberg (Fr., Canon City, Colo.) and Brock Rodrigues (Fr., Pueblo, Colo.) came home on Hughes' second homer of the season to make it 5-1.
 
Jaime shut the door on the Mountain Lions in the ninth. Adrian Martinez (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) ended the game with a sliding catch in foul ground to clinch the win. UCCS fell to 27-21 overall. The Mountain Lions now stand one game behind the Pack with a 19-15 RMAC record.
 
The Pack will wrap up the 2019 regular season Saturday with a doubleheader against UCCS that will be played at Rawlings Field back on CSU-Pueblo's campus. First pitch in game one is set for 3 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