PUEBLO, Colo.
(February 7, 2020) – Colorado State University-Pueblo won its season opener by beating Emporia State University 3-2. The Pack didn't have to wait long for their second victory of the season as they knocked off the Hornets 6-5 in extra innings to sweep Saturday's doubleheader at Rawlings Field.
The Pack fell behind in both games but rallied in both contests to beat the previously unbeaten Hornets. CSU-Pueblo's bullpen was lights out. Pack relievers threw 12.2 innings, allowing just one run. They struck out 18 batters between the two games.
Emporia State took the lead early in the first game. They scored two runs on a double in the second inning. However, the Pack worked out jams in the first three innings. The Hornets stranded the bases loaded in each of three frames. Pack starter
Cole Martin (Jr., Ridgecrest, Calif.) worked out of two of the jams, while
Tim McIntyre closed out the third.
After being held without a base runner for the first three innings, the Pack got going in the fourth.
Aidan Welch (Jr., Seattle, Wash.) drove in the Pack's first run with a RBI single.
Easton Adler (Sr., Mead, Colo.) scored to bring the Pack within one.
Later in the fourth,
Daniel Abiles (Sr., Gilbert, Ariz.) bashed a single to drive in Welch and
Billy Reyes (R-Sr., Yucaipa, Calif.). Abiles' two-run base knock put the Pack in front 3-2 heading into the fifth.
The Hornets threatened to tie the game in the fifth with a runner on third and one out.
Logan Gibbons (Sr., Taylorsville, Utah) chased down a fly ball in right field. He promptly fired the ball home and nailed the runner tagging up from third to preserve the Pack's lead.
The Pack's bullpen locked it down from there, shutting out the Hornets over the last five innings. McIntyre (Jr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) got the win for the Pack after three scoreless innings of relief. He fanned three in his Pack debut.
Dane Kapande (Jr., Evergreen, Colo.) locked down his first save with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Kapande struck out three and allowed just one hit.
In game two, the Hornets pushed across the game's first run without getting a hit as two and a hit by pitch allowed them to take a 1-0 in the first.
The Pack countered with two runs on just one hit in their half of the first. Adler and
Mike Gonzalez (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) scored on a pair of Hornet miscues to give the Pack a 2-1 lead after one.
The Hornets tacked on three runs in the second once again thanks to four walks and a hit batsman. They picked up one run in the seventh to take a 5-2 lead.
Facing their final three outs and a three-run deficit, the Pack clawed their way back in the bottom of the seventh. Adler drove in two runs with a single as
JP Hopkins (R-Sr., Chino Hills Calif.) and
Ty Lewis (Jr., Pleasant Grove, Utah) scored to bring the Pack back within one.
With one out, Gonzalez bashed a huge single that brought in pinch runner
Adrian Martinez (Sr., Tucson, Ariz.) that tied the game. The Pack had two chances to drive in Gonzalez at second base, but could not push the winning run across. The two teams went to extra innings.
After shutting down the Hornets in seventh, and throwing a perfect eighth, Gibbons stranded two Hornets in the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, the Pack threatened again.
Andy Otterson (Jr., Menifee, Calif.) led off the inning with a walk. Welch followed with a bunt single. A pair of outs followed.
With runners at the corners,
Cody Beck (Jr., Brighton, Colo.) delivered a walk off single that won the game for the Pack. Beck went 3-for-4 with a walk in the game two victory.
Gibbons earned the win with three scoreless innings. He struck out four in his first Pack pitching performance.
The Pack and Hornets will do battle in the series finale Sunday. First pitch from Rawlings Field is set for 12 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.
