PUEBLO, COLO. (FEBRUARY 21, 2021) – Colorado State University Pueblo Baseball swept its Sunday doubleheader with Emporia State University, beating the Hornets 5-3 in game one at Rawlings Field. The ThunderWolves rallied to shock the Hornets with an 11-10 walk off win in game two.
 
The two wins were the first two victories for new Pack Baseball Head Coach Damian Stambersky. CSU Pueblo now stands 2-1 on the young season.
 
Game One Recap:
Brett Matthews (Sr., Queen Creek, Ariz.) shut down the Hornets in his first start of the season.  Matthews earned the win by throwing four innings without allowing a hit. He walked five and struck out eight.
 
Logan Gibbons (Sr., Taylorsville, Utah) slugged two triples in game one. His first triple brought in Aidan Welch (Jr., Seattle, Wash.) for the Pack's first run.  Gibbons scored on a Reggie Williams (So., Castle Rock, Ark.) groundout to make it 2-0.
 
Mike Gonzalez (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) crossed the plate in the third to make it 3-0. Emporia State's first hit of the day was a home run that cut the Pack's lead to two.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Ty Lewis (Jr., Pleasant Grove, Utah) smacked a triple that scored Adrian Martinez (Sr., Tucson, Ariz.). Lewis came home on a Welch sac fly that made it 5-1.
 
The Hornets rallied with two runs in the last inning of the seven inning game. Leading 5-3, the Pack turned to Cole Martin (Jr., Ridgecrest, Calif.) to shut the door. Martin retired two of the three batters he faced to earn the save.
 
Game Two Recap:
The Pack and Hornets each scored a run in the second. The Hornets took a 3-1 lead in the third, but the Pack matched them with two runs of their own in the bottom half. Gonzalez tripled home Lewis and scored on a Welch single to tie it at three.
 
The Hornets scored three runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to take a 10-4 lead. The Pack picked up a run in the fifth on a Welch double. Cody Beck (Jr., Thornton, Colo.) drove in Williams with a single to cut the Hornets lead to 10-5 heading into the seventh and final inning.
 
Lewis led off the seventh with a towering home run over the right field wall. This home run was the Pack's first of the season.
 
Welch walked and Gibbons singled. A ground out put them both in scoring position, but put the Pack down to its final out.
 
Kodee Martin (Sr., Elkhorn, Neb.) kept the game alive with a walk that loaded the bases. Williams also drew a free to pass to drive in Welch and make it 10-7.
 
The next batter, Brock Rodrigues (So., Pueblo, Colo.) seemingly struck out to end the game, but a catcher's equipment interference was called and  Rodrigues was awarded two bases. Gibbons and Martin both scored and the Pack trimmed the Hornets lead to one.
 
Martinez came to the plate with two runners in scoring position. He hit a ground ball to shortstop. Martinez legged out the tough grounder and the Hornet shortstop fired the ball out of the reach of their first baseman. The error allowed both Williams and Rodrigues to score and give the Pack a walk off win.
 
Coach Stambersky quote:
"Once Cole Martin gave me the baseball, it was pretty surreal," Stambersky said. " I couldn't be happier for our guys and the way they battled back."
 
Up Next:
The Pack and Hornets will conclude their four-game series Monday. First pitch at Rawlings Field is set for 1 p.m.
 
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