PUEBLO, Colo. (March 19, 2022) – Thanks to extra inning heroics from Ty Lewis in game one of the doubleheader, Colorado State University Pueblo (15-10, 8-3 RMAC) split with Colorado School of Mines with a 2-1 win and 6-3 loss. The Saturday doubleheader split with Mines gives the ThunderWolves a 2-1 series advantage after three games of a four-game slate.
 
Game 1 | CSU Pueblo 2 – Mines 1 (8 Innings)
 
The opening game of the afternoon was an old fashioned pitching duel that saw masterful performances on the mound from both the Orediggers and ThunderWolves. Tyler Blomster from Mines and the Pack's Jake Lombardelli set the tone early each retiring the sides with ease in the first inning.
 
The Orediggers squeezed a run out of Lombardelli with after a runner crossed home off a wild pitch. Lombardelli settled in and stopped the bleeding to keep the game to a 1-0 contest after two innings.
 
Over the course of the second and third innings, Reggie Williams and Noah Hennings each notched singles but were not able to start any rally for the ThunderWolves.
 
Lombardelli sat down 12 straight batters the Orediggers offered and kept the Pack in a 1-0 contest headed into the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
In the latter half of the sixth, Brady Prewitt made it aboard with a single to leftfield. Trey Vasquez then came in clutch for the Pack and reinvigorated the dugout with a well-struck double to right center that scored Prewitt from first. The RBI double from Vasquez was enough to tie it up at 1-1 after six innings.
 
Dylan Weaver relieved the starter Lombardelli after 6.1 innings hurled and took care of business to send the game into the bottom of the seventh locked at 1-1.
 
After Bromster from Mines pitched six complete innings and surrendered his first and only earned run of the 2022 campaign, he was relieved on the mound by Blake Ripp who sat down the home half in straight order and sent the game into extra innings.
 
Weaver made quick work of the Orediggers in the top of the eighth and propelled the Pack into the bottom half with energy.
 
Jacob Federico kicked off the batting with a double to center and was sent to third after a sacrifice bunt from Hennings. With one out, the Orediggers decided to work around the dangerous hitters of Prewitt and Vasquez and loaded the bases with back-to-back intentional walks.
 
The bases loaded situation was a perfect one for the Pack and Ty Lewis. The third baseman sent a pitch right back up the middle on a 1-0 count and secured a 2-1 win for the ThunderWolves off the walk-off RBI single.
 
The Pack tallied six hits which came from six different players in the early afternoon game. The Orediggers could only tally five due to the strong outings from Lombardelli and Weaver. Lombardelli and Blomster each totaled seven strikeouts for their clubs.
 
Game 2 | Mines 6 – CSU Pueblo 3
 
CSU Pueblo was not able to carry over its momentum into the late afternoon game and saw a more aggressive approach from the Orediggers at the plate. Mines was able to push in a run in the top of the first and then another two in the second.
 
The Pack were unable to put together a base-hit until the third inning when Brock Rodrigues and Federico each tallied a single. Unfortunately, the Pack were unable to capitalize on the two base runners.
 
The Orediggers extended their lead to 3-0 after the fourth inning and continued to silence the usually-fruitful Pack bats.
 
Finally, in the fifth, the ThunderWolves were able to breakthrough with a couple of runs. With two outs in the fifth, Hennings jumped on a full count pitch and sent the ball over the left center wall with his first home run of the season . The Pack did not stop there and after Prewitt got aboard via a single, Vasquez smacked a triple down the right field line to notch the second run of the frame.
 
Despite the momentum shifting fifth, Mines was able to score two more runs in the top of the sixth to claim a 6-2 lead over the Pack.
 
A scoreless top of the seventh for the Orediggers gave the Pack one more chance to elongate the game. After a pinch hit single from Jaden Hill, the ThunderWolves scraped together another score, as the freshman raced around the bases off a Prewitt double to left center. 
 
The Hill run was not enough and the Pack ultimately fell 6-3 in the third game of the weekend series.
 
CSU Pueblo was led by two hits and an RBI from Prewitt while Hennings' homer and Vasquez's triple accounted for the other runs scored for the Pack.
 
The ThunderWolves look to clinch another RMAC series win over Colorado School of Mines Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., as the four-game set comes to a close at Rawlings Field.