LAKEWOOD, Colo. (April 23, 2022) – Colorado State University Pueblo (23-18, 14-9 RMAC) was able to jump to an early 8-1 lead over Colorado Christian (13-27, 9-14 RMAC) and hold on despite a late rally for a 13-8 victory Saturday evening.  
 
The opening inning was quiet but soon the hot Pack offense would strike again. In the top of the second inning, the red-hot bat from Elijah Borjas struck again. Borjas blasted a two-run homer opposite field to right and brought Matt Shea home to put the ThunderWolves on top 2-0. Borjas' home run was his fourth in two days and third consecutive game with a homer.
 
The Cougars responded in the bottom half with a solo shot of their own, but the Pack were able to exhibit their offensive prowess and pile on in the top of the third. The ThunderWolves loaded the bases off walks from Reggie Williams and Ty Lewis on top of a bunt single from Noah Hennings. Williams raced his way home on a wild pitch and Shea then followed up with a two-RBI double to right field. The 5-1 advantage gave pitcher Owen Rudolphi a comfortable padding and allowed the freshman to settle in on the mound.
 
After a quick inning on the mound from Rudolphi, he was once again backed by the Pack bats. Brady Prewitt was able to single through the left side and score Kysen Howard from third. The next at-bat saw Trey Vasquez flyout to right and score the tagging Williams from third base. 
 
The 7-1 cushion stretched into the fifth and allowed the Pack to score in their fourth straight inning. Borjas and Williams made their way into scoring position following a single and walk. On a Hennings single, the Cougars cutoff Borjas who was caught between third and home. Borjas got himself in a rundown along with Williams. The pickle came to a head when Williams was able to dodge a tag at second base and the frenzied Cougars shortstop made a throwing error home, which allowed Borjas to score and Williams get to third.
 
After the Pack took an 8-1 lead, the Cougars began to try and chip away at their deficit. Colorado Christian scored a run in the bottom of the fifth and then again in the sixth. Rudolphi's line ended after six innings pitched, three earned runs and two strikeouts. 
 
CCU was able to bat for two doubles in the seventh inning and push across four runs to pull the game back to an 8-7 contest in favor of the ThunderWolves. 
 
Despite the sudden shift in momentum, CSU Pueblo was able once again click at the plate in the top of the eighth. Hennings kicked things off with a ground rule double to left. Vasquez was then able to bat home Hennings with a single to center. Shea soon carried on with his strong day with a double down the leftfield line that scored Lewis and Vasquez. 
 
Borjas capped off the inning with a sacrifice flyout to right that saw Shea score from third. CSU Pueblo took a 12-7 lead after the four-run offensive attack.
 
Edwing Corrales settled in on the mound and shut down the Cougars in the eighth. Williams was able to add a cherry to the top of the Pack's strong hitting performance with a solo home run to dead centerfield. The Pack soon went on to clinch the 13-8 game three victory over the Cougars.
 
Rudolphi earned his third win of the victory while Corrales was able to come on in relief and claim his first save of the season. 
 
Williams and Borjas each tallied a home run while Shea led the Pack with a 4-5 performance from the plate that featured four RBIs. Borjas finished game three 2-4 with three RBIs and Hennings was able to close out his night with a 3-5 performance at the plate. 
 
Following the strong 13-8 win Saturday night, CSU Pueblo looks to clinch a series victory Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Colorado Christian.