PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo baseball team recorded its second straight series win in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play here Sunday afternoon as the ThunderWolves recorded a 10-0 shutout victory over New Mexico Highlands in Sunday's series finale at Rawlings Field.
With the win, the Pack improve to 9-13 overall and 7-1 in the RMAC, while New Mexico Highlands falls to 1-21 overall and 0-4 in the league.
The four-game sweep over the Cowboys followed the Pack taking three out of four games last weekend in its first RMAC series of the season at UCCS.
In Sunday's finale, the Pack offense recorded 10 hits, including a 3-for-4 effort at the plate from sophomore leftfielder
Elijah Borjas (Denver, Colo./Lakewood) and two hits each from senior first baseman
Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County), junior catcher
Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC), junior designated hitter
Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) and redshirt senior shortstop
Trey Vasquez (Greeley, Colo./Dodge City CC).
Along with getting double-digit hits for the sixth time in eight RMAC games, the Pack also got seven strong innings on the mound from junior hurler
Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland JC) as he allowed four hits, while walking three and fanning seven to record the first shutout of the season for CSU Pueblo. Junior
Dylan Weaver (Fruita, Colo./Highland CC) and redshirt junior
Edwing Corrales (Delicias, Mexico/Otero JC) would allowed just one runner over the final two innings to complete the shutout.
The Pack would strike first in Sunday's finale in the bottom of the first as Williams drew a walk to lead off the inning, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI double to left by Prewitt to give the Paxk a 1-0 lead.
Highlands, who has now lost 17 straight games this season, put two runners on base in the top of the third thanks to a walk and bunt single, but Perry struck out Taiga Sato to end the inning.
The Pack added two more runs in the fifth thanks to an RBI double by Borjas and fielding error by Sato at third base. Those two runs gave the Pack a 3-0 lead.
The lead grew to 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth as Vasquez hit a solo home run over the fence in left and a second run scored on an RBI single to left by Borjas.
In the seventh, Highlands put two runners on base with one out thanks to a single by Hunter Waugh and a double by Antonio Leger, but Perry would get out of the jam by striking out Joseph Romeo for the second out and then ending the inning by forcing Roy Pacheco to ground out.
The Pack extended its lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the seventh thanks to singles from Williams, senior centerfielder
Noah Hennings (Draper, Utah/Southern Idaho) and Casteneda with the latter single scoring Williams. The single by Williams extended his hit streak to 18 consecutive games.
CSU Pueblo would add four more runs in the bottom of the eighth to extend their lead to 10-0. In the inning, the Pack had four hits and scored a run on an error by Cowboys. The RBI hits in the inning came from Williams, Prewitt and Casteneda.
Corrales would complete the shutout by retiring the Cowboys in order in the top of the ninth to end the game.
Highlands had just four hits in the game from four different players.
Christian Hernandez (0-1) took the loss for the Cowboys as he tossed 5.1 innings and allowed five hits and five runs (four earned), while walking one and striking out four. Hunter Van Curler pitched the final 2.2 innings and allowed eight hits and five runs (four earned), while striking out four and walking none.
The Cowboys had three errors in the game, all of which were committed by Sato.
CSU Pueblo turned two double plays, stole three bases and left eight runners on base. Highlands stranded six runners on base.
The Pack will return to action this coming Tuesday, March 21 as they travel to UCCS for a 3 p.m. non-conference game in Colorado Springs, Colo., before returning home next weekend (March 24-26) to host Colorado School of Mines for a four-game RMSC series at Rawlings Field. The teams will open the series with a single game on Friday, March 24 at 2 p.m., before hosting a doubleheader on Saturday, March 25 beginning at 12 p.m. and then will conclude the series with a single game on Sunday, March 26 at 12 p.m.
