PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo Baseball is scheduled to play three games this weekend as part of a pod of games against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools. All the games this weekend will count as non-conference contests.
The ThunderWolves open the weekend by hosting Colorado School of Mines on Friday, March 3 at 3 p.m. at Rawlings Field, before traveling to Denver, Colo., for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, March 4 at Regis University and then returning home to host 13th-ranked MSU Denver on Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m. at Rawlings Field.
CSU Pueblo, who is coached by
Bobby Applegate, has gotten off to a slow start this season as the Pack comes into this weekend's action sporting a 1-10 overall record, including dropping three of four games at home last weekend against West Texas A&M and MSU Billings.
The Pack opened last weekend's games with a 3-1 win over MSU Billings on Feb. 25, before falling 18-12 to West Texas A&M on Feb. 26. The Pack then suffered back-to-back setbacks to MSU Billings to close the weekend as the Yellowjackets won last Sunday's suspended game, 12-10 and then captured a 19-10 win in this past Monday's series finale.
Seven of CSU Pueblo's first 11 games this season have played at Rawlings Field as they opened the season with a two-game series against then 16th-ranked St. Edwards, before playing a non-conference game against UCCS on Valentine's Day. In between last weekend's four games and the three games to open the 2023 campaign, the Pack played a four-game series on Feb. 17-19 at San Francisco State.
The Pack's offense has had trouble with runners on base this season as they have left a total of 93 runners on base in 11 games and is hitting just .276 on the season as a team. Only four starters in the line-up are hitting over .300 on the year with senior first baseman
Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) leading the way with a .429 average, which is sixth-best in the RMAC.
Williams leads the team in at-bats (42), runs scored (8), hits (18), doubles (5), is tied for second in RBI (6) and has drawn a team-best eight walks and is 2-for-3 on stolen bases. He has had five multi-hit games on the year and is currently in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak and an 11-game reached base streak.
In addition to Williams, redshirt senior shortstop
Trey Vasquez (Greeley, Colo./Dodge City CC) is next with a .333 average as he has scored six runs, recorded 12 hits, hit three doubles and had had 6 RBI and is a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen bases.
The team's big run producer early in the season has been junior catcher
Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC) as he has a team-best 10 RBI and has hit one of the Pack's three home runs this season.
CSU Pueblo has scored just 53 runs in their first 11 games, but has scored 10 or more runs in three consecutive games, including tallying a season high 12 runs last Sunday against West Texas A&M.
The Pack have recorded 28 extra base hits as they have had 23 doubles, two triples and three home runs, of which two have been pinch hit home runs as sophomore
Brady Ingalls (Parker, Colo./Ponderosa) hit a 2-run pinch hit homer in the eighth inning against St. Edwards on Feb. 11 and freshman
Cody Macias (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills) drilled a 3-run pinch hit homer in the ninth inning of the series finale at San Francisco State.
Meanwhile, the Pack's pitching staff enters the weekend with an ERA of 8.55. CSU Pueblo's pitchers are allowing 9.3 runs per game on the season and have allowed 13 unearned runs thanks a defense that has committed 11 errors on the season. The Pack have been outscored 51-24 in innings 6-9 this season.
One strength of the Pack's pitchers this season is their ability to strike out hitters as they have recorded 77 strikeouts in 93.2 innings of work and have walked just 45.
The top two starting pitchers this season for the Pack have been junior
Tyler Curtis (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Idaho) and junior
Zach Pratt (Belton, Mo./Metropolitan CC). Curtis has an 0-1 record and a 4.50 ERA, but has tossed the team's lone complete game on the year. In 18 innings, Curtis has struck out 10, walked three and allowed 18 hits and 10 runs (nine earned), while Pratt is also 0-1 with a 4.80 ERA. In 15 innings of work, he has allowed 14 hits, 14 runs (eight earned) and has recorded a team-leading 15 strikeouts and has walked seven.
The Pack's lone pitching win has come from junior reliever
Dylan Weaver (Fruita, Colo./Highland CC) as he is 1-1 on the season with an 0.00 ERA. In four appearances and seven innings of work, Weaver has allowed six hits, four runs (no earned runs), while walking three and striking out four.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
Colorado School of Mines comes into the weekend sporting a 2-6 overall record, but the Orediggers have not played since concluding their season opening trip to Los Angeles, Calif., with an 18-5 win at Cal State-LA on Feb. 19. Mines was scheduled to play a doubleheader at Division I Northern Colorado on Feb. 21 but those two games were postponed.
Mines is hitting .263 as a team as graduate student outfielder Garrett Nielsen leads the way with a .417 average, while his brother, redshirt freshman outfielder Trent Nielsen, is hitting .400 on the year. The elder Nielsen brothers leads the Orediggers in home runs (2) and RBI (80) and is second in hits with 10 and is tied for the team lead in runs scored with eight. Redshirt freshman outfielder Jackson Woolwine is hitting .367 with a team-leading 11 hits, four doubles and four stolen bases.
The Orediggers have had 26 extra base hits on the season as they have recorded 23 doubles and three home runs and are 15-for-18 on stolen bases. They have also committed 12 errors in eight games.
On the mound, Mines pitchers have a combined 3.98 ERA on the season. In 63.1 innings, Mines' pitchers have collected 61 strikeouts and walked 20, while opposing hitters are hitting .289 on the year.
Mines' top starter this season has been graduate student Kevin Zapanta as he is 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA. In 11 innings of work, he has allowed 16 hits, eight runs (four earned), while walking two and fanning eight. In addition to Zapanta, junior Luke Folsom is 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA as he has tossed 11 innings and recorded six strikeouts and four walks, while redshirt junior Marcus Lee has made appearances in relief and has a 3.86 ERA and a 1-1 record with a save. In a team-best 11.2 innings, he has allowed 11 hits, five runs, all of which have been earned and has had eight strikeouts and two walks.
ABOUT REGIS
Regis, who plays at MSU Denver on Thursday and then hosts Colorado Christian at 11 a.m. on Saturday before playing the Pack, comes into this week's action sporting a 7-7 overall record and the Rangers have won two of its last three games with the lone loss being a 12-5 setback in the first game of is home doubleheader on Tuesday to University of Mary. Regis won the second game of the doubleheader, 8-7.
The Rangers are hitting .289 as a team on the season as they have three players in their line-up hitting over .360 on the year. Leading the way for Regis is senior infielder Matt Marlow, who is hitting .478 with 22 hits and 18 runs scored in 14 games and 46 at-bats. Marlow leads the team in hits (22), runs scored (18) and is tied for the team lead in RBI (12) and stolen bases (5).
In addition to Marlow, sophomore utility player Maxim Fullerton is hitting .400 and leads the team in doubles with four and has 10 RBI and is 4-for-4 on stolen bases, while sophomore infielder Vinnie LaGatta is hitting .368 with 14 hits and 16 runs scored and has a .510 on-base percentage.
The Rangers pitching has struggled at time this season as they have allowed 110 runs in 14 games and have compiled a team ERA of 7.91 on the year. Sophomore Mason Ashcraft is the team's top starter this year as he is 1-1 with a 6.08 ERA as he has tossed 13.1 innings and has recorded 14 strikeouts and has walked eight. Along with Ashcraft, junior left-hander Ethan Sloan has been the main pitcher out of the bullpen this year as he is 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA in six appearances and has had one save. Sloan has struck out 17 and walked eight in 10.2 innings this year.
ABOUT MSU DENVER
MSU Denver comes into this weekend's play sporting a 12-2 overall record and a No. 13 ranking in the latest NCBWA Division II poll. The ranking is the highest for the Roadrunners since the 2008 team reached No. 11. MSU Denver has won nine of its last 10 games overall with the lone loss being a 6-5 setback at Pittsburg State on Feb. 18. The Roadrunners other loss was 12-2 setback at Biola (Calif.) on Feb. 9.
The Roadrunners have one of the top offensive teams in Division II baseball early in the season as MSU Denver ranks first nationally in Division II in hits (191), second in runs scored (162) and doubles (47), third in home runs (25), sixth in batting average (.369), seventh in slugging percentage (.613) and ninth in on-base percentage (.471).
Leading the way offensively for MSU Denver is senior outfielder Tanner Garner, who is hitting .548 with 23 hits in 42 at-bats and he has scored 15 runs, hit three doubles, hit three home run and has had 14 RBI. Junior catcher/infielder Zach Schuler is the national leader in RBI with 28 and is tied for the national lead in doubles with 10 and is third in total bases with 52. Schuler is hitting .466 on the year as he has had 27 hits, scored 15 runs, hit five home runs and is slugging .897.
As a team, MSU Denver has had 74 extra base hits on the year as along with their 47 doubles and 25 home runs, they have hit two triples and are 19-for-20 on stolen bases and have drawn 86 walks and have struck out just 72 times in 517 at-bats.
The MSU Denver pitching staff comes into the weekend with a team ERA of 6.13, but the Roadrunner pitchers have recorded 132 strikeouts in 116 innings of work and have walked just 67.
Headlining the MSU Denver pitching staff is junior Jack Slominski, who is the reigning RMAC Pitcher of the Week. On the season, Slominski is 3-0 with a 4.57 ERA. He has made four starts and has tossed one complete game and in 21.2 innings of work, he has struck out 21 and walked six. In addition to Slominski, junior Andrew Hayes is 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA and in 18.1 innings, he has recorded 21 strikeouts and walked just six.
In the bullpen, senior Eric Cox has been nearly lights out as he has recorded an RMAC-leading three saves in five appearances on the mound and has allowed just one run on four hits and has had nine strikeouts and one walk in 5.1 innings of work.
UP NEXT
Following this weekend's three games, the Pack will open RMAC play next weekend (March 10-12) as they travel about 40 miles up I-25 for a four-game league series against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. The teams will open the four-game series with a single game on Friday, March 10 at 2 p.m., before playing a doubleheader on Saturday, March 11 beginning at 11 a.m. and then will conclude the series with a single game on Sunday, March 12 at 12 p.m.
