PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo Baseball will look to remain in first place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings this weekend (March 24-25) as the ThunderWolves host a four-game RMAC series against Colorado School of Mines at Rawlings Field.

The two teams will open the four-game series with a single game on Friday. March 24 beginning at 2 p.m., before playing a doubleheader on Saturday, March 25 beginning at 12 p.m. and concluding the series with a single game on Sunday, March 25 at 12 p.m. 

CSU Pueblo comes into the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the RMAC as the Pack have opened league play with a 7-1 record and have won six straight games since a 12-4 loss at UCCS on March 11. The Pack opened league play two weeks ago by taking three of four games at UCCS and then swept a four-game series at home last weekend against New Mexico Highlands. The current six-game win streak is tied for the seventh longest current streak in Division II baseball.

Since a 10-6 loss to Mines at home on March 3 during the RMAC pod weekend series, the Pack has posted a 9-2 record with the losses coming at home to then 13th-ranked MSU Denver and at UCCS. The Pack extended its win streak to six straight with a 26-3 non-conference win on Tuesday at UCCS.

CSU Pueblo and Mines have met 83 times previously on the diamond in a series that began in 2007. The Pack hold a 48-35 all-time advantage in the series, but has lost two of its last three outings to the Orediggers, including a 10-6 loss at home earlier this season. The Pack have won the last two RMAC series against the Orediggers, including picking up a 7-5 win in last year's series finale at Rawlings Field. Matt Shea's walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth sealed the win. Shea's homer followed an RBI triple by redshirt senior shortstop Trey Vasquez (Greeley, Colo./Dodge City CC) that tied the game at 5-all.

Following this weekend's four-game RMAC series with Mines, the Pack will hit the road for a four-game RMAC series next weekend (March 31-April 2) in Denver, Colo., against MSU Denver.

ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
The Pack enter this weekend's action with Mines sporting a 10-13 overall record and are tied for first place in the RMAC standings with a 7-1 record. The Pack have won nine of its last 11 games overall and have reeled off five straight in league play since a 12-4 loss in the second game of a doubleheader at UCCS on March 11.

Coming into play this weekend, the Pack are hitting .346 as a team (280-for-809) with 190 runs scored, 67 doubles, nine triples and 14 home runs. The .346 batting average, 280 hits, 67 doubles are second-best in the league, while the team's .432 on-base percentage is third-best in the league and 22nd nationally in Division II. The .346 average and 67 doubles are fourth nationally in Division II, while the Pack lead the league and in the Top 20 nationally in triples with nine. In RMAC play, the Pack are hitting .420 as they have recorded 121 hits, scored 94 runs, hit 31 doubles, six triples and seven home runs and have a slugging percentage of .642 and an on-base percentage of .487.

Senior first baseman Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) has become one of the top hitters in Division II this season as he is second nationally in batting average (.500) and leads all Division II players in on-base percentage (.607). Williams is 43-for-86 hitting this season and is currently in the midst of a 19-game hitting streak and a 23-game reached base streak. Williams leads the team in hits (43), runs scored (31), walks (18), hit by pitches (7), doubles (11), stolen bases (8) and is second in RBI with 22. In RMAC play, Williams is hitting .593 with 16 hits, 18 runs scored, two doubles, one home run, 12 RBI and is slugging .778 and has an on-base percentage of .700.

Williams is one of three Pack players this season to have scored 20 or more runs and is one of four players with 30 or more hits. In fact, 10 players have recorded at least 10 hits this season and nine players have scored at least 10 runs in 23 games.

Junior designated hitter Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) has provided the top power numbers this season for the Pack as he has hit three home runs and his .704 slugging percentage is tops on the team, along with a .451 batting average, which is fifth-best in the RMAC. Casteneda enters this weekend currently in the midst of a 14 game hitting streak. Three other Pack players have hit two home runs this season – senior centerfielder Noah Hennings (Draper, Utah/Southern Idaho), junior catcher Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC) and sophomore outfielder Elijah Borjas (Denver, Colo./Lakewood). Prewitt leads the team in RBI with 33, while Hennings is second in hits with 33 and runs scored with 24.

Williams, Casteneda, Hennings and Prewitt have each recorded 10 or more multi-hit games on the season with Williams leading the way with 13, while Casteneda and Hennings have had 11 and Prewitt has had 10.

Seven regulars in the Pack line-up are hitting over .300 on the season as along with Williams and Casteneda, Prewitt is hitting .381, while Hennings is hitting .375, Borjas is hitting .368, freshman rightfielder Jeremiah Sanchez (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo West) is hitting .341 and sophomore third baseman Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) is hitting .329.

On the mound, the Pack have a team ERA of 7.60, which is the fourth-best in the RMAC. The Pack's pitchers have struck out 162 in 190.2 innings of work and opposing hitters a batting .328 on the season. The team's 1.98 strikeout-to-walk ratio is third-best in the RMAC, while their 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings is fourth-best in the RMAC. In RMAC games, the Pack's team ERA is 6.00 as they have recorded 58 strikeouts and walked just 22 in 63 innings of work.

The Pack's top three starters this season have been juniors Tyler Curtis (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Idaho), Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland JC) and Zach Pratt (Belton, Mo./Metropolitan CC). Those three have combined to make 15 starts and toss a total of 90 innings. Curtis is 3-1 with a 3.69 ERA and has tossed a league-best three complete games and in 39 innings of work, he has struck out 24 and walked six, while Perry is 2-1 with a 3.66 ERA and in 19.2 innings he has struck out 25 and walked nine and Pratt is 1-1 with a 6.61 ERA, but he leads the team in strikeouts (31) and is second in innings pitched with 31.1.

In RMAC play, those three pitchers are a combined 5-0 with a 5.21 ERA as they have tossed 37.1 innings and have recorded 36 strikeouts and have walked eight.

Perry was named this week's RMAC Pitcher of the Week after tossing seven shutout innings in this past Sunday's series finale against New Mexico Highlands. Perry combined with two other pitchers to record the first shutout of the season for the Pack.

The fourth starter this season for the Pack has been sophomore left-hander Owen Rudolphi (Eureka, Mo./Eureka). Rudolphi is 0-3 with a 15.34 ERA as he has made six appearances and four starts on the season and in 14.2 innings, he has recorded 16 strikeouts and has walked seven.

Leading the way for the Pack bullpen this season has been junior Dylan Weaver (Fruita, Colo./Highland CC) and sophomore Jacob Petersheim (Broadway, Va./Broadway) as each of them have made eight appearances each. Weaver is 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA, while Petersheim is 0-1 with two saves and 8.03 ERA. Weaver and Petersheim have combined to pitch 25.2 innings and record 21 strikeouts and walk nine.

The Pack are also one of the top defensive teams in the RMAC as their .970 fielding percentage is third-best in the league as they have committed just 25 errors in 23 games and have turned 16 double plays, which is fourth-best in the league. CSU Pueblo has also struggled with leaving runners on base as they have stranded 206 runners in 23 games and are averaging nearly nine runners left on base on the year.

Leading the Pack this season is Bobby Applegate, who is in his second season as the program's head coach. Applegate, who was the Colorado Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1995 playing for at the time University of Southern Colorado, has compiled a 37-39 overall record at his alma mater and is 24-16 in RMAC games.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
The Orediggers enter this weekend's series against the Pack sporting a 7-13 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the RMAC. Mines has lost five straight games, including getting swept in a four-game RMAC series last weekend at then 24th-ranked Colorado Mesa, who is tied with the Pack for first place in the league standings. The Orediggers, who started the season by winning just one of its first seven games, opened league play by taking three of four games at Colorado Christian.

Statistically, the Orediggers are hitting .299 as a team (194-for-649) with 145 runs scored, 48 doubles, four triples and 24 home runs. The 24 home runs are fourth-best in the RMAC, while their .496 team slugging percentage is fifth-best in the RMAC.

The leading hitter for Mines is redshirt freshman outfielder Trent Nielsen as he is eighth in the league in batting average at .429 and has a slugging percentage of .837, which is third-best in the league. His older brother, Garret, who is a transfer from San Jose State, is the team's leader in hits (28), doubles (8), home runs (6) and RBI (29) and is second in runs scored with 19. He is also 5-for-6 on stolen bases and has a .750 slugging percentage and a .389 batting average.

Redshirt freshman outfielder Jackson Woolwine is also hitting over .375 on the season as he is hitting .378 and has had 28 hits, scored a team-leading 21 runs and is 5-for-8 on stolen bases.
Six regulars in the Mines' line-up are hitting over .300 on the year, while seven different players have recorded 10 or more hits and eight have scored 10 or more runs. In addition, Mines has stolen 26 bases, which is fifth in the league.

While the Orediggers are near the bottom in hitting in terms of batting average, Mines is one of the top pitching teams in the RMAC as they enter the weekend with a team ERA of 6.71, which is third-best in the league. On the season, Mines' pitchers lead the RMAC in both strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.52) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.84) and are third in the league in WHIP (1.70). In 158.1 innings, Mines' pitchers have recorded 126 strikeouts and have walked just 50.

The team's top starter this season have been graduate student Kevin Zapanta, who is 1-2 with a 4.72 ERA. In 26.2 innings of work, he has struck out 30 and walked nine. Redshirt junior Ben Schoneman is 1-1 with a 6.38 ERA and in 18.1 innings, he has struck out 12 and walked six, while junior Luke Folsom is 1-3 with an 8.64 ERA as is 25 innings of work, he has stuck out 22 and walked six.

Mines' bullpen has been led by redshirt senior Blake Ripp and redshirt junior Marcus Lee. Ripp is 2-1 on the season with a 2.71 ERA in a team-leading eight relief appearances. Ripp has tossed 16.2 innings and has struck out 13 and walked two, while Lee is 1-1 with a 3.66 ERA in six appearances and in 19.2 innings, he has struck out 13 and walked just three. Opposing hitters are hitting just .260 against Lee.

The Orediggers are coached by Robby Bales, who is in his sixth season at Mines as the program's head coach and eighth season overall with the program. In his six years at Mines, he has compiled a 102-73 overall record and a 61-49 mark in RMAC games. He has coached 14 All-RMAC players, 14 All-Region players, three All-Americans, six CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and one MLB Draft pick.