PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo baseball closed out its four-game Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference series with Colorado School of Mines here Sunday by splitting a doubleheader at Rawlings Field.

The ThunderWolves opened Sunday's doubleheader with a come-from-behind 5-2 win after scoring five runs in the bottom of the sixth and then suffering a 4-3 loss in eight innings in the nightcap.

With the doubleheader split, the Pack moved its record to 12-15 overall and 9-3 in the RMAC, while Mines moved to 9-15 overall and 5-7 in the RMAC. The Pack are in second place in the league standings through the first three weeks of league play as they are two games behind 18th-ranked Colorado Mesa, who is 11-1 in league play and two games behind third-place MSU Denver, who is 7-5 in the league.

The Pack and MSU Denver play a key four-game RMAC series next weekend (March 31-April 2) in the Mile High City.

Game 1 | CSU Pueblo 5, Mines 2
In Sunday's opener, the Pack entered the bottom of the sixth trailing the Orediggers, 2-0 as their starting pitcher Ben Schoneman was cruising along as he had held the Pack to just two hits and no runs and had struck out six in his first five innings of work, but ran into trouble in the sixth.

Senior first baseman Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) led off the inning with a single to left center to extend his hit streak to 22 straight games. That hit was just the third for the Pack in the game and the first since a triple in the fourth by redshirt senior shortstop Trey Vasquez (Greeley, Colo./Dodge City CC). Following Williams' single, the next Pack hitters – senior centerfielder Noah Hennings (Draper, Utah/Southern Idaho) and junior catcher Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC) were hit by pitches to load the bases. Following Prewitt's hit by pitch, Schoneman was replaced on the mound by Jackson Bakovich. Bakovich would retire the first batter he faced as he forced junior designated hitter Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) to ground out to score Williams with the Pack's first run of the game. The next hitter, Vasquez, reached on a bunt single that scored Hennings to tie the game at 2-all.

With the score tied, the next Pack hitter, sophomore third baseman Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) laid down another, but on the play, Bakovich would commit a throwing error that allowed Prewitt to score the go-ahead run and make the score 3-2. After a double steal put runners on second and third, Bakovich uncorked a wild pitch that scored Vasquez to give the Pack a 4-2 lead. Junior Edmund King (Imperial Beach, Calif./Southwestern) would reach on a fielder's choice as a pinch hitter that scored Howard with the fifth run of the inning. Bakovich, though, would recover as he would retire the next two Pack hitters in order, but after the inning the Pack held a 5-2 lead.

In the top of the seventh, sophomore left-hander Frank Wierman (Surprise, Ariz./Shadow Creek) would retire Mines in order to seal his first win of the season as he improved to 1-1 on the year.
Vasquez had two of the Pack's four, including his second triple of the season in the fourth.

Mines would strike first in the opener as they used two hits, including an RBI single by Adam Houghtaling to take a 1-0 lead in the game.

The Orediggers extended its lead to 2-0 in the top of the sixth off of junior Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland JC), who started on the mound for the Pack. In the inning, I-Ly Huse was hit by a pitch with two outs, moved to third on a single by Ryan Vermeer and scored on an RBI single by Caden Bonds. Bonds' single chased Perry from the game.

Perry, who is the reigned RMAC Pitcher of the Week, tossed 5.2 innings and allowed seven hits and two runs, while walking three and striking out six in his 113-pitch outing.
Mines finished with seven hits in the game, including two hits apiece from Bonds and Houghtaling.

Schoneman (1-2) took the loss for Mines as he tossed five-plus innings and allowed three runs (two earned), while walking one and striking out six.

Mines left eight runners on the base, while the Pack stranded four and Mines turned the games lone double play.

Game 2 | Mines 4, CSU Pueblo 3 (8 inns.)
Much like the opening game on Sunday, the nightcap was very similar as Mines led 3-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. Prior to the sixth inning, the Pack offense had been held to just two hits and one run through five innings by Oredigger starter Alex Honeyman.

Honeyman came out the mound for the sixth with a lead, but left the mound at the end the inning with the game tied thanks to a one-out double by Williams to push his hit streak to 23 straight games and after Hennings flew out for the second out, Prewitt stepped to the plate and drilled a 1-0 pitch from Honeyman over the fence in left for a 2-run homer that tied the game at 3-all. The homer was the third of the season for Prewitt and pushed his season RBI total to 35, which is tops on the team.

After neither team could score in the seventh to force the Pack's first extra-inning game this season, Mines would score a run without a hit in the top of the eighth to take a 4-3 lead. In the inning, Danny McDermott drew a walk from redshirt junior hurler Edwing Corrales (Delicias, Mexico/Otero JC) to open the frame. McDermott would advance to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a ground out and scored on another wild pitch later in the inning by Corrales.

In the bottom of the eighth, Matthew Dobberthien would retire the Pack hitters in order to seal his first save of the season.

In the nightcap, the Pack finished with just four hits by four different players. As along with William Prewitt, the other hits came from Vasquez and sophomore catcher Brady Ingalls (Parker, Colo./Ponderosa).

Mines had eight hits in the nightcap with Garrett Nielsen and McDermott each recording two of those hits.

Freshman Luke Ruby (Fort Collins, Colo./Resurrection Christian) earned his second start of the season and this week in the nightcap and tossed five innings and allowed eight hits and two runs, while striking out two. Ruby also started the Pack's 26-3 non-conference win on Tuesday at UCCS. 

Corrales (0-1) took the loss for the Pack as he tossed 2.1 innings in relief and allowed no hits and one run, while walking three and striking out one.

Marcus Lee (2-1) earned the win in relief for Mines as he pitched a perfect 0.2 innings, while Dobberthien would strike out one of the three batters he faced in the seventh.

Mines committed two errors in the game and left eight runners on base, while the Pack turned a double play and stranded two runners on base.

The Pack will return to action next Friday, March, 31 as they travel up North on I-25 to Denver, Colo., to begin a four-game RMAC series against MSU Denver. First pitch for Friday's series opener is set for 3 p.m.