PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo Baseball will hit the road this weekend for an important four-game Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference series in Denver against MSU Denver.
The two teams will open the four-game series with a single game on Friday, March 31 at 3 p.m., before playing a doubleheader on Saturday, April 1 at 12 p.m. and then conclude the weekend with a single game at 12 p.m. on Sunday, April 2.
CSU Pueblo comes into the weekend sitting second place in the RMAC standings with a 9-3 record as the Pack are two games behind 18th-ranked Colorado Mesa, who is 11-1 in the league play and are two games in front of MSU Denver, who is 7-5 in the league after the first three weeks of RMAC play. Along with being 9-3 in RMAC games, the Pack has won eight of its last 10 games and 10 of its last 13 overall with two of the setbacks coming last weekend at home to Mines and the other loss coming in the third game of the UCCS series on March 11. The Pack have posted an 11-4 record in the month of March, after opening the season by dropping 10 of its first 11 games.
Since a 16-0 non-conference loss at home on March 5 to then 13th-ranked MSU Denver, the Pack have posted an 8-3 record with the losses coming at UCCS (12-4) on March 11 and last weekend at home to Mines (7-4 and 4-3 in eight innings).
The Pack and MSU Denver have met 95 times previously on the diamond in a series that began in 2008. The Pack holds a 54-41 all-time edge in the series, but they have lost three straight games and four their last five overall in the series, including that 16-0 setback earlier this season at home to the Roadrunners. The Pack holds a 44-27 record against the Roadrunners in RMAC games and is 36-15 at home, but trails the series, 24-17 in Denver.
Following this weekend's four-game RMAC series with MSU Denver, the Pack will return home to Rawlings Field to host nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa in a four-game RMAC series next weekend (April 6-8).
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
The Pack enters this weekend's action with MSU Denver sporting a 12-15 overall record and are in second place in the RMAC standings with a 9-3 record. The Pack have won eight of its last 10 games overall, including winning seven of its last nine league games with the lone losses coming at home last weekend to Mines as the Pack fell 7-4 in the second game of the series and dropped the series finale, 4-3 in eight innings on Sunday afternoon.
Coming into play this weekend, the Pack are hitting .330 as a team (306-for-928) with 210 runs scored, 70 doubles, 11 triples, 15 home runs. The .330 batting average is fourth-best in the league, while the 70 doubles are third-best in the league and the 11 triples are tops in the league and 12th nationally in Division II. The .418 on-base percentage and .478 slugging percentage and fourth and fifth-best in the league. In RMAC play, the Pack are hitting .364 as they have recorded 148 hits, scored 114 runs, hit 34 doubles, eight triples and eight home runs and have a slugging percentage of .545 and an on-base percentage of .438.
Two Pack hitters are hitting over .425 on the season as senior first baseman
Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) is hitting .475, which is second-best in the league and fifth nationally in Division II, while junior designated hitter
Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) is hitting .429, which is eighth-best in the RMAC. Williams and Casteneda have combined to record 84 hits, score 52 runs, hit 23 doubles, four home runs, record 46 RBI and a .656 slugging percentage.
Williams, who is currently in the midst of a 23-game hitting streak and a 69-game reached base streak dating to last season, leads the team in hits (48), runs scored (34), doubles (12), walks (18), stolen bases (8), on-base percentage (.578) and is second in RBI (24) and slugging percentage (.644). His on-base percentage is tops in the RMAC and third nationally and his eight hit-by-pitches are second in the league. In RMAC play, Williams is hitting .500 with 21 hits, 21 runs scored, three doubles, one home run, 14 RBI and is slugging .643 and had an on-base percentage of .607.
Seven Pack players have recorded at least 20 hits on the season and five have scored 20 or more runs and three have recorded 10 or more doubles in 27 games.
Casteneda and junior catcher
Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC) have provided the top power numbers this season for the Pack as they have each hit three home runs and have combined for 57 RBI with Prewitt leading the way with 35 RBI, which is fifth-best in the RMAC and Casteneda has had 22 RBI. Casteneda leads the team in slugging percentage at .667, while Prewitt has a .573 slugging percentage on the year. Casteneda is second in hits with 36 and Prewitt is third with 34 and those two have combined for 21 doubles as Casteneda has hit 11 and Prewitt has recorded 10.
Williams, Casteneda, Prewitt and senior centerfielder
Noah Hennings (Draper, Utah/Southern Idaho) have each had 10 or more multi-hit games on the season with Williams leading the way with 14, while Casteneda has had 13 and Prewitt and Hennings have each had 11. Prewitt has also had a team-best 12 multiple RBI games on the year.
Seven regulars in the Pack starting line-up are hitting over .300 on the season as along with Williams and Casteneda, Prewitt is hitting .354, while sophomore leftfielder
Elijah Borjas (Denver, Colo./Lakewood) is hitting .337 and Hennings is hitting .330. Sophomore third baseman
Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) is hitting .325 and freshman rightfielder
Jeremiah Sanchez (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo West) is hitting .320.
On the mound, the Pack have a team ERA of 7.16, which is the fourth-best in the RMAC. The Pack's pitchers have struck out 195 in 223.2 innings of work and opposing hitters a batting .321 on the season. The team's 2.10 strikeout-to-walk ratio is third-best in the RMAC, while their 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings are also fourth-best in the RMAC. In RMAC games, the Pack's team ERA is 5.53 as they have recorded 91 strikeouts and walked just 33 in 96 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 19 starts and toss a total of 108.1 innings. Curtis is 3-1 with a 3.91 ERA and has tossed a league-best three complete games and in 46 innings of work, he has struck out 31 and walked seven, while Perry is 2-1 with a 3.55 ERA and in 25.1 innings he has struck out 31 and walked 12 and Pratt is 2-1 with a 6.57 ERA, but he leads the team in strikeouts (38) and is second in innings pitched with 37.0. Pratt's 38 strikeouts are fourth-best in the RMAC. In RMAC play, those three pitchers are a combined 6-0 with a 5.10 ERA as they have tossed 55.2 innings and have recorded 56 strikeouts and have walked 14.
The fourth starter this season for the Pack has been both sophomore left-hander
Owen Rudolphi (Eureka, Mo./Eureka) and freshman
Luke Ruby (Fort Collins, Colo./Resurrection Christian). 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 as he has recorded 16 strikeouts and has walked seven, while Ruby is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and in nine innings and two starts, he has struck out six and walked one.
Leading the way for the Pack bullpen this season has been junior
Dylan Weaver (Fruita, Colo./Highland CC), sophomore
Travis Farrell (Las Vegas, Nev./Otero JC) and sophomore
Jacob Petersheim (Broadway, Va./Broadway) as those three have combined to make 26 appearances with Weaver and Petersheim each having made nine and Farrell has made eight. Weaver is 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA, while Farrell is 1-0 with a 4.58 ERA and Petersheim is 0-2 with an 8.79 ERA. Those three have combined to pitch 46 innings and record 39 strikeouts and 18 walks.
The Pack are also one of the top defensive teams in the RMAC as their .971 fielding percentage is second-best in the league as they have committed 28 errors in 27 games and have turned 17 double plays, which are fourth-best in the RMAC. CSU Pueblo has struggled with leaving runners on base as they have stranded 236 runners in 27 games and are averaging nearly nine runners left on base per game 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 39-41 overall record at his alma mater and is 26-18 in RMAC games.
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
MSU Denver comes into this weekend's play sporting a 22-8 overall record and a 7-5 mark in the RMAC. The Roadrunners have won six of its last seven games with the lone loss being a 14-13 loss in its series finale last Saturday at Regis. That loss snapped a six-game win streak for MSU Denver. Since picking up its 16-0 win at CSU Pueblo on March, MSU Denver has posted a 7-5 record with three of those losses coming in its series opener at Colorado Mesa.
The Roadrunners have one of the top offensive teams in Division II baseball this season as MSU Denver leads NCAA Division II baseball in batting average (.369), doubles (94), doubles per game (3.13), hits (399), home runs (57) and scoring as they average 11.5 runs per game. Additionally, MSU Denver is second nationally in slugging percentage (.625) and fourth nationally in on-base percentage (.467). The Roadrunners average nearly two home runs per game and are third in the RMAC in stolen bases with 43.
Leading the way offensively for MSU Denver is senior Tanner Garner, who is hitting an RMAC-leading .481 with a league-best 51 hits in 106 at-bats. Garner has scored 40 runs, hit 14 doubles, six home runs and has had 31 RBI. His .783 slugging percentage is fifth-best in the league, while his 11 stolen bases are fourth-best in the league.
In addition to Garner, sophomore Cam Yuran is hitting .436 with 48 hits, 47 runs scored, which is third-best in Division II and has had 13 doubles, hit eight home runs and has had 34 RBI. The eight home runs are fifth-best in the RMAC, while he has a .773 slugging percentage and a .552 on-base percentage are seventh and fifth-best in the RMAC.
Redshirt junior Jake Williams has hit 10 home runs and has had 45 RBI and has recorded 52 hits, has scored 42 runs and has had 10 doubles and a .767 slugging percentage. Williams' 10 homers are third-best in the RMAC.
As a team, MSU Denver has had 157 extra base hits on the year as along with its NCAA Division II-leading 94 doubles, the Roadrunners have hit six tripled and an NCAA D-II-best 57 home runs. They are also 43-for-47 on stolen bases and have walked 167 times and struck out just 162 times in 1,082 at-bats.
Six MSU Denver players have recorded 40 or more hits with three players having had 50 or more hits. In addition, five players have scored 40 or more runs and six players have recorded 10 or more doubles.
The MSU Denver pitching staff comes into the weekend with a team ERA of 6.65, which is third-best in the RMAC. The Roadrunner pitchers have recorded 241 strikeouts in 243.2 innings of work and have walked just 139. The team's 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings is second-best in the RMAC, while its 1.78 WHIP is fourth-best in the RMAC.
Headlining the MSU Denver pitching staff is junior Jack Slominski, who is 5-1 with a 4.14 ERA. He has made seven starts and has tossed one complete game and one shutout and in 37 innings of work, he has recorded 28 strikeouts and has walked 10. Opposing hitters are batting .243 against Slominski this season.
In addition to Slominski, junior Carson Brown is 2-1 with a 5.68 ERA and in seven starts and 25.1 innings of work, he has struck out 18, but walked a team-high 20, while junior Andrew Hayes is 5-1 with a 5.81 ERA. His five wins are tied for most in the league with Slominski and in 37 innings of work, he has recorded 38 strikeouts and has walked 11.
In the bullpen, senior Eric Cox has been nearly lights out as he has recorded an RMAC-leading six saves in 11 appearances on the mound and has allowed eight runs on 12 hits in 13.1 innings of work and has had 20 strikeouts and has walked five.
The Roadrunners are coached by Ryan Strain, who is in his sixth season at MSU Denver as the program's head coach. He has compiled a 148-101 overall record and is 94-60 in RMAC games at the Roadrunners coach. Last season, Strain led MSU Denver to a 35-22 overall record and an RMAC Tournament title and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program's history.
