PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo baseball team completed its three-game weekend Pod against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams here Sunday afternoon as the ThunderWolves were shutout 16-0 by 13th-ranked MSU Denver at Rawlings Field.

With the setback, the Pack falls to 2-12 on the season, while MSU Denver improved to 15-3 and recorded its second shutout of the 2023 season. The Pack went 1-2 on the weekend as along with Sunday's setback to MSU Denver, they suffered a hard-fought 10-6 loss at home on Friday to Colorado School of Mines, before collecting an 11-4 win on Saturday at Regis. 

CSU Pueblo was held scoreless for the first time in 87 games dating to the 2021 season as the last time the Pack were held without a run came at MSU Denver on March 27, 2021. In that game, the Roadrunners defeated the Pack, 13-0.

In Sunday's game, the Pack recorded five hits, including senior first baseman Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) extending his hitting streak to 10 games and his reached base streak to 14 consecutive games after recording a lead-off single in the bottom of the first inning. Williams has now recorded at least one hit in 13 of CSU Pueblo's 14 games.

In addition to Williams, redshirt senior shortstop Trey Vasquez (Greeley, Colo./Dodge City CC) extended his hit streak to nine straight games following his double in the eighth inning, while the other hits by the Pack were recorded by senior rightfielder Noah Hennings (Draper, Utah/Southern Idaho), junior designated hitter Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) and sophomore third baseman Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest).

Sophomore Owen Rudolphi (Eureka, Mo./Eureka) got off to a strong start on the mound in his second start of the season as he allowed just five hits and one run through the first three innings, including recording three strikeouts in the third inning, before running into trouble in the fourth as MSU Denver scored 11 runs in the fourth to take a 12-0 lead in the game.

For the game, Rudolphi (0-2) pitched 3.2 innings and allowed nine hits and seven runs, while walking two and fanning four.

The Roadrunners got on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning as Tanner Garner led off with a double and after Colin Stone was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base and then scored the first run of the game on a single by Zach Paschke.

In the fourth, MSU Denver sent 16 hitters to the plate and scored 11 runs on seven hits and a fielding error by Vasquez to push its lead to 12-0. Cam Yuran brought home four runs on his grand slam over the wall in right, while Cody Schultz had three RBI in the inning and Caleb Albaugh drove home two runs in a single to right. Junior Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland JC), who was the fourth pitcher of the inning for the Pack, would end the inning by recording back-to-back strikeouts on Albaugh and Ross Smith.

Perry would toss 4.2 innings in relief and record seven strikeouts and walk just two, while allowing three hits and three runs.

CSU Pueblo had a scoring chance in the bottom of the sixth as Casteneda and Howard reached on back-to-back singles with two outs, but MSU Denver starting pitcher Jack Slominski (4-0) would get out the jam by inducing a fielder's choice grounder by Sanchez.

The Roadrunners added three more runs in the seventh on a 3-run homer by Yuran off of Perry to push its lead to 15-0. Yuran finished the game 2-for-5 with two runs scored and 7 RBI.

The Pack would load the bases in the bottom of the seventh thanks to three walks in the inning issued by two different MSU Denver relief pitchers. With the bases loaded on one out, Brad Helton would get out of the jam by forcing Hennings to pop up to first base for the second out and then he struck out junior catcher Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC) to end the inning.

For the game, CSU Pueblo left 11 runners on base and has now stranded a total of 128 base runners in 14 games. The Pack is averaging 9.1 runners left on base per game this season.

In the ninth, MSU Denver added another run on a pinch hit homer off the bat of Mason Sauter to make the score 16-0. Sauter was pinch hitting for Yuran.

The Pack would put a runner on third in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a back-to-back walks issued to redshirt junior pinch hitter Cole Knightley (Solvang, Calif./Santa Ynez) and junior second baseman Joseph Quintana (Golden, Colo./Erskine) and double play ground ball, before Gavin Kaiser, the fifth pitcher of the game for the Roadrunners ended the game on a fly out off the bat of freshman pinch hitter Ty Thurman (Buckeye, Ariz./Liberty).

Garner paced MSU Denver with three hits as the Roadrunners finished with 16 hits in the game. In addition to Garner and Yuran, Schultz and Albaugh each had two hits, while Smith had three hits.'

Slominski pitched six scoreless innings as he allowed four hits, walked one and struck out two. The other four pitchers for the Roadrunners tossed three scoreless innings, but allowed one hit, walked five and struck out three.

Both teams stole two bases in the game and MSU Denver turned a double play and left eight runners on base in the win.

The Pack will return to action next weekend (March 10-12) as they open RMAC play with a four-game series in Colorado Springs, Colo., against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. The teams will open the series with a single game at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 10, before playing a doubleheader on Saturday, March 11 beginning at 11 a.m. and then concluding the series with a single game on Sunday, March 12 beginning at 12 p.m.