PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo baseball team are set to play a pair of non-conference games on Tuesday and Wednesday against the NCAA Division I University of New Mexico Lobos at Santa Ana Star Field in Albuquerque, N.M.
The teams will open the two-game mid-week series with a 6 p.m. game on Tuesday, April 11, before playing a 2 p.m. game on Wednesday, April 12.
This week's two mid-week games will mark the first between the two schools since 1994 and the 28th and 29th all-time meetings in the series with New Mexico holding a 22-5 edge. The last time these two teams faced each other, New Mexico came away with a 12-8 win in Albuquerque on March 11, 1994.
The Pack come into the two games with UNM sporting a 12-23 overall record and have dropped nine straight games since earning a 5-2 win over Mines in the third game of their four-game Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference series on March 25. Since that loss, the Pack dropped the series finale to Mines, before being swept at MSU Denver and at home against then 19th-ranked Colorado Mesa in its last two conference match-ups. The Pack is 9-11 in the RMAC and is currently fifth in the league standings with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Following this week's two mid-week games at New Mexico, the Pack will remain on the road as they travel to Lakewood, Colo., this coming weekend (April 14-16) for a four-game RMAC series against Colorado Christian. The teams will open the series on Friday, April 14 with a 3 p.m. game, before playing a doubleheader on Saturday, April 15 beginning at 12 p.m. and then concluding the series with a single game on Sunday, April 16 starting at 12 p.m.
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
This week's two non-conference games at New Mexico having posted a 3-12 record in non-conference play with its most recent non-conference game being a 26-3 win at UCCS on March 21. The current nine-game losing skid for the Pack is its longest of the season as they opened the 2023 season losing its first seven games before earning a 3-1 win on Feb. 25 over MSU Billings.
Coming into this week's mid-week action, the Pack are hitting .317 as a team (372-for-1,173) with 242 runs scored, 77 doubles, 13 triples and 24 home runs. The Pack are averaging 6.9 runs per game on the year. The team also has a .466 slugging percentage and a .397 on-base percentage.
Senior first baseman
Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) continues to be one of the top hitters in NCAA Division II as he enters this week's action sporting a .426 batting average, which is seventh-best in the RMAC and 32nd nationally. Williams leads the team in hits (55), runs scored (38), doubles (14), walks (21), hit by pitches (9) and on-base percentage (.531) and is second in slugging percentage (.574) and stolen bases with eight.
In addition to Williams, who has had a hit in 31 of 35 games and has been on base in 34 of 35 games this season, junior designated hitter
Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) is hitting .372, but is tied for the team lead in home runs with 4 and is second in hits with 42 and has had 11 doubles, 24 RBI and leads the team in slugging percentage at .575.
Two other ThunderWolves have hit four home runs this season as along with Casteneda, junior catcher
Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC) and senior centerfielder
Noah Hennings (Draper, Utah/Southern Idaho) have also hit four homers, while Prewitt leads the team in RBI with 39 and has recorded 40 hits and 11 doubles. Hennings has had 42 hits, 10 doubles and two triples.
Seven Pack players have recorded 40 or more hits on the season, while six have scored 20 or more runs and four have hit 10 or more doubles.
On the mound, the Pack have a team ERA of 7.40, which is fourth-best in the RMAC. The Pack's pitchers have recorded 243 strikeouts and have walked 125 in 264.2 innings of work. Opposing hitters are batting .335 on the season against Pack pitching. The team's 1.94 strikeout-to-walk ratio is third-best in the RMAC, while their 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings are fourth-best in the RMAC.
Junior
Tyler Curtis (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Idaho) has been the team's top pitcher as he has a 3-2 record and a 4.29 ERA. In 56.2 innings, he has tossed a league-leading three complete games and has struck out 39 and walked just seven. His 5.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio is tops in the RMAC. In addition to Curtis, junior
Zach Pratt (Belton, Mo./Metropolitan CC) has a team-best 50 strikeouts in his 50 innings pitched and has recorded a 5.40 ERA in nine starts. The No. 3 starter this season for the Pack has been junior
Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland JC), who is 2-3 with a 4.78 ERA in seven appearances and six starts. Perry has pitched 32 innings and has recorded 37 strikeouts and has walked 17.
The top arms out of the bullpen so far this season for the Pack has been junior
Dylan Weaver (Fruita, Colo./Highland CC), sophomore
Travis Farrell (Las Vegas, Nev./Otero JC) and sophomore
Jacob Petersheim (Broadway, Va./Broadway). Those three pitchers have combined to make 32 appearances with Weaver having made a team-best 12, while Petersheim has made 11 and Farrell nine. Weaver is 2-3 with a 5.21 ERA and has tossed 19 innings and has recorded 17 strikeouts and walked 11, while Farrell has a 1-1 record and 5.89 ERA and in 18.1 innings, he has struck out 15 and walked 10 and Petersheim has an 0-2 record and an 8.84 ERA as in 18.1 innings, he has struck out 13 and walked six.
CSU Pueblo is one of the top defensive teams in the league as their .965 fielding percentage is fourth-best in the RMAC as they have committed 43 errors in 35 games and have turned 21 double plays, which is seventh in the RMAC. The Pack have struggled leaving runners on base they have stranded 276 runners in 35 games and are averaging 7.9 runners left on base per game this season.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO
The Lobos, who are a member of the Mountain West Conference, comes into this week's action sporting a 16-13 overall record and are 6-8 in conference play. The Lobos have lost two straight five of its last six games overall with the lone win being 16-8 decision at home against San Jose State in its MWC series opener on April 6.
As a team, UNM is hitting .333 (360-for-1,081) as they have scored 264 runs, hit 64 doubles, 15 triples, 41 home runs and have an on-base percentage of .411 and a slugging percentage of .534, which is 15th in the latest NCAA D-I statistics. The Lobos are averaging 9.1 runs per game, which is eighth-best in NCAA D-I baseball.
Leading the way offensively for the Lobos is senior Dylan Ditzenberger, who is one of the top hitters in NCAA D-I. He ranks in the Top 10 in Division I in hits per game (1.88), runs per game (1.54), batting average (.450) and has hit seven doubles, one triple, two home runs and has had 24 RBI, along with a .600 slugging percentage.
In addition to Ditzenberger, senior Braydon Runion is hitting .380 with 46 hits, 23 runs, nine doubles, two triples, four home runs and 28 RBI, while junior Reed Spenrath leads the team in home runs (9), RBI (32) and slugging percentage (.660).
On the season, eight UNM players have recorded 30 or more hits on the season, while eight players have scored 20 or more runs on the year.
The Lobos have recorded 120 extra-base hits on the year as they have rapped out 64 doubles, 15 triples and have hit 41 home runs as they are averaging 1.41 home runs per game.
The Lobos have also been strong on the mound this season as they have a 5.44 team ERA on the year as they have tossed 251.2 innings and have recorded 201 strikeouts and have walked 87. Their 3.11 walks per nine innings are 10th best in Division I and they have recorded a WHIP of 1.51.
Headlining the Lobos pitching staff is senior Tristin Lively. Lively has a 4-2 record and 3.00 ERA in eight starts. In 48 innings of work, he has recorded 48 strikeouts and 11 walks. In addition to Lively, junior Isaac Gallegos has posted a 4-1 record and a 3.18 ERA. In 39.2 innings of work, has recorded 35 strikeouts and walked 15, while senior Riley Eglofff is 5-2 with a 4.81 ERA. In a team-best 48.2 innings, he has recorded 42 strikeouts and walked 14.
Junior Brian McBroom is the top arm out of the bullpen for the Lobos as he has made a team-best 14 appearances and is 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA. In 25.1 innings of work, he has allowed 10 earned runs, while striking out 21 and walking just four. In addition, he has had three saves on the year.
In addition to McBroom, sophomore Justin Still has made 10 appearances and is 0-0 with a 6.97 ERA. In 10.1 innings, he has struck out 11 and walked 10, while junior Terrell Hudson is 1-1 with a 6.08 ERA. In 13.1 innings of work, he has struck out 10 and walked four.
UNM is coached by Tod Brown, who is in his second season at the helm of the Lobos baseball program after serving as the head coach at North Dakota State for 14 years (2008-21). In his time with the Lobos, he has compiled a 37-46 record and is 378-396 in his 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
