ALAMOSA, Colo. - The Colorado State University Pueblo opened a four-game Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference series here Friday afternoon with Adams State by posting a 23-2 seven inning run-ruled win over the Grizzlies at the ASU Baseball Field. 

With the win, the ThunderWolves improve to 17-25 overall and 13-12 in the league, while Adams State falls to 10-28 overall and 5-16 in the league. 

In Friday's series opener, the Pack finished with 20 hits, including tying a season high with seven doubles and recording a season high five home runs, including hitting tying an NCAA Division II record with two grand slams in an inning as the Pack hit two in the top of fifth inning. In the fifth, junior designated hitter Edmund King (Imperial Beach, Calif./Southwestern) gave the Pack a 16-1 lead on his grand slam and junior catcher Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC) made the score 21-1 on his grand slam.

All nine of the Pack's position starters recorded at least one hit in the win with King going 3-for-5 at the plate with a career-high 5 RBI, while Prewitt had two hits, scored three runs and had a career-high 6 RBI. The other Pack players with two hits included senior first baseman Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County), sophomore third baseman Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest), sophomore rightfielder Elijah Borjas (Denver, Colo./Lakewood) and senior centerfielder Noah Hennings (Draper, Utah/Southern Idaho). 

Casteneda scored four times in the game, while Howard, Prewitt and sophomore second baseman Kolton Miller (Parker, Colo./Ponderosa) each scored three times in the game. 

The Pack jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning as they sent 10 hitters to the plate and recorded four hits. The first run scored on a fielder's choice by junior leftfielder Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) and the next hitter, Prewitt followed with a 2-run double to right field to make it 3-0. After Hennings was hit by a pitch, King recorded an RBI single to left to give the Pack a 4-0 lead. Redshirt senior shortstop Trey Vasquez (Greeley, Colo./Dodge City CC) made it 5-0 on a his ground-rule double down the left field line and Miller capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to left center.  

ASU, though, would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the first on an RBI single to right center off the bat of Matt Bathauer to cut the Pack's led to 6-1. 

The Pack pushed its lead to 7-1 in the top of the second on a lead-off homer Howard. 

CSU Pueblo's lead grew to 11-1 in the top of the third inning thanks to a 2-run single by Williams and a two-run homer by Casteneda, who scored four runs on the day.   

Howard would give the Pack a 12-1 lead in the fourth on his RBI single up the middle. The single plated Miller, who had reached on a one-out single and then moved to third on a double by Williams. 

In the fifth inning, the Pack used four hits and two ASU errors to plate nine runs to push its lead to 21-1. King opened the scoring in the inning on a grand slam to left center, before Borjas made it 17-1 on his ground rule double to left center. Two batters later, Prewitt drilled a pitch from Ricardo Santiago down the right field line for a grand slam to push the Pack's lead to 21-1. The two grand slams in an inning tied an NCAA Division II record which has happened 11 times prior with the most recent occurrence coming on April 30, 2021 by Western Oregon in a game against MSU-Billings. 

The Grizzlies would add a second run off of Pack junior hurler Zach Pratt (Belton, Mo./Metropolitan CC) in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a sacrifice fly off the bat of Bathauer. 

In the sixth, the Pack added two more runs to its total thanks to pinch-hit 2-run homer by redshirt junior Cole Knightley (Solvang, Calif./Santa Ynez). 

Pratt (4-2) tossed a complete game as he allowed six hits and two runs, while walking one and tying a season high with eight strikeouts. The complete game was the first of the season for Pratt. Pratt has now recorded seven or more strikeouts in seven of his 11 starts this season. 

Joseph Raker had two of ASU's six hits in the run-ruled game. 

CJ Pino (0-4) took the loss for the Grizzlies as he retired just one of the six batters he faced in the first inning as he allowed four hits and six runs, while walking one and fanning none. 

For the game, the five ASU pitchers that saw action on the mound recorded 11 walks, with Howard, Casteneda, Hennings and Miller each walking twice in the game. 

CSU Pueblo left 11 runners on base and committed one error, while ASU stranded seven and they committed two errors in the game that lasted two-and-a-half hours.

The two teams will continue the four-game RMAC series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 22 beginning at 12 p.m.