PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo Baseball closes out the regular season portion of its 2023 schedule here this weekend (May 4-6) as they host Regis for a four-game Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference series at Rawlings Field.
The series begins with the ThunderWolves annual "Pack the Park" game on Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m., before playing a doubleheader on Friday, May 5 starting at 2 p.m. and then concludes the series on Saturday, May 6 at 1 p.m. Prior to Saturday's game, the Pack will honor its eight seniors in a pregame ceremony.
This year's eight seniors that will be recognized are utility player
Zac Hanenberg (Cañon City, Colo./ Cañon City), centerfielder
Noah Hennings (Draper, Utah/Southern Idaho), pitcher
Cole Martin (Ridgecrest, Calif./Cerro Coso CC), pitcher
Nick Parisi (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo South), pitcher
Ruben Portillo (Thornton, Colo./Eastern Arizona CC), shortstop
Trey Vasquez (Greeley, Colo./Dodge City CC), pitcher
Charlie Williams (Bucyrus, Kan./Metropolitan CC) and first baseman
Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County).
The Pack come into this weekend's final regular season series of the season sporting an 18-28 overall record and are tied with Mines for fourth place in the RMAC standings with a 14-14 record. The Pack have already secured a spot in the 2023 RMAC Tournament, but now will look to improve its seeding in the six-team event that begins next Wednesday, May 10 in Grand Junction, Colo.
CSU Pueblo, who is coached by
Bobby Applegate, haven't played since suffering a 9-3 loss last Wednesday at NCAA Division I foe, Northern Colorado. In fact, since taking three of four games at Colorado Christian on April 15-16, the Pack have lost three of its last five games with those two wins in the series opener and series finale at Adams State.
The Pack and the Rangers have faced each other 85 times previously on the diamond with the Pack holding a 49-36 all-time lead in the series, including collecting an 11-4 earlier this season in Denver against the Rangers. In that game, the Pack got a strong pitching performance from junior
Tyler Curtis (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Idaho) and scored runs in six of the nine innings as the offense recorded 13 hits with the top four hitters in the line-up going a combined 10-for-20 with nine runs scored, 4 RBI, three walks and two stolen bases. CSU Pueblo has won three straight games in the series and leads 26-18 at home and 21-18 at Regis and is 39-32 in RMAC games against the Rangers.
Depending on the results this weekend, the Pack and Regis could play each other in the first round of the RMAC Tournament next Wednesday. Regis will finish no worse than fourth in the league standings no matter the results this weekend and they could potentially face the Pack again the tournament's opening round.
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
The Pack comes into this weekend's action hitting .331 as a team (520-1,570) with 353 runs scored, 118 doubles, an RMAC-leading 20 triples and 40 home runs. The Pack are averaging 7.7 runs per game and have recorded a slugging percentage of .509 and an on-base percentage of .412, both of which are fifth-best in the RMAC. The Pack has also stolen 63 bases, which is fourth-best in the league and are averaging 1.4 steals per game. In RMAC play, the Pack are hitting .347 as a team and have recorded 327 hits, scored 239 runs, hit 70 doubles, 14 triples and 32 home runs and have had 226 RBI. They have a .552 slugging percentage and a .422 on-base percentage and have stolen 41 bases in 52 attempts.
Williams continues to be one of the top hitters in Division II baseball as he enters the week sporting a .439 averaging, which is fourth-best in the RMAC and 15th nationally. Williams leads the team in hits (76), runs scored (52), doubles (19), on-base percentage (.531) and is second in slugging percentage (.531) and is third in stolen bases with eight. His .531 on-base percentage is second in the league and 19th nationally and his 76 hits are sixth-most in the RMAC and 24th nationally. His 55 career doubles are fourth-most among active Division II players. In RMAC play, Williams is hitting .433 with 45 hits hits, 38 runs scored, 10 doubles, one home run, 24 RBI and has an on-base percentage of .528 and a slugging percentage of .558.
In addition to Williams, junior designated hitter
Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) is second on the team in hitting with a .383 average. He is second on the team in both hits (59) and RBI (40) and leads the team with a .669 slugging percentage and home runs (9). He has also scored 36 runs, hit 15 doubles in 41 games and 154 at-bats. In RMAC play, he is hitting .371 with 39 hits, 23 runs, eight doubles, eight home runs and 34 RBI.
On the season, seven Pack players have recorded 49 or more hits and eight have scored at least 20 runs and five have hit 10 or more doubles in 46 games.
Casteneda, junior catcher
Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC), sophomore third baseman
Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) and sophomore rightfielder
Elijah Borjas (Denver, Colo./Lakewood) have provided the top power numbers in the Pack line-up as those three have combined to hit 26 home runs, record 171 RBI and a .575 slugging percentage. Casteneda leads the way with nine home runs, while Prewitt leads the team in RBI with 55 and has hit six home runs and has a .567 slugging percentage. Howard also has hit six home runs and had 39 RBI and Borjas has hit five home runs and has 37 RBI and 14 doubles.
Hennings is second in runs scored with 39 and has had 49 hits and is 9-for-11 on stolen bases, while Vasquez leads the team and RMAC in triples with five and has recorded 51 hits. Williams leads the team in multi-hit games with 24, while Casteneda has 19 and Howard has 18, while Prewitt has had 18 multiple RBI games and Borjas is next with 14 multiple RBI games.
On the mound, the Pack have a team ERA of 7.00, which is fourth-best in the RMAC. The Pack's pitchers have struck out 310 and walked just 167 in 375.1 innings of work. Opposing hitters are batting .331 against Pack pitching this season. The team's 1.86 strikeout-to-walk ratio is fourth-best in the league, while its 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings are fourth in the RMAC and its 1.84 WHIP is fifth-best in the RMAC. In RMAC play, the Pack's pitching staff has recorded a 6.24 ERA as a team and in 222 innings of work, they have tossed two complete games, one shutout, have four saves and have struck out 189 and walked 89.
Curtis has been the team's top pitcher this he has a 4-2 record and a 4.52 ERA. In a team-leading 67.2 innings of work, he has struck out 46 and walked just 10 as his 4.60 strikeout-to-walk ratio is tops in the league, while his three complete games are tied for the most in the league. Junior
Zach Pratt (Belton, Mo./Metropolitan CC) has a 4-2 record and a 5.03 ERA. In 62.2 innings of work, Pratt has recorded a team-leading 65 strikeouts and has walked 23. His 65 strikeouts are fourth-most in the league, while his 9.19 strikeouts per nine innings are also fourth-best in the league.
The team's No. 3 starter in league play has been junior
Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland CC). Perry is 2-5 with a 6.53 ERA as he has made 10 appearances and eight starts and in 41.1 innings of work, he has struck out 46 and walked 20.
The top arms out of the bullpen this season for the Pack have been junior
Dylan Weaver (Fruita, Colo./Highland CC), sophomore
Travis Farrell (Las Vegas, Nev./Otero JC), redshirt junior
Edwing Corrales (Delicias, Mexico/Otero JC) and Portillo. Those four have combined to make 54 appearances with Weaver having made a team-best 16.
Farrell is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA and had recorded 21 strikeouts and walked 19 in 31.2 innings and 13 appearances, including nine in relief, while Corrales is 1-2 with a 5.46 ERA as he has made 12 appearances and in 28 innings of work, has recorded a save and has struck out 19 and walked 18, while Portillo is 0-1 with a 5.87 ERA and in 15.1 innings and 13 appearances, he has two saves and has struck out 12 and walked eight and Weaver is 3-4 with a 6.17 ERA and in 23.1 innings, he has struck out 22 and walked 14.
Portillo and sophomore
Jacob Petersheim (Broadway, Va./Broadway) are tied for the team lead in saves with two.
The Pack are fourth in the league in fielding percentage at .966 as they have committed 55 errors in 46 games and have turned 34 double plays, which is second-most in the league. The Pack, though, have struggled leaving runners on base they have stranded 359 runners in 46 games and are averaging 7.8 runners left on base per game this season. In RMAC play, the Pack have a .961 fielding percentage and have committed 37 errors in 28 games and have turned 20 double plays and have left 202 runners on base.
SCOUTING REGIS
The Rangers come into their final RMAC series of the 2023 season sporting a 27-19 record and an 18-10 record in the RMAC. The Rangers are in third place in the league standings and can't finish any lower than fourth in the league despite the results from this coming weekend. Regis, though, does come into play this weekend reeling as they have lost three straight games as they dropped three of four games last weekend at home to Colorado Christian. That three game losing skid came after the Rangers had won 13 straight games as they swept league series against UCCS, Mines and New Mexico Highlands.
As a team, Regis is hitting .336 (505-for-1,503) as a team on the season as they have scored 425 runs, hit 106 doubles, 11 triples and 44 home runs. The Rangers have an on-base percentage of .433 and a slugging percentage of .509 and have stolen a league-leading 95 bases on 117 attempts. Regis is averaging 9.2 runs per game, which is third-best in the league.
Leading the way offensively for the Rangers is senior infielder Matt Marlow, who is hitting .453 on the season and leads the team in hits (77), runs scored (54), doubles (16), RBI (53) slugging percentage (.676), on-base percentage (.525) and is tied the team lead in home runs (6) and has hit two triples and is 14-for-18 on stolen bases. His batting average is second-best in the league, while his .525 on-base percentage is third-best in the league.
In addition to Marlow, redshirt senior infielder Colten Chase is hitting .355 with 55 hits, 45 runs scored, 12 doubles, a team-best three triples and a team-leading 16 stolen bases. Chase has a .529 slugging percentage and a .424 on-base percentage this season.
On the season, Regis has seven regulars in their line-up hitting over .300 and has seven players with 40 or more hits and five players with 40 or more runs scored. Six Rangers have hit 10 or more doubles and four have stolen 10 or more bases.
Regis has recorded 161 extra base hits as they have hit 106 doubles, 11 triples and 44 home runs and are averaging a league-best 2.1 stolen bases per game.
The Rangers' pitching staff has recorded an 8.09 ERA on the season as they have tossed 361.2 innings and have recorded four complete games, one shutout and have struck out 326 and walked 214. Their 8.1 strikeouts-per-nine innings is third-best in the league, while its 1.83 WHIP is fourth-best in the league.
Headlining the Regis pitching staff is freshman Ryan Garcia, who is 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA. He has made 12 appearances and nine starts and has tossed one complete game and in 54 innings of work, he has struck out 38 and walked 24. Opposing hitters are hitting just .269 against him on the year.
In addition to Garcia, sophomore Mason Ashcraft is 6-2 with a 6.68 ERA as he has made 11 starts and has tossed two complete games and has thrown a team-best 62 innings. In those 62 innings, he has struck out 53 and walked 22. His six wins are third-most in the league.
Sophomore Blake Shepardson has also made 11 starts this season and is 3-3 with an 8.66 ERA. He has one complete game and in 53 innings, he has struck out 47 and walked 31.
Leading the way out of the bullpen for the Rangers has been junior left-hander Ethan Sloan, who is 5-3 with a 6.39 ERA. Sloan leads the team in strikeouts with 55 and has walked 19 in 31 innings and has recorded three saves, which is tied for the most on the team. Sloan has also pitched in a team-best 20 games.
Drew LaComb is in the fourth season as the Rangers' head coach as the 2016 Regis graduate has compiled an 83-72 mark in his four seasons. He earned RMAC Coach of the Year honors in 2022 after leading Regis to a program-best second place finish in the RMAC standings. As a player at Regis from 2014-16, LaComb recorded a career batting average of .361, which ranks 18th all-time in the program's history.
