PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo baseball snapped its four-game win streak here Monday afternoon as St. Cloud State scored seven runs over the final two innings to post an 11-9 come-from-behind victory over the ThunderWolves in a non-conference contest at Rawlings Field.

With the setback, the Pack, who moved up to No. 2 in this week's latest NCBWA South Regional poll, falls to 9-3 overall on the season, while St. Cloud State improves to 8-6. The 9-3 record is the best start to a season since 2015 team started the season 10-2.

In Monday's game that started at 11 a.m., the Pack offense recorded 13 hits and scored two runs apiece in the second, third, sixth and seventh innings, but their bullpen struggled in the late innings as SCSU finished with 14 hits on the day.

Junior rightfielder Elijah Borjas (Denver, Colo./Lakewood) continued his torrid hitting as he was 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, a home run and 3 RBI. Borjas, who hit for the cycle in Sunday's 26-8 home win over Colorado Christian, has now recorded a team-best six multiple hit games and is hitting .500 over his five games.

In addition to Borjas, junior third baseman Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest), senior designated hitter Edmund King (Imperial Beach, Calif./Southwestern) and junior shortstop Rob Mansour (La Verne, Calif./Cuesta College) also had two hits in the game.

The Huskies did manage to cool down the bat of senior leftfielder Christian Castenenda as the Pack's leading hitter on the season was just 1-for-4 in the game with a run scored. In this past weekend's three-game series against CCU, Casteneda hit .583 with four doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, a 2.355 OPS and a 1.667 slugging percentage.

The Pack got on the scoreboard first Monday's game as they used a walk, a bunt single, a sacrifice bunt and an sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore catcher Cody Macias (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills) for the first run and then added the second run on an RBI double by Mansour.

SCSU, though, responded with three runs in the top of the third off junior hurler Cameron Saso (McKinleyville, Calif./Folsom Lake), who started on the mound for the Pack, to take a 3-2 lead. The big hit in the inning was a 2-run double off the bat of Tyler Schiller.

The Pack would get two of those runs back in the bottom of the third to retake the lead, 4-3, thanks to a 2-run homer over the wall in left center by Borjas.

CSU Pueblo extended its lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an RBI single by Mansour. The Pack would eventually get runners on second and third thanks to a balk by Payton Van Beck, but Van Beck would leave those runners stranded after striking out junior first baseman Brad Stone (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Nevada) to end the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Pack used two hits and an SCSU error to post two runs and push its lead to 7-3. King led off the inning with a solo home run and junior second baseman Kade Sndograss (Derby, Kan./Neosho County CC) brought home the other run on a sacrifice fly.

SCSU pulled within 7-4 in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Mitchell Gumbko off freshman reliever Jack Novak (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Thunder Ridge).

The Pack added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh thanks to back-to-back doubles to open the frame by Stone and Borjas and then sophomore Jeremiah Sanchez (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo West) dropped down a squeeze bunt with a runner on third base and that bunt helped Borjas score from third.

Leading 9-4 heading into the eighth, the Pack turned the game over to junior southpaw Caden English (Broomfield, Colo.), who was the fourth pitcher of the game for the Pack. English, though, faced three batters and all three of them reached base, before English was replaced by senior Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland JC), who is the Pack's closer this season. Perry would allow a 3-run homer to Cal James, which was the first hitter he faced and then he would allow a double and back-to-back walks to load the bases. Following the two walks, Perry got a fly ball out to deep center off the bat of Ethan Navratil, but the ball that was caught by Sanchez at the wall was deep enough that two runs scored to tie the game.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Pack loaded the bases thanks to a hit batsman and intentional walks issued to both Casteneda and Borjas, but Sawyer Smith would keep the game tied as stuck out Howard on a 2-2 pitch to end the inning with the bases
loaded.

The Huskies got a 2-run homer by James in the top of the ninth off of junior hurler Jacob Petersheim (Broadway, Va./Broadway) to take an 11-9 lead.

Smith would then struck out the side in the Pack's half of the ninth to seal its victory.

Smith and James each recorded three hits for the Huskies, while James finished with 5 RBI on his two home runs. Noah Dehne and Garrett Bevacqua each added two hits and both players scored two runs in the game.

Petersheim (1-1), who was the sixth pitcher of the game for the Pack, took the loss as he allowed two hits and two runs. Saso pitched 4.2 innings in the start and allowed five hits and three runs, while walking four and fanning six. The Pack pitchers walked seven in the game and recorded eight strikeouts.

Smith (1-1) was the winning pitcher for SCSU as he tossed three innings and allowed just two hits and one run, while walking two and striking out four. SCSU walked just three Pack hitters in the game.

The Pack left eight runners on base and SCSU stranded 12. Both teams turned a double play in the contest.

CSU Pueblo will look to rebound this coming weekend as they play four games in three games in Billings, Mont., against MSU Billings. The teams will open the series with a single game on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 2:30 p.m., before playing a doubleheader on Friday, March 1 beginning at 1 p.m. and concluding the series with a single game on Saturday, March 2 at 12 p.m.