AUSTIN, Texas – The Colorado State University Pueblo baseball squad defeated St. Edward's in extra innings 12-11 on Friday afternoon to sweep the two-game series at Lucian-Hamilton Field in Austin, Texas, starting 2-0 for the first time since the 2020 season.

The ThunderWolves closed out the two-game series with 15 hits, including a 4-for-7 afternoon from junior center fielder Kade Snodgrass (Derby, Kan./Neosho County) as he scored the game-winning run in the 11th inning.

Junior first baseman Brad Stone (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Nevada) had a fine afternoon, reaching base five time, going 3-for-5 and driving in two runs. Junior left fielder Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) and sophomore right fielder Jeremiah Sanchez (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo West) each added two hits for the Pack. Casteneda's two hit were both solo home runs. Junior reliever Travis Farrell (Las Vegas, Nev./Otero JC) picked up the save for the Pack, striking out two batters in the bottom of the 11th.

With the loss, the Hilltoppers fell to 3-3 on the season as they could not hold off the Pack, despite leading 5-0 after the first inning and recording nine hits. The two wins for the Pack are extremely important despite St. Edwards being a member of the Lone Star Conference, as the Hilltoppers are in the South Central Region with CSU Pueblo.

The Pack fell behind early in the game as St. Edward's pulled out in front 5-0 after the first inning, but the Pack responded in the second and third innings, scoring two runs in each inning. Freshman catcher Jason Arriola (Riverside, Colo./Norco) drove in the first run of the game for the Pack, singling to center. Snodgrass followed up Arriola with a single to center himself in the second, rallying the comeback for CSU Pueblo.

Casteneda opened up the third inning with a solo home run to cut the Hilltoppers' lead to 5-3. Junior second baseman Joseph Quintana (Golden, Colo./Erskine College) singled in a run and the Pack all of a sudden were back in the down, only trailing 5-4 after three inning.

Snodgrass in the fourth inning hit a solo shot to tie the game 5-5, and the fifth inning Arriola had an RBI groundout to give the Pack their first lead of the game. Casteneda gave the Pack some insurance as he hit another home run in the sixth inning to give the Pack a 7-5 lead.

Things got wild in the seventh inning as Stone knocked in two runs on a double to right center and came around to score on a throwing error to give the ThunderWolves a 10-5 lead. St. Edward's answered in the seventh as Lance Little singled in a run. Davis Drewek got the Hilltopper faithful back into the game as he hit a grand slam off freshman pitcher Jack Novak (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Thunder Ridge) and all of a sudden the game was tied again.

Both teams grinded out the last couple of innings taking the game to extras. CSU Pueblo threw the first punch in extra innings as Stone hit a solo shot off Kevin Skweres, but the Hilltoppers answered in the bottom half of the 10th inning on an RBI single by Ty Murray.

Snodgrass scored the game-winning run for CSU Pueblo as he scored on a wild pitch in the 11th inning. Senior pitcher Nick Perry (Denton, Texas) picked up the save for the Pack as he struck out two batters to end the game.

UP NEXT FOR THE PACK
CSU Pueblo hosts UCCS for their home-opener next week on Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. at Rawlings Field in Pueblo. Fans can watch the game for free on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Network. It will be a non-conference game between the two RMAC teams.