GOLDEN, Colo. - Colorado State University Pueblo baseball used a strong starting pitching performance from senior hurler Tyler Curtis (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Idaho) and 12 hits on offense to post a 13-4 win over Colorado School of Mines in the opener of a four-game Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference series here Friday afternoon at Jim Darden Field.

With the win, the ThunderWolves improve to 17-8 overall and 6-3 in the RMAC, while Mines fell to 11-12 overall and 4-5 in the league. 

Curtis, who improved to 5-1 on the season, allowed just three hits and just one run, which was a solo home run in the bottom of the first by Mason Andrews. Along with allowing just three hits and one run, he recorded six strikeouts and walked just one in seven innings of work. Curtis has walked just four batters in 44.1 innings of work this season and has now recorded 40 strikeouts. 

The Pack offense finished 19 hits, including hitting three home runs, all of which came in the ninth inning as the Pack sent 12 hitters to the plate in the inning and scored six runs. The home runs in the ninth were hit by sophomore centerfielder Jeremiah Sanchez (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo West), junior rightfielder Elijah Borjas (Denver, Colo./Lakewood) and junior third baseman Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest). 

Sanchex and Borjas each had three hits and combined for four runs scored and four RBI as Borjas finshed with three RBI and Sanchez had an RBI. In addition, junior shortstop Rob Mansour (La Verne, Calif./Cuesta College) also had three hits in the win. Howard, junior second baseman Kade Snodgrass (Derby, Kan./Neosho County CC) and junior designated hitter Joseph Quintana (Golden, Colo./Erskine College) each had two hits in the win. 

For the game, eight of the nine Pack starters had at least one hit as the only Pack starter that did not record a hit was the team's leading hitter, senior leftfielder Christian Castaneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC), as he was 0-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, which was his team-leading 41st of the season. The 0-for-4 day at the plate snapped Castanenda's six-game hitting streak.

The Pack jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second thanks to an RBI single by junior first baseman Brad Stone (Las Vegas, Nev./College of Southern Nevada) and an RBI single to left by Borjas. 

Mines would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the first on a one-out homer over the fence in left center by Andrews. 

The Pack scored two unearned runs in the top of the fourth thanks an error, two singles, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore catcher Cody Macias (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills). The other run came home on on an RBI single by Quintana. 

In the fifth inning, the Pack added another run thanks to two singles and an sacrifice bunt by Castaneda that brought home Snodgrass with the fifth run of the game to give the Pack a 5-1 lead and took a 7-1 lead in the sixth thanks an fielder's choice RBI grounder by Mansour and an RBI single by Snodgrass. 

Mines added its second run in eighth on a lead-off homer by Andrews off of senior relief pitcher Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland JC), who took over on the mound for Curtis. Perry pitched one inning and allowed one hit and one run, while striking out two and walking one. 

The Pack put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth as they sent 12 batters to the plate and scored six runs on seven hits and a Mines error. In the inning, Sanchez led off with a solo home run over the fence in right and after Castaneda reached on an error, two batters later, Borjas drilled a pitch over the left field wall for a 2-run homer to give the Pack an 10-1 lead. Howard then followed with a solo homer to give the Pack an 11-1 advantage. The Pack would add two more runs thanks to four consecutive singles.

Mines would get two runs in the ninth off senior reliever Dylan Weaver (Fruita. Colo./Highland CC) to cap the scoring. Weaver would toss one inning and allow two hits and two runs (one earned). 

The Orediggers finished with six hits in the game with Andrews collecting two of them on his two home runs. 

Luke Folsom (2-1) took the loss on the mound for Mines as he pitched five-plus innings and allowed nine hits and seven runs (five earned), while walking one and striking out six. 

Both teams committed three errors in the game, with two of the Pack's three errors coming in the ninth inning. 

The Pack left nine runners on base and the Orediggers stranded eight. 

The teams will continue the series with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 23 beginning at 12 p.m. The series will conclude with a single nine inning game on Sunday, March 24 beginning at 12 p.m.