PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo Baseball concludes an eight-game home homestand this weekend at Rawlings Field with a four-game non-conference series against Northwest Nazarene University.
 
The two teams open the weekend series with a single nine-inning game on Thursday, Feb. 13, beginning at 2 p.m., before playing a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 14, at noon, and conclude the series with a single game at noon on Saturday, Feb. 15.
 
CSU Pueblo comes into the weekend sporting a 4-4 overall record after opening its homestand last weekend by dropping three of four games to MSU Billings. The Pack opened the 2025 season with three wins in four games in Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 31-Feb. 2.
 
Last weekend, the Pack fell 16-13 in the opening game of the series last Thursday, before getting a complete-game five-hit shutout from senior hurler Travis Farrell (Las Vegas, Nev./Otero JC) to earn a 4-0 win in last Friday's first game of a doubleheader, before falling 6-4 in the second game of the doubleheader and then suffering an 11-7 loss in the series finale last Saturday.
 
The Pack and Northwest Nazarene have met four times on the diamond, winning all four games in Rawlings Field during the 2018 season, including collecting an 11-7 win in the series finale on Feb. 17, 2018, over the Nighthawks.
 
Following this weekend's four-game non-conference series at home with Northwest Nazarene, the Pack will hit the road for games next weekend at the Drury University Baseball Classic in Springfield, Mo.
 
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
The Pack enters this weekend's action having lost four of its last games after opening the season with three straight wins against Wayne State (Neb.), 10-9, Mary (N.D.), 9-7 and Mary (N.D.), 15-5 in seven innings. Along with the three losses last weekend to MSU Billings, the Pack's other loss is an 8-7 defeat in 10 innings against Wayne State (Neb.) to conclude play in the season opening event in Tucson, Ariz.
 
Coming into play this weekend, the Pack is one of the top offensive teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as they are fourth in the league in hitting with a .304 batting average and are second in scoring as they are averaging 8.5 runs per game and have scored double-digit run in three games and are third in on-base percentage (.427) and fourth in slugging percentage (.465) and leads the league in stolen bases with 18 as they are 18-for-26 on stolen bases. The Pack is also third in the league in hits with 79 and leads the league in doubles (22), second in triples (4) and second in RBI (65).
 
Leading the way offensively for the Pack is senior infielder Christian Castaneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) as he is hitting .393 and leads the team in hits (11), runs scored (9) and is second in RBI (8) and has drawn five walks and hit a home run. He has a slugging percentage of .607 and an on-base percentage of .500 and had hit safely in all eight games this season.
 
In addition to Castaneda, senior infielder Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest), who was named this week's RMAC Hitter of the Week, is hitting .348 and has recorded eight hits, scored five runs, hit a team-leading four doubles and has also hit a team-best two home runs and has had 6 RBI and a .783 slugging percentage, which is sixth in the RMAC.
 
A third Pack player, senior infielder Rob Mansour (La Verne, Calif./Cuesta College) is also hitting over .300 on the season as he enters the weekend hitting .346 as he is second on the team in hits (9) and is third on the team in runs (7) and leads the team in walks with 10 and is a perfect 3-for-3 on stolen bases.
 
Seven Pack players have recorded at least six, and five players have scored six or more runs. The Pack has recorded 30 extra-base hits on the season as they lead the league in doubles with 22 and are second in triples with four and have hit four home runs.

Freshman outfielder Noah Williams (Carson, Calif./Redondo Union) leads the Pack and is tied for the RMAC lead in stolen bases with six as he is 6-for-8 on the season.
 
On the mound, the Pack is fourth in the RMAC in ERA with 7.15. The Pack pitchers have recorded 59 strikeouts in 66.2 innings of work and opposing hitters are hitting .331 on the season. The Pack has a 1.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has a 7.97 strikeouts per nine innings average.
 
Headlining the Pack pitching staff is Farrell, who was named this week's RMAC Pitcher of the Week, has tossed back-to-back quality starts as he is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA. In his two starts, he has tossed 12.1 innings and allowed 10 hits, four runs (three earned runs), while walking one and striking out 11. His 11 strikeouts are third-most in the league and he has tossed the league's only complete game of the season. Opposing hitters are batting just .227 against the left-hander this season.
 
In addition to Farrell, the Pack's No. 2 starter this season has been fifth-year senior Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland JC) as he is 0-0 with an 8.10 ERA. In 6.2 innings, he has allowed 17 hits and seven runs (six runs), while striking out six and walking three.
 
The other two starters this season for the Pack have been junior Dominic Corgiat (Brookfield, Ill./Tarleton State) and junior Jake Olguin-Pacheco (Denver, Colo./Horizon). Those two have combined to pitch 14.2 innings and have recorded 13 strikeouts and walked 14 batters.
 
The top arms out of the bullpen for the Pack in the early going this season have been sophomore Jack Novak (Highlands Ranch/Thunder Ridge) and junior Alex Oliver (Grove, Okla./Coffeyville CC). Novak is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA as he has tossed 6.0 innings and has struck out two and walked six, while Oliver is 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA and has tallied five strikeouts, two walks and has posted the team's lone save. Those two have combined to make six appearances.
 
The Pack comes into the weekend with a .972 fielding percentage as they have committed eight errors in eight games and have turned an RMAC-best 10 double plays. The Pack, though, have struggled with runners on base this season as they have stranded 70 runners in eight games and are averaging 8.8 runners left on the base per game games this season.
 
Leading the Pack once again this season is Bobby Applegate, who is in his fourth season as the program's head coach. Applegate, who was the Colorado Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1995 playing for at the time playing for the University of Southern Colorado, has compiled an 82-84 overall record at his alma mater and has led the Pack to three straight 20-plus win seasons.
 
SCOUTING NORTHWEST NAZARENE
Northwest Nazarene, who earned votes in this week's D2 Baseball and NCBWA Division II polls, comes into this weekend's action sporting a 7-3 overall record, but has lost two straight games after opening the season with a 7-1 record. The Nighthawks' losses this season were an 8-7 loss in 11 innings at Sonoma State, and back-to-back losses last weekend at Chico State where they fell 6-3 and 9-4.
 
As a team, the Nighthawks are hitting .274 as a team and have scored 63 runs and have rapped out 93 hits and have recorded 31 extra base hits as they have hit 20 doubles, one triple and 10 home runs. They are averaging 6.3 runs per game and are 19-for-24 on stolen bases and are averaging 1.9 stolen bases per game.
 
Leading the way offensively for NNU is senior infielder Cole Calnon, who is hitting .323 with 10 hits, seven runs, four doubles, and has a .452 slugging percentage and are 3-for-4 on stolen bases. He has drawn five walks and has struck out three times in 31 at-bats.
 
In addition to Calnon, senior outfielder Adrian Arechiga is hitting .317 with a team-leading 13 hits and has scored six runs, hit four doubles, two home runs, and has had 7 RBI and has tallied a .561 slugging percentage and is 3-for-3 on stolen bases.
 
Four Nighthawks have recorded 10 or more hits and eight players have combined to hit 10 home runs, including Arechiga and Cris Enriquez, who have each hit two home runs. In addition, six players have stolen at least two bases on the year with senior outfielder Nin Burns II leading the way with five stolen bases as he is 5-for-5 on the season.
 
Perhaps the biggest strength for the Nighthawks is its pitching as NNU comes into the weekend with an ERA of 3.11 on the season. The Nighthawks pitching staff has recorded 69 strikeouts and has walked just 19 opposing hitters in 81 innings of work. NNU has earned four saves and have posted two shutouts. They have recorded a 1.31 WHIP on the season.
 
Headlining the Nighthawks pitching staff is redshirt senior Ernesto Lugo-Canchola. Lugo-Canchola, who was named this week's GNAC Pitcher of the Week, is 2-0 with an 0.77 ERA. In 11.2 innings of work, the left-hander has allowed six hits and one run, while striking out 12 and walking four, and has tossed a shutout and opposing hitters are hitting .158 this season and has an 0.86 WHIP.
 
In addition to Lugo-Canchola, senior Bryan Rojas is 0-0 with a 2.08 ERA, while junior Blake Hammond is 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA and has struck out eight and walked three in seven innings.
 
Among the key arms out of the bullpen this season for NNU are redshirt senior Josh Bishopp, junior Landen Parker and senior Jaxon Henderson. Those three have combined to make 10 appearances and have allowed three runs and two earned runs and have struck out 18 and walked four.
 
Bishopp leads the way with an 0-0 record and an 0.00 ERA. In 6.1 innings, he has allowed eight hits and one unearned run, while striking out nine and walking none. In addition to Bishopp, Parker is 0-1 with a 1.42 ERA with two saves and in 6.1 innings, he has allowed two runs (one earned), while striking out seven and walking one and Henderson is 0-0 with a 1.69 ERA and in 5.1 innings, he has allowed one run (one earned run), while striking out two and walking three.
 
The team's saves leaders are Parker and redshirt sophomore Wade Duncan with two each. Duncan has made three appearances and in three innings, he has allowed one hit and no runs, while striking out seven and walking none. Opposing hitters are hitting .100 against Duncan this season.
 
The Nighthawks, who were tabbed to finish first in the Preseason GNAC Coaches' Poll, is coached by Joe Schafer, who is in his sixth season at NNU and his 18th overall season as a collegiate head coach. In his time at NNU, he has compiled a 166-111-1 overall record. He has led the Nighthawks to three GNAC regular season titles, two GNAC Tournament titles and three NCAA Regional Tournament appearances, including a trip to the NCAA Division II World Series in 2021.