PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo baseball dropped the second game of Friday's doubleheader against Northwest Nazarene by a score of 16-5 at Rawlings Field.
With the loss, the ThunderWolves fall to 6-5 overall, while Northwest Nazarene improved to 8-5 on the season. The loss was the first for the Pack in the series as they opened Friday's doubleheader with a 20-12 win over the Nighthawks.
In Friday's second game of the doubleheader, NNU slowed down the Pack offense that had scored 42 runs in the first two games of the series but was held to just five hits and five runs in the nightcap of the doubleheader.
Two of the Pack's five hits came from senior leftfielder
Wyatt Reginato (Cottonwood, Calif./Folsom Lake), while sophomore rightfielder
Logan Kelly (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Capistrano Valley Christian) had two RBI thanks to a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Meanwhile, NNU finished the game with 16 runs and 16 hits, including seven extra base hits that included two home runs and five doubles.
NNU jumped in front 2-0 in the top of the first inning thanks to a 2-run homer by Nin Burns II off of fifth-year hurler
Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland JC).
The Pack was able to get one of those runs back in the bottom of the first inning thanks to single by Reginato and an RBI double by fifth-year senior first baseman
Christian Castaneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) to trail 2-1.
NNU would take a 4-1 lead in the top of the third inning thanks to an RBI single by Adrian Arechiga and a bases loaded hit by pitch from Perry to Kaleb Knapstein.
The Nighthawks lead grew to 6-1 in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI groundout by Bryan Rojas and an RBI double by Burns II off of senior reliever
Luke Schmedding (Olathe, Kan./Cloud County CC).
CSU Pueblo would pull within 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI double by senior third baseman
Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) and the second run came on a caught stealing by junior catcher
Cody Macias (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills) as Howard scored on the play.
NNU added two more runs in the top of the fifth to push its lead to 8-3 thanks to a 2-run homer by Gavin Brubaker off of freshman hurler
Danny Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Centennial), who was the third Pack pitcher of the game.
The Nighthawks led grew to 9-3 in the top of the sixth on an RBI single to center by Cris Enriquez off senior
Cameron Saso (McKinleyville, Calif./Folsom Lake), who was the fourth Pack pitcher of the game.
Kelly brought the Pack within 9-5 in the bottom of the fifth on his two-run homer over the wall in center field off of NNU starting hurler Ernesto Lugo Canchola. Kelly's homer chased Canchola from the game.
The Nighthawks would put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh as they sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on five hits and took advantage of two walks and a hit batsman. The big hits in the inning were a 3-run double by Bryan Rojas and two-run double by Gavin Brubaker.
Cole Calnon, Rojas, Burns and Brubaker each recorded three hits in the game, while Calnon and Rojas scored three times. Brubaker, Rojas and Burns each had 4 RBI in the win.
Perry (0-1) took the loss on the mound for the Pack as he allowed seven hits and six runs in 3.1 innings of work and also tallied six strikeouts and no walks.
Lugo Canchola (3-0) picked up the win as he tossed 5.2 innings and allowed five hits and five runs, while walking three and striking out six. Landen Parker pitched the final 1.1 innings and recorded three strikeouts and one walk.
The Pack committed two errors in the game and left three runners on base. NNU had one error and left seven runners on base.
The two teams will conclude the four-game weekend series with a noon game on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Rawlings Field.
