PUEBLO, Colo. - Colorado State University Pueblo baseball scored runs in the first five innings, including tallying seven runs in the third inning to help the ThunderWolves to a 20-12 win over Northwest Nazarene in the first game of Friday's doubleheader at Rawlings Field.
With the win, the Pack improves to 6-4 overall and is now 2-0 in the four-game series, while NNU falls to 7-5 on the season.
After scoring a season-high 22 runs in a 22-4 win in Thursday's series opener, the Pack offense recorded 15 hits, including nine extra base hits in the victory. All nine Pack starters recorded a hit in the game, including fifth-year senior first baseman
Christian Castaneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and 7 RBIs, including hitting two home runs. The seven RBI are tied for the fifth most in a game in school history.
In addition to Castaneda, senior shortstop
Rob Mansour (La Verne, Calif./Cuesta College), senior leftfielder
Wyatt Reginato (Cottonwood, Calif./Folsom Lake), junior designated hitter
George Andrews (Overland Park, Kan./Coffeyville CC) and senior rightfielder
Elijah Borjas (Denver, Colo./Lakewood) each had two hits. Mansour had four RBI and senior third baseman
Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest).
NNU jumped in front 1-0 on the top of the first inning thanks to a 2-out solo home run over the left field wall from Nin Burns II off of junior hurler Jake Olguin Pacheco (Denver, Colo./Horizon).
The Pack took the lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a leadoff walk and stolen base from freshman centerfielder
Noah Williams (Carson, Calif./Redondo Union) walked, an RBI single up the middle by Mansour, a two-run homer by Castaneda and an RBI double down the right field line from senior second baseman
Brad Stone (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Nevada).
In the bottom of the second, the Pack used three walks to load the bases and then got a two-run double from Castaneda down the left field line to give the Pack a 6-1 lead.
NNU sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs on five hits to take a 9-6 lead. The big hits in the inning was a two-run homer by Bryan Rojas, a two-run double to Carson Burns and a 3-run homer by Cole Calnon.
The Pack would come right back in the bottom of the third as they took advantage of three walks and used four straight doubles and a single to plate seven runs and take a 13-9 lead. The big hit in the inning was a bases-loaded three-run double down the right field line by Mansour. Other RBIs in the inning came off back-to-back-to-back doubles by senior leftfielder
Wyatt Reginato (Cottonwood, Calif./Folsom Lake), Castaneda and Andrews.
NNU would plate three runs to push within 13-12 in the top of the fourth inning with two of those three runs coming home on solo homers by Rojas and Enriquez and the other run scoring on an RBI single to left center by Jason Bell off of senior reliever
Jacob Petersheim (Broadway, Va./Broadway).
The Pack came right back in the bottom of the fourth as they plated four runs thanks to an error in right field by Burns, an RBI single by Reginato and a two-run homer by Castaneda to push its lead to 17-12.
After NNU failed to score in the top of fifth, the Pack scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a 3-run homer over the wall in right center from Howard to give the Pack a 20-12 lead.
From that point, Petersheim's pitching would hold the Nighthawks scoreless over the final two innings to earn his first win of the season. Petersheim tossed four innings and allowed seven hits and three runs, while striking out five and walking none.
NNU, who finished with 15 hits in the game, was paced offensively by three hits each from Rojasa, Enriquez and Carson Burns, while Jason Bell added two hits and Calnon had two runs and 3 RBI in the loss.
Josh Bishopp (0-1), the third of four pitchers for NNU, took the loss as he tossed 1.1 innings and allowed eight hits and nine runs (five earned runs), while striking out two and walking one.
Olguin-Pacheco pitched 2.2 innings as he allowed six hits and six runs, while striking out two and walking two.
The two teams played a second seven inning game that began 30 minutes after completion of the first game and will conclude the series with a single nine-inning game on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 12 p.m.
