NAMPA, Idaho - The Colorado State University Pueblo baseball team dropped back to the .500 mark Thursday afternoon, falling 12-2 on the road to Northwest Nazarene University at Elmore Vail Field.
The ThunderWolves move to 7-7 on the season after the nonconference setback, while the Nighthawks improved to 12-7.
Northwest Nazarene struck first in the opening inning and steadily added to its lead throughout the afternoon, collecting 13 hits and scoring in six different innings. The Nighthawks plated single runs in the first and third before breaking the game open with a three-run fourth inning to take a 5-0 lead.
Colorado State Pueblo's offense broke through in the sixth inning. Senior outfielder Cooper Latino provided the highlight for the Pack, launching a two-run home run that also scored George Andrews to cut the deficit to 6-2. Andrews reached earlier in the game with a double, while Latino finished with two of the ThunderWolves' four hits and both RBIs.
Despite the brief momentum, Northwest Nazarene answered immediately, adding two runs in the bottom half of the sixth before tacking on another in the seventh and three more in the eighth to secure the victory.
Devean Alvarez recorded the other hit for CSU Pueblo, while Jeremiah Sanchez, Tyler Clementz, and Jimmy Pelletier were among those seeing action in the lineup as the Pack totaled four hits in the contest.
On the mound, Jacob Petersheim took the loss for CSU Pueblo, allowing eight runs on 11 hits while striking out four in 5.1 innings of work. Jack Prenni and Coleman McBride combined to finish the game in relief.
Northwest Nazarene was led offensively by Aiden Arechiga, who drove in four runs, while Tyler Walsh added three hits. Nighthawks starter Eden earned the win after tossing seven innings, allowing two runs while striking out seven.
Colorado State Pueblo will look to bounce back quickly as the ThunderWolves return to action tomorrow at 2:00 p.m., looking to even the series against the Nighthawks in Nampa.
