PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo baseball closes out the regular season and home portion of its 2026 schedule here this weekend with a four-game Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference series against UCCS at Rawlings Field.

The two teams open the four-game set with a single, nine-inning game on Thursday, April 30 at noon, before playing a doubleheader on Friday, May 1 beginning at noon and concluding the series with a Senior Day nine-inning game on Saturday, May 2 at noon. Before Saturday's game, the ThunderWolves will honor their 14-member senior class in a pregame ceremony.

This year's Pack seniors are second baseman Devean Alvarez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Chaffey College), student assistant coach Cade Bleeker (Mesa, Ariz./Desert Ridge), pitcher Cole Bloomer (Arapahoe, Colo./Lamar CC), infielder JJ Cardinal (Pueblo, Colo./Southwestern), pitcher Dominic Corgiat (Brookfield, Ill./Tarleton State), infielder Taehyung Kim (Marana, Ariz./St. Cloud State), leftfielder Cooper Latino (Parker, Colo./Douglas County), catcher Cody Macias (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills), shortstop Kyle Miller (Pueblo, Colo./Colorado Mesa), pitcher Jake Olguin-Pacheco (Brighton, Colo./Brighton), pitcher Alex Oliver (Grove, Okla./Coffeyville CC), pitcher Jacob Petersheim (Broadway, Va./Broadway), pitcher Luke Ruby (Fort Collins, Colo./Resurrection Christian), and rightfielder Jeremiah Sanchez (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo West).

The ThunderWolves come into the final weekend of the regular season having won 11 of its last 14 games overall, and are sporting a 24-22 overall record and are fourth in the RMAC standings with a 16-12 record. Since losing three of four games at Mines on April 2-4, the Pack has won three consecutive RMAC series after taking three of four games last weekend at Adams State. The three wins over ASU helped the Pack secure a spot in the 2026 RMAC Tournament, which is scheduled for May 6-9 in Grand Junction, Colo. With a sweep over UCCS, the Pack would earn the No. 3 seed in the RMAC Tournament, but the Pack can't finish lower than fourth in the league standings, so UCCS and CSU Pueblo will more than likely face each other in the opening game of the RMAC Tournament on Wednesday, May 6.

The Pack is playing its fourth and final RMAC series at home this weekend, as they are 7-5 at home in league play and went 9-7 on the road in RMAC play. Overall, the Pack is 12-8 at home this season, and they have won seven straight home games since suffering a 10-6 loss at home to Colorado Christian on March 27.

CSU Pueblo and UCCS have met 37 times previously on the diamond, with the Pack holding a slight 21-16 all-time lead in the series. The Pack has won five of the last six games in the series, including taking three of four games last season at UCCS. The Pack leads 11-8 at home, 10-6 at UCCS, and 16-9 in RMAC games. In addition, the Pack has won eight of the last 10 games in the series.

Following this weekend's four games at home against UCCS, the Pack will open play in the RMAC Tournament with a first-round game on Wednesday, May 6, at the Diamond at Hamilton Ballpark in Grand Junction, Colo. Colorado Mesa, which earned its 14th consecutive RMAC Baseball title this season and enters this week's action sporting a 28-0 record in league play and is 42-3 overall on the season, concludes the regular season with a four-game series at MSU Denver.

ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
CSU Pueblo's offense continues to drive the team's success this season. The ThunderWolves enter the weekend hitting .328 as a team with 401 runs scored, 495 hits, 101 doubles, and 43 home runs through 46 games. The Pack has also driven in 369 runs, while posting a .427 on-base percentage and a .498 slugging percentage, and is averaging 8.7 runs per game, which is sixth-best in the league.

The Pack has scored eight or more runs in 25 games this season and holds a 20-5 record in those contests, while going 2-14 when scoring five or fewer runs. In last weekend's four-game series at Adams State, the Pack outscored the Grizzlies, 62-35, including tallying a single-game school record 33 runs in the series finale on Sunday.

Junior third baseman Jimmy Pelletier (Laval, Quebec/University of San Francisco) continues to lead the ThunderWolves lineup, batting .406 with 43 hits, 42 runs scored, 12 doubles, nine home runs, and 39 RBI in 37 games. Pelletier, who hit two home runs, scored five runs and tied a single-game school record with 8 RBI in this past Sunday's 33-17 win at ASU, enters the weekend sporting both a 16-game hit streak and a 16-game reached base streak and has a 1.297 OPS and a team-best .774 slugging percentage, which is sixth-best in the RMAC and 27th nationally.

In addition to Pelletier, sophomore first baseman Tyler Clementz (Gilbert, Ariz./Basha) has also been swinging a hot bat lately as he is currently in the midst of a 17-game hitting streak and enters this weekend's action hitting .395 with 49 hits, 22 runs scored, seven doubles, and a .941 OPS, while Sanchez owns a .352 batting average as he leads the team in hits (63), runs scored (46), doubles (15), multi-hit games (18) and is second in walks with 19 and junior utility player Jason Arriola (Riverside, Calif./Norco) has hit eight home runs and leads the team in RBI (48) and has a .975 OPS and a team-best 12 multiple RBI games.

On the mound, the Pack owns a 7.65 team ERA with 257 strikeouts in 362.1 innings pitched. The ThunderWolves currently rank third in the RMAC in ERA.

Bloomer, who has been the Pack's top arm out of the bullpen, leads the team in wins (6) and appearances (17), while sophomore Frank Flores Jr. (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Academy) has made 11 starts and is 4-3 with a 7.08 ERA and Clementz, who was the co-Freshman Pitcher of the Year, is 4-2 with a 7.53 ERA and leads the team in innings pitched (55) and has had 30 strikeouts and 19 walks. Petersheim is 2-3 with an 8.57 ERA and has made 11 starts. In 42 innings, he leads the team in strikeouts with 35 and has walked 19.

Along with Bloomer, the other top arms out of the bullpen are Oliver, Ruby, and junior Jack Novak (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Thunder Ridge). Oliver is 2-1 with a 5.49 ERA, and in 16 appearances, he has tossed 19.2 innings and tallied 22 strikeouts and six walks, and has one of the Pack's seven saves, which are tied for third-most in the league, while Ruby, who has made 11 appearances and six starts, is 2-1 with a 4.47 ERA and in 44.1 innings, he has had 29 strikeouts and 16 walks and Novak is 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA and leads the team with four saves and has had 17 appearances and in 35 innings, he has tallied 24 strikeouts.

Defensively, CSU Pueblo is tied for third in the RMAC with a .961 fielding percentage and leads the conference with 49 double plays, which is second nationally in Division II. The Pack is averaging a Division II-leading 1.07 double plays per game.

Bobby Applegate is in his fifth season leading the ThunderWolves and owns a 134-122 career record at CSU Pueblo, including an 89-67 mark in RMAC play.

ABOUT UCCS
UCCS, who has also already qualified for the RMAC Tournament, comes into this weekend's series with CSU Pueblo having won five of its last eight games, including dropping three of four games last weekend at home against MSU Denver. The Mountain Lions are sporting a 30-15-1 overall record and are in third place in the league standings with a 19-8-1 record. In last weekend's four-game home set against MSU Denver, UCCS was outscored, 62-32, including falling 29-6 in the seven innings in the series finale last Sunday.

Statistically, UCCS is second in the league in hitting with a .358 average (567-for-1,585) as a team. The Mountain Lions are second in the league in hits (567) and lead the league in runs scored with 499, and are averaging 10.8 runs per game, which is tops in the league and fifth nationally in Division II baseball. In addition, UCCS also leads the league in home runs (102) and RBI (448), and has hit 108 doubles and 14 doubles.

Leading the offensive charge for UCCS is senior infielder Bryce Peterson, who is hitting .419 and leads the league in hits (78) and has scored 60 hits, hit 18 doubles, 17 home runs, and 63 RBI. He has an .801 slugging percentage and a 1.289 OPS, and has walked 26 times and is 9-for-9 on stolen bases.

In addition to Peterson, redshirt junior infielder Trevor Dale is hitting .404 and leads the RMAC in home runs (25), slugging percentage (.975), and is second in the league in runs scored with 65 and has recorded 65 hits, hit nine doubles, four triples, and has a 1.483 OPS, while redshirt sophomore infielder Tyler Genrich is hitting .379 with 67 hits, 45 runs scored, 14 doubles, an RMAC-best five triples, and has hit 16 home runs and 63 RBI. Genrich has a .785 slugging percentage and has walked 16 times.

UCCS comes into the weekend with a 9.41 ERA as they have tossed three complete games and lead the league in saves with nine. In addition, UCCS has tossed 364.1 innings and has tallied 272 strikeouts and walked 188.

Leading the UCCS pitching staff is senior Ryder Mancuso as he has made 12 starts and is 4-4 with a 9.38. Mancuso is second in the league with three complete games, and in 55.2 innings, he has struck out 50 and walked 26. In addition to Mancuso, redshirt senior Gerrit Erickson is 5-3 with an 8.71 ERA, and in 51.2 innings, he has tallied 30 strikeouts and walked 23 and sophomore Jacob Brown is 4-1 with a 9.24 ERA and in 10 starts and 12 appearances, he has tossed 50.2 innings and recorded 37 strikeouts and 17 walks.

The UCCS bullpen is led by junior Joe McDermott, who has made 12 appearances and has tossed 40.1 innings and is 4-2 with a 6.69 ERA, while redshirt sophomore Liam Whalen and junior Mason Hartle are a combined 4-2 and have tallied three saves each and in 21.1 combined innings, they have struck out 15, but have walked 16, including 13 walks issued by Hartle.

Defensively, UCCS is tied with CSU Pueblo for third in the league in fielding percentage at .961. The Mountain Lions have turned 35 double plays, which is second-most in the league. UCCS has committed 64 errors in 1,633 fielding chances.

UCCS is coached by Dave Hajek, who is in his 10th and final season directing the Mountain Lions baseball program. Hajek is 230-227-1 as UCCS' head coach and has led the team to eight 20-plus win seasons, including 30 wins this season. Before coaching at UCCS, Hajek spent 10 years playing professional baseball, including two seasons with the Houston Astros, and then spent 12 years coaching within the Colorado Rockies organization.