Colorado State University Pueblo Baseball split its doubleheader with University of Colorado Colorado Springs Saturday. The Pack won game one 10-6, while the Mountain Lions rallied to take game two 3-2.
After a win and a loss Saturday, the Pack stands 24-19. The ThunderWolves are 16-14 in RMAC play. UCCS now stands 19-15 in RMAC play and 25-21 overall.
Dakota Popham (Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the Pack to victory in game one with a home run and three RBIs. Popham went 3-for-5 and scored two runs in the first game of the day. Popham also hit a double in each game.
Jake Boyd (Sr., Salt Lake City, Utah) had two hits in each game. Boyd tripled and drove in a run in game one. In game two, the second baseman plated both Pack runs and hit another triple. Boyd also stole a base in the night cap.
Gilbert Sauceda (Jr., Indio, Calif.) reached base three times in the first game. Sauceda went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. The First baseman scored twice in game one.
Mason Krueger (Jr., Draper, Utah) posted a 1-for-3 performance in each game. Krueger knocked in two runs in game one. He also scored a run and stole a base in game two.
Juniors Robbie Espinosa (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Billy Reyes (Yucaipa, Calif.) each went 2-for-4 in game one. Espinosa scored once and added an RBI. Reyes totaled two RBIs.
Andrew Nero (Jr., Huntington Bach, Calif.) threw four scoreless innings of relief in game one. Nero earned the win. He limited the Mountain Lions to just one hit. The righty struck out two. This was Nero’s first victory with the Pack. Nero is now 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 2018.
The Pack got off to a great start in game one. Sauceda doubled and scored on a Ambrose Romero (Sr., Albuquerque, N.M.) single. Reyes clubbed a two-run single that brought in Tanner Fuhrmann (Sr., Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Espinosa to give the Pack a 3-0 lead.
UCCS erased the Pack’s lead quickly with three runs in the bottom of the first. The Pack bounced back with two more runs in the second. Popham launched his sixth home run of the season over the left-center field wall to bring in Fuhrmann and make it 5-3.
In the third inning, the Mountain Lions put up three more runs. They carried a 6-5 lead into the fourth. Down by one, the Pack brought in Nero who would hold UCCS scoreless the rest of the way.
The ThunderWolves tied the game in the fourth. Popham smacked a double to bring in Connor Hughes (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) to tie the game at six.
CSU-Pueblo reclaimed the lead with a run in the sixth. Boyd tripled to bring in Romero and put the Pack ahead 7-6. Three more Pack runs came around in the sixth. Espinosa knocked in Sauceda. Krueger plated Popham and Zach Hoffman (Jr., South Jordan, Utah) with a two-run single.
This would be all the run support Nero needed. He shut down the Mountain Lions over the final four frames to clinch a 10-6 win for the Pack.
Game two was a pitchers dual throughout. Both teams only mustered four hits.
UCCS took an early lead with a solo home run in the second inning. This would be one of just four hits for the Mountain Lions off of Pack starter Chris Douglas (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.).
The Pack tied the game in the fifth. Boyd brought in Krueger with a base knock to knot the score at 1-1. CSU-Pueblo jumped in front in the seventh when Boyd tripled to bring in Hoffman. The Pack led 2-1 in the final inning.
Down to their final three outs, the Mountain Lions rallied with two runs in the bottom of the seventh. They walked off with a 3-2 victory.
Douglas (4-4) took a hard luck loss. He limited the Mountain Lions to just six base runners in 6.1 innings of work. He struck out five.
The Pack will look to even the series Sunday when they play the Mountain Lions in the finale of the four-game set. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
