Pueblo Packs the Park; Colorado Mesa flexes No. 1-ranking muscles with 13-8 win over CSU Pueblo

Jeff Letofsky, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.
·3 min read

May 9—Pueblo attempted to Pack the Park.

Colorado Mesa packed a punch.

The Mavericks, the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II baseball and the top team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, took down Colorado State University Pueblo 13-8 on Saturday night at Hobbs Field at the Runyon Sports Complex. The win clinched Colorado Mesa's ninth consecutive RMAC title and 27th overall.

Colorado Mesa had won the first two games of the four-game series 7-3 and 12-6 on Friday. The teams wrap up their series with a single game at noon today at Rawlings Field.

The Mavericks broke away from an 8-8 deadlock after six innings with a four-run seventh inning. They scored three of the runs on a throwing error and didn't have a hit in the inning.

The attendance was 961.

Besides the clinic, one of the highlights of the evening came with the introduction of former CSU Pueblo head coach Stan Sanchez. During a pregame ceremony, Sanchez was recognized and fist-bumped the entire ThunderWolves' team, many of his former players.

Sanchez retired after last season after 26 years as the head coach. He was instrumental in the restart of the baseball program in 1993 after it was dropped in 1983 along with a number of other sports at the university. He won 868 games, seventh most among coaches who have coached at one institution and second most in the RMAC.

Also prior to the game, the ceremonial first pitch was made by Rickie Gonzales, the nephew of Art and Lorraine.

Physically imposing and statistically unmatched, the Mavericks broke from the gate early as Harrison Rodgers drew a four-pitch walk from CSU Pueblo starter Jake Lombardelli and Matt Turner followed with a two-run homer, his team-leading 17th. Conrad Villafuerate added an RBI double to make it 3-0.

Not to be outdone, the Pack put up a three-spot of their own in the bottom of the first with Reggie Williams, Matt Shea and Stone Romero picking up RBIs.

CSU Pueblo went ahead 7-3 with four more runs in the second with Adrian Martinez delivering the big blow with a two-run single.

But the Mavs clawed back, scoring two in the third and grabbing an 8-7 lead on Turner's second home run of the game, a three-run shot in the fifth.

The ThunderWolves tied the game at 8 in the sixth when Aiden Welch scored on a wild pitch.

But that was the last of the scoring for the Pack while Colorado Mesa scored the final five runs of the game.

The Mavericks improved to 33-2 overall and 30-1 in the RMAC. CSU Pueblo fell to 13-21 and 11-19.

LIke always, Pueblo turned out in force for the Art & Lorraine Gonzales clinic prior to the game. Even amid a pandemic, 350 youth softball and baseball players attended the camp.

CSU Pueblo baseball and softball players and coaches, among others, contributed their expertise and helped the youngsters learn the fundamentals of the games.

Chieftain senior sports reporter Jeff Letofsky can be reached by email at jletofsky@chieftain.com or on Twitter @jeffletofsky