Pueblo Beats Lopers on the Diamond

VS

Kearney, Neb. – Catcher Adam Auer went 4 for 4 and the Colorado State-Pueblo baseball team scored nine runs after two were out in beating Nebraska-Kearney, 12-6, Friday night at Memorial Field in Kearney.

In the first of a four game RMAC series, the Thunderwovles (28-13, 16-9 RMAC) increase its lead over the Lopers (23-17, 16-11) in the Plains Division standings.

CSUP not only stopped a six game UNK winning streak but also gave junior Seth Svoboda (Kearney) his first loss after five straight wins. Svoboda (5-3) is now 0-2 vs. Pueblo this season.

Svoboda did get out of a bases loaded jam in the first with a strike out of Nick Runstadler. After Auer hit his first homer of the year with one out in the second, Manny Madrid walked and Doug Hurst struck out.

That's when Pueblo's bats got going, registering four straight hits, three for extra bases. The set featured a total of five runs and a two run dinger by Nick Castellanos.

Senior lefty Cody Hovdestad (Swift Current, Sask.) then held Pueblo scoreless the next three innings. During that time, he fanned two and got one double play.

However, UNK couldn't solve Pueblo starter Nate Whitworth (4.0 IP, 2 hits, 3 K's) or reliever Jesus Rodriguez. Over the first seven innings, the Lopers managed just four hits and one run.

Pueblo then pushed the lead to 9-0 with a four run sixth. All four runs came after two were out with the big hit being a two run single by Runstadler.

Lincoln sophomore Nate Swearer (3 for 5, three RBI's) got UNK on the board with a run scoring single in the sixth and then junior lefty Joe Nowaczyk (Gretna) hit a three run homer to left to highlight a four run seventh.

Also for the Lopers, Omaha senior Cody Lusero went 3 for 4 and Gothenburg sophomore Luke Edson (3.1 IP, four K's, three runs) was effective in a long relief role.

For Pueblo, Auer was just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle and was one of four other players to have two RBI's. He came into the game with only one extra base hit all spring.

CSU-Pueblo 12, Neb.-Kearney 6

CSU-P	0	5	0	0	0	4	2	0	1	-	12	19	0
UNK	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	1	-	6	11	0

Whitworth, Rodriguez (5) and Auer, Parker; Svoboda, Hovdestad (2), Edson (3) and Watson.

HR-CSU-Pueblo: B. Pfaff (2); Castellanos(4); Adam Auer(1); J. Nowaczyk (3).