GOLDEN, Colo. – Fresh off a split against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference-leader Colorado Mesa, as the Cowboys are the only team in the conference to win two games against the Mavericks, the New Mexico Highlands baseball team (13-12, 10-5) looks to capture its third RMAC series win of the year when it travels to Golden, Colo., to take on Colorado School of Mines (8-13, 6-8 RMAC). The two will play a nine-inning game on Friday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (noon) while playing two, seven-inning games beginning at noon on Saturday.
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"With Colorado Mines this weekend, we need to pitch much better and continue to get better offensively," head coach
Steve Jones explained. "They are a good club that pitches well and plays great defense. We need to match that to be successful."
All Coming Down to the Last At-Bat
Colorado Mesa came in to the series last weekend against Highlands having won eight straight games overall and nine straight RMAC games. In fact, the Mavericks had not lost a conference game since Feb. 28 at Colorado Christian. That all changed on March 21 when the Cowboys faced off with the Mavericks.
The Mavericks led 6-0 after the top of the fourth, but Highlands tied the game after seven innings. Colorado Mesa looked to put the game away in the eighth with a pair of two-run home runs, but little did the Mavericks know, the Cowboys had them right where they wanted them. Three doubles in the home half of the eighth brought the Cowboys within two.
After Colorado Mesa went in order in the ninth, no Cowboys were retired in the ninth in the walk off win. On a 3-2 count, senior
Jarred Middleton singled to centerfield. Junior
Joe Cervantes took the 1-2 pitch through short and third to bring the game-winning run to the plate. Senior
Javier Ledford put the winning runs on base with a single through the right side on a 3-2 pitch. Finally, redshirt junior
Matthew Chavez ended the game on a double to left center as Highlands competed the improbable comeback.
With a complete-game gem from junior
Cody Brown on Saturday, the Cowboys became the first team in the RMAC to split a series with Colorado Mesa this season.
"The Mesa series was a great gauge to how we could compete with a team of that caliber," Jones said. "It exposed some weaknesses, but our guys competed well offensively against a very good pitching staff."
However, that was not the only home game Highlands has trailed by a significant margin and come back to win. On March 9 against CSU-Pueblo, New Mexico Highlands trailed 10-2 after four innings. A single run in the fifth, two runs in the sixth and a seven-run seventh gave the home team the 11-10 lead.
The ThunderWolves tied it up with a single tally in the top of the eighth, but again New Mexico Highlands came back with a walk off win in the ninth. Senior
Justin Rodriguez led off the ninth with a single, was sacrificed to second before junior
Andrew Ratterman singled up the middle to score the winning run.
Having won 8-of 10 contests, the Cowboys have outscored its opponents 8-4 in the last inning of the ballgame.
In the rankings
After a stellar weekend where the Cowboys pounded out 51 hits in four games (12.8 per game), Highlands moved up to 21st in the nation with a .322 batting average, still second in the RMAC behind Colorado Mesa.
Highlands leads the conference in runs scored (153), hits (256), home runs (19), stolen bases (79) and on base percentage (.398). The Mavericks lead the RMAC in stolen bases per game, ahead of the Cowboys, but Colorado Mesa got thrown out on 4-of-5 stolen bases attempts by junior catcher
Morgan McCasland in the March 21 game. The Mavericks only attempted one stolen base the rest of the weekend, a caught stealing (and that did not involve McCasland as the pitcher threw to the shortstop).
Individually, McCasland leads the conference and is 13th in the nation with seven home runs for the season. He is also 25th in the nation and second in the conference with a .692 slugging percentage.
Finally, junior
Cody Brown leads the conference and is 25th in the nation with three complete games. Brown has gone the distance is all of his starts and leads the team (among starters) with a 4.32 ERA. Senior
Braulio Hernandez has a 2.08 ERA, having thrown 4.1 innings in four appearances with a save.
In fact, the Cowboys pitching staff has six saves on the year. However, no pitcher has more than one.
Scouting Colorado School of Mines
The New Mexico Highlands baseball team is in prime position to solidify its position for a possible RMAC Tournament berth this weekend (March 21-23) when it visits Colorado School of Mines. It may be a benefit that the series is in Golden, Colo., however. The Cowboys are 6-1 in RMAC away games, winning series against Adams State and Metro State. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are only 4-4 at home, splitting series with CSU-Pueblo and Colorado Mesa.
At 6-8, Colorado Mines currently sits third in the Mountain Division but is sixth in the overall RMAC standings. The Orediggers lost six-straight in conference play but recently won 3-of-4 at Metro State this past weekend.
Colorado Mines is really proficient at reaching base thanks to triples and hit by pitches. The Orediggers are 44th in the nation, having been beaned by 34 pitches this year. Meanwhile, they have hit five triples. Individually, Nate Olinger is an all-around solid player for Colorado School of Mines as he leads the team with a .354 batting average. He is also 2-1 on the mound with a 3.70 ERA. His strength is the strikeout as he is 23rd in the nation with eight strikeouts for every walk given up, ranking 25th by allowing less than a walk per nine innings.
Next Up
The New Mexico Highlands baseball team opens up play in April next Friday (April 4) against Regis. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 3 p.m.
