Baseball | 3/5/2015 1:55:00 PM
FRI. MARCH 6 at 3 P.M. COWBOYS at CSU PUEBLO: LIVE STATS
SAT. MARCH 7, DH beginning at 1 P.M. COWBOYS at CSU PUEBLO: LIVE STATS - GM 1 | GM 2
SUN. MARCH 8 at NOON COWBOYS at CSU PUEBLO: LIVE STATS
PUEBLO, Colo. – The New Mexico Highlands baseball team (6-4, 0-0 Rocky Mountain) will face a huge opening weekend (March 6-8) in conference play when the Cowboys make the trip north on I-25 to battle CSU Pueblo (10-2, 2-0 RMAC). The Thunderwolves are seventh in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) region poll while Highlands is 10th.
Right now, the two teams are scheduled for a nine-inning game both Friday (March 6, 3 p.m.) and Sunday (March 8, noon) and a pair of seven-inning contests beginning Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Cowboys will be hitting the road for the first time in more than a month, having lost 2-of-3 at Lubbock Christian Feb. 6-7. Meanwhile, CSU Pueblo continues its 16-game home stand to begin the season (was 18 but a pair of games against Regis was cancelled Wednesday).
The Cowboys lead the RMAC are seventh in the nation with a .361 batting average. Fifth-year senior
Matthew Chavez is seventh in the nation overall – and leads among players with 30 at-bats or more – with a .579 batting average. In fact, Chavez is on a current 8-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 9-of-10 games this season with multiple hits in eight of those games. In the only game this season he did not have a hit, he had a pair of runs scored.
Against then-number 10 West Texas A&M, he surpassed his own record set last season with eight consecutive at-bats with a hit.
Redshirt freshman
Curtis Hynes is 3-0 on the year on the mound and has a complete game, 10-inning, four-hitter under his belt. In the game against West Texas A&M Feb. 21, he allowed only one unearned run, retired the side in order in 6-of-10 innings and only allowed a hit-by-pitch in innings 4-through-8.
The Cowboys are scoring just a shade under 10 runs per ballgame and are sixth in the nation with 3.2 doubles per game. Senior
Colby Wilmer is second on the team and eighth in the conference with a .433 batting average. Classmate
Joe Cervantes is 51st in the nation with 0.6 doubles per game while senior
Andrew Ratterman and fifth-year senior
Omar Garcia is 42nd in the nation with three home runs each.
Tough to Ring Up After senior
Nick Gonzales finished ninth in the nation in toughest to strikeout (a strikeout every 29 at-bats) in 2014-15, Gonzales is up to his old tricks. He is currently 141st in the nation by going down once every 13.7 at-bats.
However, Gonzales has company from junior teammate
Jesus Caporal. Caporal is third in the RMAC and 93rd in the nation with a strikeout every 18.5 at-bats.
Scouting CSU Pueblo The Thunderwolves will look to put themselves in great position for their NCAA Tournament aspirations when they host the Cowboys this weekend.
CSU Pueblo has balance – good pitching (41st in nation, 3.30 ERA) and solid hitting (.339, 22nd in the country) – to race out to a 10-2 record. Jordan Godman is 35th in the nation but only fourth in the conference with a .500 batting average. Senior catchers
Morgan McCasland and
EJ Stanton will have to keep an eye on Godman, as he averages 0.75 steals per game. Zac Wittmus and Doug Finley are both 3-0 on the mound.
Next Up The Cowboys look to open up home conference play (two weeks later than expected) when the Regis Rangers visit the Cowboys next weekend (March 13-15). Regis, who Highlands played in a single series last year in Las Vegas, New Mexico, rotated into the Plains Division this year. The Cowboys returns the trip to Denver, Colorado, to close out the regular season.
