By Dylan Weaver
After what looked to be a largely anticipated start of a new baseball year for Pack athletics, results have differed from the plan. To the disbelief of many, the CSU Pueblo baseball team has started the year 0-7 and is still searching for its first win.
To recap this seven-game stretch, there have been three different teams to come and face the Pack, with one of the teams even being a top-15-ranked team.
To start the season, a two-game matchup with St. Edward’s University was the first contender. The Hilltoppers’ powerful swings overtook the Pack as CSU Pueblo was within those games, outscoring 26-7 with a tough defeat on opening day by 22-5. St. Edwards entered that weekend being ranked #14 in the most recent polls and had just come off a series sweep the previous weekend against Texas A&M Kingsville.
The Pack’s next test was a midweek matchup with their local foe from just up the road at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. While the Thunderwolves had a tough opening weekend, the outcomes of the Mountain Lions in their games weren’t much to brag about either, as they came into the game sporting a 1-7 record. With both teams struggling to start the season, the motivation was that this game could help lead in the right direction, and the Pack could collect their first win against a team in a similar boat. Unfortunately, this was not the result as, yet again, the Pack faltered and could not make do with timely hitting in their 8-3 loss.
In the most recent action for the Pack, a trip to San Francisco was the destination for the boys as they traveled to face a 3-1 team in the Gators of San Francisco State University. The Gators, who had won the series against UCCS the prior week, welcomed CSU Pueblo in their home opener. In what looked to be an eventful series, thanks to stellar pitching outings from players like Zach Pratt and Tyler Curtis, the common denominator that led to the Pack falling short each game was timely hitting. Over seven games this spring, there have been over 50 runners left on base, and the offense hasn’t figured out the key to fixing that problem yet. Three games were decided by three runs or less while on the trip and CSU Pueblo pitching only allowed 18 runs on the weekend compared to the eight they scored as an offense.
In light of the slow start for the baseball team, morale has still been high and with a 50-game regular season schedule, things will change. As head coach Bobby Applegate keeps telling his players, “it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish,” and the boys know that the worm will turn in pursuit of the season they are looking to have.
The next scheduled competition is a weekend series featuring four games with two separate opponents coming to Rawlings Field. Montana State University-Billings and West Texas A&M University come for a round-robin scenario to play multiple opponents.
The first win for the Pack is seemingly far-fetched, but in a long baseball season, anything can happen for a team that is hungry like the Thunderwolves.
