University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, February 17
San Francisco, Calif.
3:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
at
San Francisco
@NCBearsBaseball Opens Season in Bay Area
2/16/2017 10:36:00 AM | Baseball
The 2017 baseball season starts in the Bay Area for UNC as they take on San Francisco and San Francisco State
SAN FRANCISCO – The 2017 baseball season gets into full swing this weekend across the nation, and Northern Colorado opens its season in the Bay Area. The Bears start a four game series against San Francisco on Friday that includes a doubleheader on Saturday. The team will stay in the San Francisco by then taking on San Francisco State on Tuesday afternoon.
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado begins its season on a nine-game road trip, with all of the games taking place in the Northern California area.
• The Bears are coming off their second straight trip to Mesa, Arizona for the WAC Tournament.
• Last season's ERA leader in Nick Tanner is back. The lefty finished the 2016 season with a 4-1 record and 2.89 ERA.
• Northern Colorado has its batting average leader from last year back as well in Dean Lawson. Last season Lawson hit .357 for the Bears in 43 games.
• Head coach Carl Iwasaki is entering his seventh season with Northern Colorado. Over that time he has helped take the team from the Great West Conference into the Western Athletic Conference.
Scouting San Francisco
San Francisco is led by 19th year head coach Nino Giarratano. The Dons are coming off a 22-34 season in which they finished 14-13 in West Coast Conference play for fifth overall. USF brings a veteran team back with eight of its projected starters being upperclassmen. Leading the way for the team is WCC 2016 Defensive Player of the Year Nico Giarratano, along with Ross Puskarich. The duo were All-WCC selections last season. Puskarich is the team's big slugger hitting .331 last season with five home runs and 29 RBI. On the mound, USF will throw Thomas Ponticelli in the opener. He throw 72.2 innings last season for a 4-6 record and 5.94 ERA. The Dons were picked to finish sixth in the WCC this season.
Scouting San Francisco State (DII)
San Francisco State started its season last week with four games. The Gators won two of three games against Academy of Art, before falling in a mid-week game to Sonoma State. Senior Bryce Brooks has been a big part of SFSU offense sitting .385 through the first four games with one run scored and one RBI. On the mound, San Francisco State has used 17 pitcher so far. Of the 17, Ryan Bohent has put forth the best performance. He started one of the games against the Academy of Art, going six innings, allowing just two hits with five strike outs and no walks or runs. Before facing the Bears on Tuesday, the Gators will go to Azusa Pacific for a four-game series starting Thursday.
History Against USF & SFSU
There isn't much history to lean on between the Bears and Dons, who are facing each other for the first time in program history. It is also the first time UNC and SFSU have played each other.
History Against WCC Teams
Northern Colorado is 25-60 all-time against teams from the WCC. The majority of those games have come against BYU who holds a 20-52 record in the series.
Exceeding Expectations
In the Preseason WAC coaches poll, Northern Colorado has been picked to finish eighth in the conference for the second consecutive year. The Bears will need to surprise the teams in the conference in order to book a trip to Mesa, Arizona at the end of May.
UNC has been able to exceed expectations the past two seasons. last year the team was picked to finish eighth and ended up fifth in the conference. While in 2014 Northern Colorado was picked last, but finished seventh in the WAC.
New Faces
Fans are going to need to keep a roster page handy for the first few weeks of the season as UNC welcomes 19 newcomers this year. The group of 19 is a mixture of true freshmen and junior college transfers.
Three of the fresh faces for the Bears are receiving some attention nationally. They are RHP Aaron Hamilton, OF Jack Pauly and RHP Troy Watson. DIBaseball.com rated both Hamilton and Pauly as some of the top draft prospects for the 2017 and 2018 draft, respectively from the WAC. Watson was ranked the No. 3 impact freshman for this season.
UNC also welcomes Nate Rasmussen as a volunteer assistant to staff. Rasmussen will serve as outfield coach, first base coach, and camp director as well as assisting hitters.
The Return of Lean Dean
Dean Lawson came on strong during the final three quarters of the year ending it with a team leading .357 batting average. His average was good for fifth in the conference and 126th in the nation. Lawson also batted in 16 runs during the season.
Tanner on a Terror
Nick Tanner will look for a great senior season to follow up a productive 2016 in which he made the second team All-WAC. He finished the 2016 season with a slash line of .327/.401/.388 and added one home run along with 15 RBIs. Tanner was also one of UNC's key pitchers, finishing with a 4-1 record. His team leading 2.89 ERA was good for third in the conference and 158th in the nation. Tanner pitched in a team high 53 innings with 33 strikeouts and 13 walks during the season.
Moving Runners Up
Northern Colorado excelled at small ball after posting 47 sacrifice bunts during the 2016 season. They were ranked second in the WAC for sacrifice bunts with only Seattle finishing with more (49). Jacob Ek led the team with 11 and Dean Lawson added eight of his own.
Turning Two
Northern Colorado's defense turned 39 double-plays during the 2016 season, which was ranked sixth in the WAC and 188th in the nation. Brett Minnick was involved in 31 of the teams 39 double plays last season.
Every Day is Sunday
Sunday was the best day for baseball last year as Northern Colorado was 8-2 on Sunday and 8-30 on any other day of the week.
Swiping Bags
The running ability of the Bears was on display last season as the team swiped 50 bases during it, ranking seventh in the WAC. Dean Lawson led the team with 10 stolen bases and Jacob Ek added another eight.
Following the Bears
Want to stay up to date with all things UNC Bears Baseball? There are a few ways to. During all games this year there will be live updates on the team's Twitter account @NCBearsBaseball.
For home games there will also be a live audio broadcast of the games as well as live stats on UNCBears.com.
Making the Grades
There were seven UNC players who earned spots on the 2016 Academic Honors list. Those earning honors are Jake Garcia, Cam Huber, Brett Minnick, Cole Maltese, Dan Reese, Payton Tapia, Corey Nakakura.
Wild Wild West
The Bears roster is comprised of almost every state in the western part of the US. Eleven different states are represented on the roster, as far east as Nebraska and as west as Hawaii.
Home Grown
Head coach Carl Iwasaki and his staff have done a good job of keeping the home grown talent in the state. 12 of UNC's 35 hail from the Centennial State.
Hawaiian Connection
The Bears have four players who hail from Hawaii plus head coach Carl Iwasaki and assistant Kaiona Correa all coming to Colorado from the islands.
Class of 2018
Help arrives for Northern Colorado with eight new players joining their roster for the 2018 season. The Bears add three infielders, a catchers, two utility players and a pair of right handed pitchers.
On Deck
Northern Colorado will conclude its first road trip of the year with series against BYU (2/23-2/24) and San Jose State (2/24/-2/25), both of which will be played in San Jose, Calif. UNC is 20-52 all-time against BYU, most recently splitting a two game series in February of 2013. San Jose State got the best of the Bears in the only series the two schools have played back in February of 2015. UNC dropped three of the four games in the series, also played in San Jose.
In the Hole
Northern Colorado opens up their first home series of the 2017 season against North Dakota State. The Bears and Bison are even at 11-11 in their all-time series. They last met in March of 2015 with NDSU taking three of four games from UNC in Greeley. The home opener at Jackson Stadium is set for Friday, March 3 at 2 pm.
| Game | Probable Starters | Game Links |
| 2/17 at 3 pm | RHP Cody Carroll (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP Thomas Ponticelli (0-0, 0.00 ERA) | Live Stream | Live Stats |
| 2/18 at 1 pm | LHP Keenan Lum (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP Grant Goodman (0-0, 0.00 ERA) | Live Stream | Live Stats |
| 2/18 at 4 pm | RHP Aaron Hamilton (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP Daniel Slominski (0-0, 0.00 ERA) | Live Stream | Live Stats |
| 2/19 at 2 pm | RHP Ian Doughty (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs LHP Sam Granoff (0-0, 0.00 ERA) | Live Stream | Live Stats |
| 2/21 at 3 pm | TBA vs TBA | Live Stats |
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado begins its season on a nine-game road trip, with all of the games taking place in the Northern California area.
• The Bears are coming off their second straight trip to Mesa, Arizona for the WAC Tournament.
• Last season's ERA leader in Nick Tanner is back. The lefty finished the 2016 season with a 4-1 record and 2.89 ERA.
• Northern Colorado has its batting average leader from last year back as well in Dean Lawson. Last season Lawson hit .357 for the Bears in 43 games.
• Head coach Carl Iwasaki is entering his seventh season with Northern Colorado. Over that time he has helped take the team from the Great West Conference into the Western Athletic Conference.
Scouting San Francisco
San Francisco is led by 19th year head coach Nino Giarratano. The Dons are coming off a 22-34 season in which they finished 14-13 in West Coast Conference play for fifth overall. USF brings a veteran team back with eight of its projected starters being upperclassmen. Leading the way for the team is WCC 2016 Defensive Player of the Year Nico Giarratano, along with Ross Puskarich. The duo were All-WCC selections last season. Puskarich is the team's big slugger hitting .331 last season with five home runs and 29 RBI. On the mound, USF will throw Thomas Ponticelli in the opener. He throw 72.2 innings last season for a 4-6 record and 5.94 ERA. The Dons were picked to finish sixth in the WCC this season.
Scouting San Francisco State (DII)
San Francisco State started its season last week with four games. The Gators won two of three games against Academy of Art, before falling in a mid-week game to Sonoma State. Senior Bryce Brooks has been a big part of SFSU offense sitting .385 through the first four games with one run scored and one RBI. On the mound, San Francisco State has used 17 pitcher so far. Of the 17, Ryan Bohent has put forth the best performance. He started one of the games against the Academy of Art, going six innings, allowing just two hits with five strike outs and no walks or runs. Before facing the Bears on Tuesday, the Gators will go to Azusa Pacific for a four-game series starting Thursday.
History Against USF & SFSU
There isn't much history to lean on between the Bears and Dons, who are facing each other for the first time in program history. It is also the first time UNC and SFSU have played each other.
History Against WCC Teams
Northern Colorado is 25-60 all-time against teams from the WCC. The majority of those games have come against BYU who holds a 20-52 record in the series.
Exceeding Expectations
In the Preseason WAC coaches poll, Northern Colorado has been picked to finish eighth in the conference for the second consecutive year. The Bears will need to surprise the teams in the conference in order to book a trip to Mesa, Arizona at the end of May.
UNC has been able to exceed expectations the past two seasons. last year the team was picked to finish eighth and ended up fifth in the conference. While in 2014 Northern Colorado was picked last, but finished seventh in the WAC.
New Faces
Fans are going to need to keep a roster page handy for the first few weeks of the season as UNC welcomes 19 newcomers this year. The group of 19 is a mixture of true freshmen and junior college transfers.
Three of the fresh faces for the Bears are receiving some attention nationally. They are RHP Aaron Hamilton, OF Jack Pauly and RHP Troy Watson. DIBaseball.com rated both Hamilton and Pauly as some of the top draft prospects for the 2017 and 2018 draft, respectively from the WAC. Watson was ranked the No. 3 impact freshman for this season.
UNC also welcomes Nate Rasmussen as a volunteer assistant to staff. Rasmussen will serve as outfield coach, first base coach, and camp director as well as assisting hitters.
The Return of Lean Dean
Dean Lawson came on strong during the final three quarters of the year ending it with a team leading .357 batting average. His average was good for fifth in the conference and 126th in the nation. Lawson also batted in 16 runs during the season.
Tanner on a Terror
Nick Tanner will look for a great senior season to follow up a productive 2016 in which he made the second team All-WAC. He finished the 2016 season with a slash line of .327/.401/.388 and added one home run along with 15 RBIs. Tanner was also one of UNC's key pitchers, finishing with a 4-1 record. His team leading 2.89 ERA was good for third in the conference and 158th in the nation. Tanner pitched in a team high 53 innings with 33 strikeouts and 13 walks during the season.
Moving Runners Up
Northern Colorado excelled at small ball after posting 47 sacrifice bunts during the 2016 season. They were ranked second in the WAC for sacrifice bunts with only Seattle finishing with more (49). Jacob Ek led the team with 11 and Dean Lawson added eight of his own.
Turning Two
Northern Colorado's defense turned 39 double-plays during the 2016 season, which was ranked sixth in the WAC and 188th in the nation. Brett Minnick was involved in 31 of the teams 39 double plays last season.
Every Day is Sunday
Sunday was the best day for baseball last year as Northern Colorado was 8-2 on Sunday and 8-30 on any other day of the week.
Swiping Bags
The running ability of the Bears was on display last season as the team swiped 50 bases during it, ranking seventh in the WAC. Dean Lawson led the team with 10 stolen bases and Jacob Ek added another eight.
Following the Bears
Want to stay up to date with all things UNC Bears Baseball? There are a few ways to. During all games this year there will be live updates on the team's Twitter account @NCBearsBaseball.
For home games there will also be a live audio broadcast of the games as well as live stats on UNCBears.com.
Making the Grades
There were seven UNC players who earned spots on the 2016 Academic Honors list. Those earning honors are Jake Garcia, Cam Huber, Brett Minnick, Cole Maltese, Dan Reese, Payton Tapia, Corey Nakakura.
Wild Wild West
The Bears roster is comprised of almost every state in the western part of the US. Eleven different states are represented on the roster, as far east as Nebraska and as west as Hawaii.
Home Grown
Head coach Carl Iwasaki and his staff have done a good job of keeping the home grown talent in the state. 12 of UNC's 35 hail from the Centennial State.
Hawaiian Connection
The Bears have four players who hail from Hawaii plus head coach Carl Iwasaki and assistant Kaiona Correa all coming to Colorado from the islands.
Class of 2018
Help arrives for Northern Colorado with eight new players joining their roster for the 2018 season. The Bears add three infielders, a catchers, two utility players and a pair of right handed pitchers.
On Deck
Northern Colorado will conclude its first road trip of the year with series against BYU (2/23-2/24) and San Jose State (2/24/-2/25), both of which will be played in San Jose, Calif. UNC is 20-52 all-time against BYU, most recently splitting a two game series in February of 2013. San Jose State got the best of the Bears in the only series the two schools have played back in February of 2015. UNC dropped three of the four games in the series, also played in San Jose.
In the Hole
Northern Colorado opens up their first home series of the 2017 season against North Dakota State. The Bears and Bison are even at 11-11 in their all-time series. They last met in March of 2015 with NDSU taking three of four games from UNC in Greeley. The home opener at Jackson Stadium is set for Friday, March 3 at 2 pm.
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