University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, March 31
Phoenix, Ariz.
8:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
at
Grand Canyon
@NCBearsBaseball Look to Stay Hot Against Grand Canyon
3/30/2017 9:04:00 AM | Baseball
UNC baseball heads to the desert this weekend to face Grand Canyon in WAC play.
PHOENIX – While most of the sports world descends upon the Phoenix area for the Final Four this weekend, Northern Colorado baseball is looking to take care of business against Grand Canyon. The Bears and Lopes will put up their 3-0 WAC records against each other during the three-game series that begins on Friday night.
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado went 3-1 last week, sweeping Sacramento State over the weekend, while falling to Regis in a mid-week game.
• Northern Colorado is on the edge of .500 after sweeping the weekend series against Sacramento State.
• Northern Colorado showed their resilience against Sacramento State with two come from behind wins. The Bears engineered an incredible comeback in the Sunday finale, rallying from a five-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth to win 8-7 against the Hornets.
• The sweep of Sacramento State was the first in program history.
• A key to the sweep was UNC's offense, they hit .350 against one of the top pitching staffs in the WAC, as the Hornets had a 6.66 ERA in the series. The Bears also had 15 extra base hits in the series, 11 of them being doubles. UNC hitters also combined 10 multi-hit games (Pauley 3, Maltese 2, Johnson 1, Kiel 1, Lawson 1, Minnick 1, Tanner 1).
• Pitching was also key for the team, as both Aaron Hamilton and Troy Watson earned quality starts for the team. Each ended up earning the win as well.
• Catcher Alex Kiel had a pair of multi-hit games for the Bears, including a key three hit game against Sac St on Saturday.
• The Bears look to stay atop the WAC when they face another 3-0 team in the standings with Grand Canyon.
• Timely hitting was key for UNC over the weekend with Brett Minnick delivering clutch hits to take and insure the lead in Friday's game. Tyler Yamaguchi's suicide squeeze, followed up by Dean Lawson's two-run homer were the deciding factors in Saturday's victory. Nick Tanner delivered the game winning hit on Sunday but a six-run 9th inning required clutch hits from numerous Bear's hitters.
• Northern Colorado next heads to Phoenix for a three-game series against Grand Canyon University, which will be the first road trip of conference play.
Scouting Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon enters the series against the bears with a 9-13 record and 3-0 in conference after sweeping CSU Bakersfield the previous weekend. Grand Canyon is 6-3 at home this season, including a series victory over previously ranked Oklahoma State. The Antelopes offense has been inconsistant104 runs in 22 games with a team batting average of .278. Austin Bull (So.) leads the Antelopes with a .388 average and has scored a team-high 17 runs. Grand Canyon's pitching staff has struggled with a team ERA of 5.49 and opponents have batted .285 against the Antelopes. Jake Wong (So.) has been impressive for Grand Canyon, recording 2-1 record in 6 starts with a 1.62 ERA and 25 strikeouts to only 11 walks in 39 innings pitched.
History Against Grand Canyon
When Grand Canyon visited Greeley last year, UNC snapped a five-game losing streak to the Lopes, and did so by sweeping GCU. The Bears are 9-36 all time against Grand Canyon, going 5-34 when playing in Arizona. The last time the team won at GCU was in 2001. Since joining the WAC in 2014, UNC is 4-5 vs the Lopes.
March to Mesa
The WAC season began last week, and UNC got out to an impressive start by sweeping Sacramento State. The Bears were one of three teams go sweep its WAC opening series along with GCU and Utah Valley. With a win on Friday, UNC will mark its best start in WAC play at 4-0. Northern Colorado is aiming for its third straight trip to the WAC Tournament in Mesa, Arizona at the end of May. The top six teams in the conference standings qualify for the tournament.
Along Came Pauley
Redshirt sophomore, Jack Pauley has made an instant impact for Northern Colorado this season. He leads the team in batting average (.386) and RBI (25).
Pauley had a monster opening WAC weekend hitting .615 against Sacramento State. He had eight hits on the weekend, including four doubles and two triples. Pauley also had five RBI and scored five times. He came up with the game-tying hit against Sac St on Sunday on one of his three doubles in the game.
He earned his first career WAC Hitter of the Week honor for his performance against NDSU at the beginning of March. He hit .538 in the series with three extra base hits including a pair of homers. He led the team seven RBI and six runs scored.
Jackson Magic
Jackson Magic was in full force on Sunday afternoon as UNC scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth to earn the comeback win and sweep of Sacramento State. The Bears trailed by as much as seven in the game as the Hornets scored at least one run in five of the first six innings. The trio of Evan Johnson, Jack Pauley and Nick Tanner came up with big hits for the Bears in the comeback. Johnson put UNC within one on a bases loaded clearing double, while Pauley tied the game up on his third double of the game. Nick Tanner had the walk-off hit with a single to left scoring Cole Maltese.
Bears Dig The Long Ball
UNC can hit the long ball. The team has 21 home runs this season including six of multi-home run games. They are ranked 62nd in the NCAA in home runs hit.
Nine different Bears have hit a long ball this season, led by Cole Maltese's six, which puts him 63rd in the nation.
Minnick Doubling Up
Brett Minnick has be a doubles machine this year for UNC. The junior has 11 doubles averaging one every other game. That ranks second in the WAC and 22nd nationally.
We Play Small Ball Too
Northern Colorado not only hits the long ball, but can play small ball too. The Bears have 12 sacrifice bunts this year. That places them third in the WAC for sac bunts and 137th in the NCAA.
14 K Gold Performance
Aaron Hamilton turned in a performance for the ages against San Jose State. He pitched a complete game two-hit shutout striking out 14, and allowing no walks. The 14 strikeouts tied a school-record, with Donnie Alexander.
Since that game Hamilton has made four more appearances including two starts. He has an 1-0 record and 4.41 ERA. He has going 16.1 innings striking out 12 and walking five.
He went mono-a-mono with Sacramento State ace Justin Dillion as both put up zeros through the first five innings. Hamilton allowed two runs in the sixth, while Dillion five, ending both of there days and Hamilton earning the win.
For the season Hamilton is 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA, he has struck out 27 and walked 11 over 27.1 innings pitched.
Close Calls
One or two run ball games have been common for Northern Colorado this season, through 23 games, 10 have been decided by that margin. UNC is 6-4 in those games.
Three of them have gone into extra innings all lasting just 10 innings. UNC is 1-2 in those games winning at San Francisco while falling to BYU and Regis.
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.
Interesting Ending
Northern Colorado's final game against San Francisco had a very interesting ending. First, the conclusion of the game was pushed to two days after it began due to darkness and weather. Then in the bottom of the 10th San Francisco's final two outs came when they were caught trying to steal second base.
Schedule Additions
UNC added a pair of games to its schedule after weather has canceled some. The Bears will now play a doubleheader against Metro State at Metro on April 15 starting at noon. There is also an additional game at Jackson Field this season on April 18. UNC will welcome first year DII program UCCS at 3 pm on the date.
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.
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 stram and 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
UNC will play its first of three games against Air Force on Tuesday, April 4. It will be the first of three meetings between the teams this season, two at the Academy and one in Greeley.
In the Hole
The Bears return home to host defending WAC regular season champion Seattle over April 7-9. First pitch on Friday is set for 2 pm MT.
| Game | Probable Pitchers | Game Links |
| March 31 at 8 pm MT | RHP Aaron Hamilton (2-1, 3.95 ERA) vs RHP Jake Wong (2-1, 1.65 ERA) | Video | Live Stats |
| April 1 at 3 pm MT | RHP Troy Watson (3-1, 5.64 ERA) vs LHP Jake Repavich (2-2, 4.14 ERA) | Video | Live Stats |
| April 2 at 1 pm MT | TBA vs TBA | Video | Live Stats |
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado went 3-1 last week, sweeping Sacramento State over the weekend, while falling to Regis in a mid-week game.
• Northern Colorado is on the edge of .500 after sweeping the weekend series against Sacramento State.
• Northern Colorado showed their resilience against Sacramento State with two come from behind wins. The Bears engineered an incredible comeback in the Sunday finale, rallying from a five-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth to win 8-7 against the Hornets.
• The sweep of Sacramento State was the first in program history.
• A key to the sweep was UNC's offense, they hit .350 against one of the top pitching staffs in the WAC, as the Hornets had a 6.66 ERA in the series. The Bears also had 15 extra base hits in the series, 11 of them being doubles. UNC hitters also combined 10 multi-hit games (Pauley 3, Maltese 2, Johnson 1, Kiel 1, Lawson 1, Minnick 1, Tanner 1).
• Pitching was also key for the team, as both Aaron Hamilton and Troy Watson earned quality starts for the team. Each ended up earning the win as well.
• Catcher Alex Kiel had a pair of multi-hit games for the Bears, including a key three hit game against Sac St on Saturday.
• The Bears look to stay atop the WAC when they face another 3-0 team in the standings with Grand Canyon.
• Timely hitting was key for UNC over the weekend with Brett Minnick delivering clutch hits to take and insure the lead in Friday's game. Tyler Yamaguchi's suicide squeeze, followed up by Dean Lawson's two-run homer were the deciding factors in Saturday's victory. Nick Tanner delivered the game winning hit on Sunday but a six-run 9th inning required clutch hits from numerous Bear's hitters.
• Northern Colorado next heads to Phoenix for a three-game series against Grand Canyon University, which will be the first road trip of conference play.
Scouting Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon enters the series against the bears with a 9-13 record and 3-0 in conference after sweeping CSU Bakersfield the previous weekend. Grand Canyon is 6-3 at home this season, including a series victory over previously ranked Oklahoma State. The Antelopes offense has been inconsistant104 runs in 22 games with a team batting average of .278. Austin Bull (So.) leads the Antelopes with a .388 average and has scored a team-high 17 runs. Grand Canyon's pitching staff has struggled with a team ERA of 5.49 and opponents have batted .285 against the Antelopes. Jake Wong (So.) has been impressive for Grand Canyon, recording 2-1 record in 6 starts with a 1.62 ERA and 25 strikeouts to only 11 walks in 39 innings pitched.
History Against Grand Canyon
When Grand Canyon visited Greeley last year, UNC snapped a five-game losing streak to the Lopes, and did so by sweeping GCU. The Bears are 9-36 all time against Grand Canyon, going 5-34 when playing in Arizona. The last time the team won at GCU was in 2001. Since joining the WAC in 2014, UNC is 4-5 vs the Lopes.
March to Mesa
The WAC season began last week, and UNC got out to an impressive start by sweeping Sacramento State. The Bears were one of three teams go sweep its WAC opening series along with GCU and Utah Valley. With a win on Friday, UNC will mark its best start in WAC play at 4-0. Northern Colorado is aiming for its third straight trip to the WAC Tournament in Mesa, Arizona at the end of May. The top six teams in the conference standings qualify for the tournament.
Along Came Pauley
Redshirt sophomore, Jack Pauley has made an instant impact for Northern Colorado this season. He leads the team in batting average (.386) and RBI (25).
Pauley had a monster opening WAC weekend hitting .615 against Sacramento State. He had eight hits on the weekend, including four doubles and two triples. Pauley also had five RBI and scored five times. He came up with the game-tying hit against Sac St on Sunday on one of his three doubles in the game.
He earned his first career WAC Hitter of the Week honor for his performance against NDSU at the beginning of March. He hit .538 in the series with three extra base hits including a pair of homers. He led the team seven RBI and six runs scored.
Jackson Magic
Jackson Magic was in full force on Sunday afternoon as UNC scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth to earn the comeback win and sweep of Sacramento State. The Bears trailed by as much as seven in the game as the Hornets scored at least one run in five of the first six innings. The trio of Evan Johnson, Jack Pauley and Nick Tanner came up with big hits for the Bears in the comeback. Johnson put UNC within one on a bases loaded clearing double, while Pauley tied the game up on his third double of the game. Nick Tanner had the walk-off hit with a single to left scoring Cole Maltese.
Bears Dig The Long Ball
UNC can hit the long ball. The team has 21 home runs this season including six of multi-home run games. They are ranked 62nd in the NCAA in home runs hit.
Nine different Bears have hit a long ball this season, led by Cole Maltese's six, which puts him 63rd in the nation.
Minnick Doubling Up
Brett Minnick has be a doubles machine this year for UNC. The junior has 11 doubles averaging one every other game. That ranks second in the WAC and 22nd nationally.
We Play Small Ball Too
Northern Colorado not only hits the long ball, but can play small ball too. The Bears have 12 sacrifice bunts this year. That places them third in the WAC for sac bunts and 137th in the NCAA.
14 K Gold Performance
Aaron Hamilton turned in a performance for the ages against San Jose State. He pitched a complete game two-hit shutout striking out 14, and allowing no walks. The 14 strikeouts tied a school-record, with Donnie Alexander.
Since that game Hamilton has made four more appearances including two starts. He has an 1-0 record and 4.41 ERA. He has going 16.1 innings striking out 12 and walking five.
He went mono-a-mono with Sacramento State ace Justin Dillion as both put up zeros through the first five innings. Hamilton allowed two runs in the sixth, while Dillion five, ending both of there days and Hamilton earning the win.
For the season Hamilton is 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA, he has struck out 27 and walked 11 over 27.1 innings pitched.
Close Calls
One or two run ball games have been common for Northern Colorado this season, through 23 games, 10 have been decided by that margin. UNC is 6-4 in those games.
Three of them have gone into extra innings all lasting just 10 innings. UNC is 1-2 in those games winning at San Francisco while falling to BYU and Regis.
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.
Interesting Ending
Northern Colorado's final game against San Francisco had a very interesting ending. First, the conclusion of the game was pushed to two days after it began due to darkness and weather. Then in the bottom of the 10th San Francisco's final two outs came when they were caught trying to steal second base.
Schedule Additions
UNC added a pair of games to its schedule after weather has canceled some. The Bears will now play a doubleheader against Metro State at Metro on April 15 starting at noon. There is also an additional game at Jackson Field this season on April 18. UNC will welcome first year DII program UCCS at 3 pm on the date.
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.
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 stram and 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
UNC will play its first of three games against Air Force on Tuesday, April 4. It will be the first of three meetings between the teams this season, two at the Academy and one in Greeley.
In the Hole
The Bears return home to host defending WAC regular season champion Seattle over April 7-9. First pitch on Friday is set for 2 pm MT.
Players Mentioned
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