University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, April 14
Greeley, Colo.
2:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
vs
Metro State
@NCBearsBaseball Takes On Metro State This Weekend
4/13/2017 11:49:00 AM | Baseball
Northern Colorado baseball faces Metro State this weekend for three games
GREELEY – Northern Colorado baseball goes out of conference this weekend to face in-state foe Metro State for three games. The Bears and Roadrunners will play one game at Jackson Field at 2 pm Friday, before a doubleheader in Denver on Saturday beginning at 12 pm.
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado dropped two out of three games over the weekend to Seattle, but picked up a victory over Air Force on Tuesday. UNC is 13-17 and 4-5 in conference.
• The Bears offense has been explosive recently after producing 33 runs and 52 hits over the last four games. UNC hitters found their power again with 7 home runs and added 7 doubles to their totals.
• UNC set a season high with five home runs against Air Force, including three solo-home runs, as well as a two and three run home run. The Bears also set season-highs for runs (12) and hits (16) against Seattle on Friday.
• Although Northern Colorado's offense was productive, the pitching staff struggled. UNC pitchers surrendered 42 runs, although 9 of them were unearned.
• Cole Maltese had an impressive game against Tuesday, going 3-4 with 2 home runs and four RBIs.
• Tyler Yamaguchi was key for the Bears offensive success and went 8-13 with 1 home run and 6 RBIs over the last four games.
• Northern Colorado found is offense late in the game with 23 of their 33 runs scored in the fifth inning or later. The late offense surge from UNC fell short on Friday against Seattle, but pushed the Bears to victory on Saturday.
•The Bears will face Metro State University over the weekend with the first game in Greeley on Friday and then a doubleheader on Saturday.
Gameday Happenings
Friday is Bark at the Park day at Jackson Field, so bring your furry friends to enjoy a day of baseball! Their will be special goody bags and treats for those four-legged friends in attendance.
Scouting Metro State
• Metro State faces UNC with a 16-18 record, 12-7 at home and 4-11 on the road. The Roadrunners recently dropped two games against Regis University, but won two against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. The Roadrunner offense has been potent with 32 home runs and a .315 team batting average. Outfielder Sean Kennedy has been a major contributor for Metro State with a .387 batting average, 2 home runs, a team leading 14 doubles, and 23 RBIs. Infielder Cale O'Donnell (Jr.) has provided the power for the Roadrunners with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs, along with a .339 batting average. Metro State's pitching staff has not been on par with the hitters and currently has a 6.46 team ERA. Javi Vega has been the Roadrunners workhorse with a 5-1 record and a 4.02 ERA in 56 innings pitched with 39 strikeouts to only 13 walks.
History Against Metro State
Northern Colorado and Metro State have faced off numerous times historically, but only twice in the last 10 years. The last matchup occurred in April of 2015 with UNC defeating Metro State 6-5. Overall, the two teams have squared off 119 times, with the Bears holding a 78-41 advantage. Coming into this weekend UNC is on a three-game win streak. When playing in Greeley the team is 40-20 against the Roadrunners, while 29-19 when playing at MSUD's home field.
March to Mesa
The Bears step away from WAC play this week, but the March to Mesa continues. UNC is 4-5 a week before the halfway mark of the conference season. That puts them fifth in the standings, but fourth when it comes to qualifying for the tournament since GCU is ineligible this season as they complete their transition to Division I. New Mexico State leads the league with a 6-0 record, and are the Bears next opponent in conference play.
The WAC Tournament will take place May 24-28 at Hohokum Park, the spring training home of the Oakland A's. The top six teams in the conference qualify for the tournament.
Bears Dig The Long Ball
UNC can hit the long ball. The team has 30 home runs this season including seven of multi-home run games. They are ranked 50th in the NCAA in home runs hit.
Nine different Bears have hit a long ball this season, led by Cole Maltese's eight, which puts him 51st in the nation.
The Bears had a day of longballs against Air Force on April 11th. They hit five home runs in the game, including back-to-back-to-back solo shots from Maltese, Jack Pauley and Brett Minnick. Maltese ended up hitting two dingers in the game.
Guch Power
Sophomore Tyler Yamaguchi's 5-9, 160 pound figure doesn't put the idea of power into anyone's mind, but he has found a surge lately thanks to his high bat speed. The Honolulu, Hawaii native is slugging 1.000 over the past two weeks including three home runs and a triple. During that time frame he is leading the team with a .476 batting average as well.
Along Came Pauley
Redshirt sophomore, Jack Pauley has made an instant impact for Northern Colorado this season. He leads the team in batting average (.353) and RBI (28).
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, March 26th 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.
Minnick Doubling Up
Brett Minnick has be a doubles machine this year for UNC. The junior has 14 doubles averaging one every other game. That ranks second in the WAC and 22nd nationally.
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.
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 2-3 with a 4.71 ERA, he has struck out 33 and walked 15 over 36.1 innings pitched.
Close Calls
One or two run ball games have been common for Northern Colorado this season, through 30 games, 12 have been decided by that margin. UNC is 7-5 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.
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 stream 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
The Bears return home on Tuesday when they host first year program UCCS. The Cougars make the trip up from Colorado Springs to face UNC at 3 pm.
In the Hole
It's back into WAC play next weekend when UNC takes on the league leader in New Mexico State. Going into this weekend the Aggies are 6-0 in WAC play.
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado dropped two out of three games over the weekend to Seattle, but picked up a victory over Air Force on Tuesday. UNC is 13-17 and 4-5 in conference.
• The Bears offense has been explosive recently after producing 33 runs and 52 hits over the last four games. UNC hitters found their power again with 7 home runs and added 7 doubles to their totals.
• UNC set a season high with five home runs against Air Force, including three solo-home runs, as well as a two and three run home run. The Bears also set season-highs for runs (12) and hits (16) against Seattle on Friday.
• Although Northern Colorado's offense was productive, the pitching staff struggled. UNC pitchers surrendered 42 runs, although 9 of them were unearned.
• Cole Maltese had an impressive game against Tuesday, going 3-4 with 2 home runs and four RBIs.
• Tyler Yamaguchi was key for the Bears offensive success and went 8-13 with 1 home run and 6 RBIs over the last four games.
• Northern Colorado found is offense late in the game with 23 of their 33 runs scored in the fifth inning or later. The late offense surge from UNC fell short on Friday against Seattle, but pushed the Bears to victory on Saturday.
•The Bears will face Metro State University over the weekend with the first game in Greeley on Friday and then a doubleheader on Saturday.
Gameday Happenings
Friday is Bark at the Park day at Jackson Field, so bring your furry friends to enjoy a day of baseball! Their will be special goody bags and treats for those four-legged friends in attendance.
Scouting Metro State
• Metro State faces UNC with a 16-18 record, 12-7 at home and 4-11 on the road. The Roadrunners recently dropped two games against Regis University, but won two against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. The Roadrunner offense has been potent with 32 home runs and a .315 team batting average. Outfielder Sean Kennedy has been a major contributor for Metro State with a .387 batting average, 2 home runs, a team leading 14 doubles, and 23 RBIs. Infielder Cale O'Donnell (Jr.) has provided the power for the Roadrunners with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs, along with a .339 batting average. Metro State's pitching staff has not been on par with the hitters and currently has a 6.46 team ERA. Javi Vega has been the Roadrunners workhorse with a 5-1 record and a 4.02 ERA in 56 innings pitched with 39 strikeouts to only 13 walks.
History Against Metro State
Northern Colorado and Metro State have faced off numerous times historically, but only twice in the last 10 years. The last matchup occurred in April of 2015 with UNC defeating Metro State 6-5. Overall, the two teams have squared off 119 times, with the Bears holding a 78-41 advantage. Coming into this weekend UNC is on a three-game win streak. When playing in Greeley the team is 40-20 against the Roadrunners, while 29-19 when playing at MSUD's home field.
March to Mesa
The Bears step away from WAC play this week, but the March to Mesa continues. UNC is 4-5 a week before the halfway mark of the conference season. That puts them fifth in the standings, but fourth when it comes to qualifying for the tournament since GCU is ineligible this season as they complete their transition to Division I. New Mexico State leads the league with a 6-0 record, and are the Bears next opponent in conference play.
The WAC Tournament will take place May 24-28 at Hohokum Park, the spring training home of the Oakland A's. The top six teams in the conference qualify for the tournament.
Bears Dig The Long Ball
UNC can hit the long ball. The team has 30 home runs this season including seven of multi-home run games. They are ranked 50th in the NCAA in home runs hit.
Nine different Bears have hit a long ball this season, led by Cole Maltese's eight, which puts him 51st in the nation.
The Bears had a day of longballs against Air Force on April 11th. They hit five home runs in the game, including back-to-back-to-back solo shots from Maltese, Jack Pauley and Brett Minnick. Maltese ended up hitting two dingers in the game.
Guch Power
Sophomore Tyler Yamaguchi's 5-9, 160 pound figure doesn't put the idea of power into anyone's mind, but he has found a surge lately thanks to his high bat speed. The Honolulu, Hawaii native is slugging 1.000 over the past two weeks including three home runs and a triple. During that time frame he is leading the team with a .476 batting average as well.
Along Came Pauley
Redshirt sophomore, Jack Pauley has made an instant impact for Northern Colorado this season. He leads the team in batting average (.353) and RBI (28).
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, March 26th 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.
Minnick Doubling Up
Brett Minnick has be a doubles machine this year for UNC. The junior has 14 doubles averaging one every other game. That ranks second in the WAC and 22nd nationally.
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.
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 2-3 with a 4.71 ERA, he has struck out 33 and walked 15 over 36.1 innings pitched.
Close Calls
One or two run ball games have been common for Northern Colorado this season, through 30 games, 12 have been decided by that margin. UNC is 7-5 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.
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 stream 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
The Bears return home on Tuesday when they host first year program UCCS. The Cougars make the trip up from Colorado Springs to face UNC at 3 pm.
In the Hole
It's back into WAC play next weekend when UNC takes on the league leader in New Mexico State. Going into this weekend the Aggies are 6-0 in WAC play.
Players Mentioned
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