University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, April 21
Las Cruces, N.M.
6:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
at
New Mexico State
@NCBearsBaseball Hits the Road Against League Leading New Mexico State
4/20/2017 2:55:00 PM | Baseball
Northern Colorado baseball heads to league leader New Mexico State for three games this weekend
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After taking a week off of WAC play, the Bears (15-19, 4-5 WAC) jump back in and face a tough challenge going up against league leader New Mexico State (23-15, 8-1 WAC). UNC and NMSU start a three game series on Friday night at 6 pm.
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado continued to defend their home field the past week, improving their home record to 11-4 with wins over Metro State (4/14) and UCCS (4/18). The Bears struggles on the road continued after dropping both games of a double header on Saturday (4/15) as their road record fell to 4-13.
• Northern Colorado gets back into WAC play this weekend with a three-game series against conference-leading New Mexico State (4/21-4/23) in Las Cruces, NM.
• The Bears offense was explosive at home and almost non-existent on the road the past week. UNC scored 18 runs in two games at home and only 1 in two games on the road. The opposite was true for pitching as they were better on the road than at home. Pitchers allowed 12 runs in two games at home and allowed 6 runs in two games on the road.
• Alex Kiel hit his first home run of his collegiate career on Friday in dramatic fashion with a three-run walk-off. The home run handed the Bears the 8-6 victory and gave Kiel 5 RBIs on the day. Along with being his first collegiate career home run, Kiel notes that this was his first home run since his little league playing days.
• UNC tied their season-high for hits in a game with 16 against UCCS on Tuesday (4/18). They now have four games with 16 hits this season.
• Cole Maltese has brought the power for UNC with a team leading 9 home runs. Maltese also has 22 RBIs, which is good for third on the team.
Scouting New Mexico State
New Mexico State faces the Bears with an 8-1 conference record and a 23-15 overall record this season. The Aggies are 13-5 at home, but are currently on a one-game losing streak after losing a road game to Texas Tech 4-6. Last weekend, New Mexico State took 2 of 3 games on the road from fellow WAC opponent Sacramento State. The Aggies offense has been potent this season with a conference-leading 296 runs and a .314 team batting average that is good for second in the conference. Brent Sakuari leads New Mexico State with a .373 batting average and has added 3 home runs with 23 RBIs. Tristen Carranza has supplied the power for the Aggies with a team-leading 11 home runs and 33 RBIs that ranks third on the team. New Mexico State's pitching staff has struggled in supporting the offense with a team ERA of 4.71. Kyle Bradish leads the Aggie rotation with a 6-0 record, 2.25 ERA, .183 opponent batting average, and 50 strikeouts to 34 walks in 52 innings pitched. Jonathan Groff has also pitched well for the Aggies with a 5-4 record, 2.91 ERA, .230 opponent batting average, and 43 strikeouts to 23 walks in 55.2 innings pitched.
History Against New Mexico State
Northern Colorado and New Mexico State have faced each other 34 times, with the Aggies holding the 21-13 edge. Of those meetings, 25 have taken place in Las Cruces, where the Bears are 12-13 including a sweep of NMSU the last trip there in 2015. Last year, New Mexico State took two of three from UNC in Greeley.
March to Mesa
The Bears step back into WAC play this week, and sit in the middle of a very close conference race. UNC is tied for fourth in the conference with Utah Valley and Chicago State at 4-5. That is 1.5 games a head of the pack of UT Rio Grande Valley, Sacramento State and Seattle who sits at 4-8. Leading the conference is a red hot New Mexico State team, who is 8-1 through nine WAC games.
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.
Leed(Holm)ing the way
Connor Leedholm has rounded into form his last three outings for UNC going 1-1 with a 0.84 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched. During this time he has allowed just one earned run on nine hits whiles striking out six. Those efforts first out of the pen, have now moved him into the starting rotation for the Bears.
Lord of the (SAC) Flys
Northern Colorado baseball has become the Lords of the Sac Fly this season recording 20 on the season to lead the WAC, and rank 27th in the NCAA. Leading the Bears is Jack Pauley and his seven, which also leading the WAC and ranks fourth in the nation. Tyler Yamaguchi and Cole Maltese are also in the Top 10 of the rankings with five and four, each.
Bears Dig The Long Ball
UNC can hit the long ball. The team has 35 home runs this season including nine of multi-home run games. They are ranked 50th in the NCAA in home runs hit.
Ten different Bears have hit a long ball this season, led by Cole Maltese's nine, which puts him 56th in the nation.
The Bears had a day of long balls 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.
Along Came Pauley
Redshirt sophomore, Jack Pauley has made an instant impact for Northern Colorado this season. He leads the team in batting average (.352) and RBIs (31). The average and RBIs have him ranked ninth and fourth in the WAC, respectively.
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 has made a few appearances this season for Northern Colorado as they have earned a pair of big comeback victories at home. The first against Sacramento State on March 26, and then again on April 14 against Metro State
On Sunday, March 26th afternoon 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.
Having trailed all game long, Northern Colorado scored four in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off win. Alex Kiel hit his first career home run, a three run shot to end the game.
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 first in the WAC and seventh 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 4.68 ERA, he has struck out 40 and walked 16 over 42.1 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
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.
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 second game between UNC and Air Force will take place on Tuesday on the Air Force Academy base at 3 pm. The Bears took game one of the series this season 9-8 in Greeley.
In the Hole
Northern Colorado returns home next weekend, when they host Utah Valley for a three-game series at Jackson Field. The series begins on Friday, April 28 at 3 pm.
| Game | Probable Starters | Game Links |
| April 21 at 6 pm | LHP Karver Pate (0-1, 4.85 ERA) vs RHP Marcel Renteria (5-2, 3.29 ERA) | Video | Audio | Live Stats |
| April 22 at 2 pm | RHP Connor Leedholm (1-3, 4.22 ERA) vs LHP Jonathan Groff (5-4, 2.91 ERA) | Video | Live Stats |
| April 23 at 11 am | RHP Aaron Hamilton (2-3, 4.68 ERA) vs TBA | Video | Audio | Live Stats |
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado continued to defend their home field the past week, improving their home record to 11-4 with wins over Metro State (4/14) and UCCS (4/18). The Bears struggles on the road continued after dropping both games of a double header on Saturday (4/15) as their road record fell to 4-13.
• Northern Colorado gets back into WAC play this weekend with a three-game series against conference-leading New Mexico State (4/21-4/23) in Las Cruces, NM.
• The Bears offense was explosive at home and almost non-existent on the road the past week. UNC scored 18 runs in two games at home and only 1 in two games on the road. The opposite was true for pitching as they were better on the road than at home. Pitchers allowed 12 runs in two games at home and allowed 6 runs in two games on the road.
• Alex Kiel hit his first home run of his collegiate career on Friday in dramatic fashion with a three-run walk-off. The home run handed the Bears the 8-6 victory and gave Kiel 5 RBIs on the day. Along with being his first collegiate career home run, Kiel notes that this was his first home run since his little league playing days.
• UNC tied their season-high for hits in a game with 16 against UCCS on Tuesday (4/18). They now have four games with 16 hits this season.
• Cole Maltese has brought the power for UNC with a team leading 9 home runs. Maltese also has 22 RBIs, which is good for third on the team.
Scouting New Mexico State
New Mexico State faces the Bears with an 8-1 conference record and a 23-15 overall record this season. The Aggies are 13-5 at home, but are currently on a one-game losing streak after losing a road game to Texas Tech 4-6. Last weekend, New Mexico State took 2 of 3 games on the road from fellow WAC opponent Sacramento State. The Aggies offense has been potent this season with a conference-leading 296 runs and a .314 team batting average that is good for second in the conference. Brent Sakuari leads New Mexico State with a .373 batting average and has added 3 home runs with 23 RBIs. Tristen Carranza has supplied the power for the Aggies with a team-leading 11 home runs and 33 RBIs that ranks third on the team. New Mexico State's pitching staff has struggled in supporting the offense with a team ERA of 4.71. Kyle Bradish leads the Aggie rotation with a 6-0 record, 2.25 ERA, .183 opponent batting average, and 50 strikeouts to 34 walks in 52 innings pitched. Jonathan Groff has also pitched well for the Aggies with a 5-4 record, 2.91 ERA, .230 opponent batting average, and 43 strikeouts to 23 walks in 55.2 innings pitched.
History Against New Mexico State
Northern Colorado and New Mexico State have faced each other 34 times, with the Aggies holding the 21-13 edge. Of those meetings, 25 have taken place in Las Cruces, where the Bears are 12-13 including a sweep of NMSU the last trip there in 2015. Last year, New Mexico State took two of three from UNC in Greeley.
March to Mesa
The Bears step back into WAC play this week, and sit in the middle of a very close conference race. UNC is tied for fourth in the conference with Utah Valley and Chicago State at 4-5. That is 1.5 games a head of the pack of UT Rio Grande Valley, Sacramento State and Seattle who sits at 4-8. Leading the conference is a red hot New Mexico State team, who is 8-1 through nine WAC games.
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.
Leed(Holm)ing the way
Connor Leedholm has rounded into form his last three outings for UNC going 1-1 with a 0.84 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched. During this time he has allowed just one earned run on nine hits whiles striking out six. Those efforts first out of the pen, have now moved him into the starting rotation for the Bears.
Lord of the (SAC) Flys
Northern Colorado baseball has become the Lords of the Sac Fly this season recording 20 on the season to lead the WAC, and rank 27th in the NCAA. Leading the Bears is Jack Pauley and his seven, which also leading the WAC and ranks fourth in the nation. Tyler Yamaguchi and Cole Maltese are also in the Top 10 of the rankings with five and four, each.
Bears Dig The Long Ball
UNC can hit the long ball. The team has 35 home runs this season including nine of multi-home run games. They are ranked 50th in the NCAA in home runs hit.
Ten different Bears have hit a long ball this season, led by Cole Maltese's nine, which puts him 56th in the nation.
The Bears had a day of long balls 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.
Along Came Pauley
Redshirt sophomore, Jack Pauley has made an instant impact for Northern Colorado this season. He leads the team in batting average (.352) and RBIs (31). The average and RBIs have him ranked ninth and fourth in the WAC, respectively.
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 has made a few appearances this season for Northern Colorado as they have earned a pair of big comeback victories at home. The first against Sacramento State on March 26, and then again on April 14 against Metro State
On Sunday, March 26th afternoon 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.
Having trailed all game long, Northern Colorado scored four in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off win. Alex Kiel hit his first career home run, a three run shot to end the game.
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 first in the WAC and seventh 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 4.68 ERA, he has struck out 40 and walked 16 over 42.1 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
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.
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 second game between UNC and Air Force will take place on Tuesday on the Air Force Academy base at 3 pm. The Bears took game one of the series this season 9-8 in Greeley.
In the Hole
Northern Colorado returns home next weekend, when they host Utah Valley for a three-game series at Jackson Field. The series begins on Friday, April 28 at 3 pm.
Players Mentioned
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