University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, May 5
Bakersfield, Calif.
7:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
at
CSU Bakersfield
@NCBearsBaseball Starts Road Trip at CSU Bakerfield
5/3/2017 11:34:00 AM | Baseball
Northern Colorado baseball hits the road for seven straight, starting with a three-game series at CSU Bakersfield
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Northern Colorado (16-24, 5-10 WAC) baseball starts its stretch run of the season with a three-game series at CSU Bakersfield (22-17, 8-7 WAC) this weekend. It begins a seven-game road trip for UNC.
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado is coming off a 1-2 home weekend against Utah Valley. The Bears dropped the series opener and finale, but did shutout the Wolverines in the middle game 7-0.
• Catcher Alex Kiel extended his hit streak to 13-games last weekend. It is the second longest streak of the season behind Cole Matlese's of 15 from earlier this year.
• In that second game of the series the team's combined for 16 hits, all 16 of them were singles.
• Pitchers Aaron Hamilton and Dylan Shiraki combined for the first shutout at home for UNC since May 2012 against Chicago State. It is the second shutout of the season that Hamilton has been a part of. He also threw a complete game shutout at San Jose State in February.
• Errors proved to be costly for UNC has they gave up seven unearned runs in the series against UVU.
• The Bears start a seven-game road trip when they head to CSU Bakersfield this weekend. The road trip spans over two weeks. UNC will look to improve upon its 5-18 record away from Greeley.
Scouting CSU Bakersfield
CSU Bakersfield has been playing well in WAC play recently, going 7-2 in the past nine games to help them to an 8-7 record in the conference. Overall, the Roadrunners are 23-17 on the season. The team is hitting .315 for the year with six players hitting above .300. Ryan Grotjohn leads not only the team, but the NCAA with his .422 average. The team isn't a big long ball team having just three home runs on the season, but they have scored 239 runs overall by stringing together hits.
On the mound the Roadrunners are led by Friday starter max Carter who is 7-1 with a 3.24 ERA for the season. He has struck out 49 batters this season while walking just 14. Closer Naithen Dewsnap has done a good job shutting the door on opponents with a 3-0 record and 1.96 ERA with 11 saves.
History Against CSU Bakersfield
Northern Colorado is 3-10 all-time against CSU Bakersfield, with all three wins coming in the past two seasons. The Bears hosted the Roadrunners last year taking both games as weather shortened the season. The team has one win at Bakersfield coming in 2015. UNC and CSUB faced each other last season in the WAC Tournament with the Roadrunners winning 11-6.
March to Mesa
The final three weeks of WAC regular season play are upon the Bears, and they have some work to do. They are currently tied for eighth in the conference with Seattle at 5-10. UNC and SU is 1.5 games behind UTRGV for the final spot in the tournament. Grand Canyon leads the conference at 16-2 in WAC play, but is ineligible this year for the conference tournament, putting New Mexico State in the drivers seat for the top seed in Mesa.
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 1-2 with a 4.43 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched. During this time he has allowed 10 earned run on 25 hits while striking out 13. Those efforts out of the pen, have now moved him into the starting rotation for the Bears.
Lords of the (SAC) Flys
Northern Colorado baseball has become the Lords of the Sac Fly this season recording 23 on the season to lead the WAC, and rank 30th in the NCAA. Leading the Bears is Jack Pauley and his seven, ranking second in the WAC and seventh in the nation. Tyler Yamaguchi and Cole Maltese are also in the Top 20 of the rankings with six and five, each.
Bears Dig The Long Ball
UNC can hit the long ball. The team has 39 home runs this season including 11 of multi-home run games. They are ranked 77th in the NCAA in home runs hit.
Eleven different Bears have hit a long ball this season, led by Cole Maltese's nine, which puts him 116th 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 (.349) and RBIs (34). The average has him ranked sixth in the WAC.
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. For the year the Bears have enjoyed the friendly confines of Jackson going 11-6 in home games.
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 been a doubles machine this year for UNC. The junior has 18 doubles averaging one every other game. That ranks first in the WAC and 15th 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.
Hamilton combined for UNC's second shutout of the season with a strong 7.0 innings pitched allowing six hits while striking out six as well. Dylan Shiraki closed out the shutout for the team facing the minimum over the final two innings.
For the season Hamilton is 3-4 with a 4.50 ERA, he has struck out 51 and walked 22 over 56.0 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 road trip continues the weekend after that, this time in Texas at UT Rio Grande Valley. The Bears and Vaqueros will play a three-game series over May 12-14.
In the Hole
Northern Colorado starts the final week of the regular season on the road when they face Air Force in a rescheduled game from earlier this season on May 16. Following that the Bears host Chicago State to close out the regular season at Jackson Field over May 18-20.
| Game | Probable Starters | Game Links |
| Friday, May 5 at 7 pm MT | RHP Connor Leedholm (1-4, 5.18 ERA) vs RHP Max Carter (7-1, 3.24 ERA) | Video | Audio | Live Stats |
| Saturday, May 6 at 7 pm MT | RHP Aaron Hamilton (3-4, 4.50 ERA) vs RHP Andrew Hansen (3-2, 4.86 ERA) | Video | Audio | Live Stats |
| Sunday, May 7 at 1 PM MT | LHP Karver Pate (0-2, 5.16 ERA) vs RHP Aaron Charles (2-0, 4.09 ERA) | Video | Audio | Live Stats |
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado is coming off a 1-2 home weekend against Utah Valley. The Bears dropped the series opener and finale, but did shutout the Wolverines in the middle game 7-0.
• Catcher Alex Kiel extended his hit streak to 13-games last weekend. It is the second longest streak of the season behind Cole Matlese's of 15 from earlier this year.
• In that second game of the series the team's combined for 16 hits, all 16 of them were singles.
• Pitchers Aaron Hamilton and Dylan Shiraki combined for the first shutout at home for UNC since May 2012 against Chicago State. It is the second shutout of the season that Hamilton has been a part of. He also threw a complete game shutout at San Jose State in February.
• Errors proved to be costly for UNC has they gave up seven unearned runs in the series against UVU.
• The Bears start a seven-game road trip when they head to CSU Bakersfield this weekend. The road trip spans over two weeks. UNC will look to improve upon its 5-18 record away from Greeley.
Scouting CSU Bakersfield
CSU Bakersfield has been playing well in WAC play recently, going 7-2 in the past nine games to help them to an 8-7 record in the conference. Overall, the Roadrunners are 23-17 on the season. The team is hitting .315 for the year with six players hitting above .300. Ryan Grotjohn leads not only the team, but the NCAA with his .422 average. The team isn't a big long ball team having just three home runs on the season, but they have scored 239 runs overall by stringing together hits.
On the mound the Roadrunners are led by Friday starter max Carter who is 7-1 with a 3.24 ERA for the season. He has struck out 49 batters this season while walking just 14. Closer Naithen Dewsnap has done a good job shutting the door on opponents with a 3-0 record and 1.96 ERA with 11 saves.
History Against CSU Bakersfield
Northern Colorado is 3-10 all-time against CSU Bakersfield, with all three wins coming in the past two seasons. The Bears hosted the Roadrunners last year taking both games as weather shortened the season. The team has one win at Bakersfield coming in 2015. UNC and CSUB faced each other last season in the WAC Tournament with the Roadrunners winning 11-6.
March to Mesa
The final three weeks of WAC regular season play are upon the Bears, and they have some work to do. They are currently tied for eighth in the conference with Seattle at 5-10. UNC and SU is 1.5 games behind UTRGV for the final spot in the tournament. Grand Canyon leads the conference at 16-2 in WAC play, but is ineligible this year for the conference tournament, putting New Mexico State in the drivers seat for the top seed in Mesa.
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 1-2 with a 4.43 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched. During this time he has allowed 10 earned run on 25 hits while striking out 13. Those efforts out of the pen, have now moved him into the starting rotation for the Bears.
Lords of the (SAC) Flys
Northern Colorado baseball has become the Lords of the Sac Fly this season recording 23 on the season to lead the WAC, and rank 30th in the NCAA. Leading the Bears is Jack Pauley and his seven, ranking second in the WAC and seventh in the nation. Tyler Yamaguchi and Cole Maltese are also in the Top 20 of the rankings with six and five, each.
Bears Dig The Long Ball
UNC can hit the long ball. The team has 39 home runs this season including 11 of multi-home run games. They are ranked 77th in the NCAA in home runs hit.
Eleven different Bears have hit a long ball this season, led by Cole Maltese's nine, which puts him 116th 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 (.349) and RBIs (34). The average has him ranked sixth in the WAC.
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. For the year the Bears have enjoyed the friendly confines of Jackson going 11-6 in home games.
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 been a doubles machine this year for UNC. The junior has 18 doubles averaging one every other game. That ranks first in the WAC and 15th 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.
Hamilton combined for UNC's second shutout of the season with a strong 7.0 innings pitched allowing six hits while striking out six as well. Dylan Shiraki closed out the shutout for the team facing the minimum over the final two innings.
For the season Hamilton is 3-4 with a 4.50 ERA, he has struck out 51 and walked 22 over 56.0 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 road trip continues the weekend after that, this time in Texas at UT Rio Grande Valley. The Bears and Vaqueros will play a three-game series over May 12-14.
In the Hole
Northern Colorado starts the final week of the regular season on the road when they face Air Force in a rescheduled game from earlier this season on May 16. Following that the Bears host Chicago State to close out the regular season at Jackson Field over May 18-20.
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