University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, February 16
San Jose, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
University of Northern Colorado
at
San Jose State University
Preview: @NCBearsBaseball Opens Season at San Jose State
2/16/2018 8:47:00 AM | Baseball
The 2018 Northern Colorado baseball season begins Friday with a four-game series at San Jose State
GREELEY, Colo. – Play Ball! The 2018 Northern Colorado baseball season begins on Friday, as the Bears travel to San Jose, California to face San Jose State for a four-game weekend series that includes a doubleheader on Saturday. The Bears are looking to continue the momentum from a 24-30 season last year that saw the team make it to the WAC Tournament semifinals and finish third overall.
First pitch for game one of the series is set for 7 pm MT, with Saturday's doubleheader starting at 1 pm and the finale at 1 pm. Friday and Sunday's game will be streamed through the Mountain West Digital Network and live stats through UNCBears.com. The team's Twitter account, @NCBearsBaseball, will provide updates throughout all of the games as well.
Scouting the Spartans
San Jose State enters the 2018 season under the leadership of interim head coach Brad Sanfilippo. SJSU is coming off of a 19-35-1 season in which they went 10-18-1 in the Mountain West to finish sixth. The Spartans return six starters from last year, including preseason All-Conference honoree Shane Timmons who led the team in batting average (.304), home runs (10) and RBI (46). San Jose is picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West this season.
Experienced Lineup
Northern Colorado returns an experienced lineup from last season as eight of the team's regular starters are back in 2018, including Jack Pauley, Evan Johnson, Cole Maltese and Brett Minnick. It's not just UNC's offense and fielding that returns the experience in 2018, but the pitching staff too. Aaron Hamilton, Troy Watson and Keenan Lum return to start on the mound, while Connor Leedholm and Anthony Brady will be coming out of the pen.
New Faces
While Northern Colorado has plenty of old faces, there are plenty of impactful new faces as well this season, including Austin Miller and Baxter Halligan. Miller comes to UNC from Loyola Marymount where he was a first-team All-WCC selection in 2014, along with being named the conference's Freshman of the Year. Fans can expect the Greeley native to step in and make an impact right away for the Bears in the outfield. Halligan is a 6-2, 200 lbs freshman southpaw that will toe the rubber for UNC on Sunday afternoon. A Portland, Oregon native, Halligan earned first-team All-State honors his senior year.
Preseason Honors
Jack Pauley was a tear to deal with for opponents last season and the WAC coaches showed him the respect he deserves in voting him onto the conference's preseason team. Pauley finished last year with a .332 batting average, including 21 doubles, a pair of triples and eight home runs. He led UNC with 46 RBIs.
Bears Dig the Long Ball
Northern Colorado started last season on a torrid pace when it came to home runs and ended the season with 44. Twelve different Bears hit a long ball last season, led by Cole Maltese's nine.
Exceeding Expectations
It has become a tradition to exceed the WAC coaches' preseason expectations for Northern Colorado, finishing ahead of them the past three seasons and looking to do it for the fourth year. UNC was picked to finish eighth in the nine-team conference this season despite the strong finish to 2017. Grand Canyon, who is now eligible for the postseason, was picked to defend its regular season title this season. The remaining order went New Mexico State, Sacramento State, Seattle U, CSU Bakersfield, UT Rio Grande Valley, UNC and Chicago State.
Coaching Changes
Heading into his eighth season as the skipper of Northern Colorado baseball, Carl Iwasaki had a few changes to his staff over the offseason. Nate Rasmussen was promoted to assistant coach after Kai Correa took an opportunity within the Cleveland Indians organization. With Rasmussen moving up from volunteer assistant that left a hole to welcome back former Bears shortstop Jake Ek to fill that position.
Home Sweet Home
UNC will be playing at Jackson Field plenty of times for Bears fans to catch them in action as they are scheduled to host 28 home games this season. Northern Colorado's home opener is scheduled for February 23 when Montana State-Billings comes to town for a four-game series. The WAC home opener will take place on March 29 against preseason favorite Grand Canyon.
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado comes home next week for its first home series of the year with Montana State-Billings coming to Greeley. The Bears and Yellow Jackets will play a four-game series over February 23-25, including a doubleheader on February 24.
All Northern Colorado home games are free of charge to attend.
To stay up to date on all things UNC Baseball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @NCBearsBaseball.
First pitch for game one of the series is set for 7 pm MT, with Saturday's doubleheader starting at 1 pm and the finale at 1 pm. Friday and Sunday's game will be streamed through the Mountain West Digital Network and live stats through UNCBears.com. The team's Twitter account, @NCBearsBaseball, will provide updates throughout all of the games as well.
| Game | Probable Starters | Game Links |
| Friday, Feb. 16 at 7 pm | RHP Troy Watson vs RHP Jake Swiech | Video | Live Stats |
| Saturday, Feb. 17 at 1 pm | LHP Keenan Lum vs RHP Fineas Del Bonta-Smith | Live Stats |
| Saturday, Feb. 17 at 4:30 pm | RHP Aaron Hamilton vs RHP Nicholas Morales | Live Stats |
| Sunday, Feb. 18 at 1 pm | LHP Baxter Halligan vs RHP Josh Goldberg | Video | Live Stats |
Scouting the Spartans
San Jose State enters the 2018 season under the leadership of interim head coach Brad Sanfilippo. SJSU is coming off of a 19-35-1 season in which they went 10-18-1 in the Mountain West to finish sixth. The Spartans return six starters from last year, including preseason All-Conference honoree Shane Timmons who led the team in batting average (.304), home runs (10) and RBI (46). San Jose is picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West this season.
Experienced Lineup
Northern Colorado returns an experienced lineup from last season as eight of the team's regular starters are back in 2018, including Jack Pauley, Evan Johnson, Cole Maltese and Brett Minnick. It's not just UNC's offense and fielding that returns the experience in 2018, but the pitching staff too. Aaron Hamilton, Troy Watson and Keenan Lum return to start on the mound, while Connor Leedholm and Anthony Brady will be coming out of the pen.
New Faces
While Northern Colorado has plenty of old faces, there are plenty of impactful new faces as well this season, including Austin Miller and Baxter Halligan. Miller comes to UNC from Loyola Marymount where he was a first-team All-WCC selection in 2014, along with being named the conference's Freshman of the Year. Fans can expect the Greeley native to step in and make an impact right away for the Bears in the outfield. Halligan is a 6-2, 200 lbs freshman southpaw that will toe the rubber for UNC on Sunday afternoon. A Portland, Oregon native, Halligan earned first-team All-State honors his senior year.
Preseason Honors
Jack Pauley was a tear to deal with for opponents last season and the WAC coaches showed him the respect he deserves in voting him onto the conference's preseason team. Pauley finished last year with a .332 batting average, including 21 doubles, a pair of triples and eight home runs. He led UNC with 46 RBIs.
Bears Dig the Long Ball
Northern Colorado started last season on a torrid pace when it came to home runs and ended the season with 44. Twelve different Bears hit a long ball last season, led by Cole Maltese's nine.
Exceeding Expectations
It has become a tradition to exceed the WAC coaches' preseason expectations for Northern Colorado, finishing ahead of them the past three seasons and looking to do it for the fourth year. UNC was picked to finish eighth in the nine-team conference this season despite the strong finish to 2017. Grand Canyon, who is now eligible for the postseason, was picked to defend its regular season title this season. The remaining order went New Mexico State, Sacramento State, Seattle U, CSU Bakersfield, UT Rio Grande Valley, UNC and Chicago State.
Coaching Changes
Heading into his eighth season as the skipper of Northern Colorado baseball, Carl Iwasaki had a few changes to his staff over the offseason. Nate Rasmussen was promoted to assistant coach after Kai Correa took an opportunity within the Cleveland Indians organization. With Rasmussen moving up from volunteer assistant that left a hole to welcome back former Bears shortstop Jake Ek to fill that position.
Home Sweet Home
UNC will be playing at Jackson Field plenty of times for Bears fans to catch them in action as they are scheduled to host 28 home games this season. Northern Colorado's home opener is scheduled for February 23 when Montana State-Billings comes to town for a four-game series. The WAC home opener will take place on March 29 against preseason favorite Grand Canyon.
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado comes home next week for its first home series of the year with Montana State-Billings coming to Greeley. The Bears and Yellow Jackets will play a four-game series over February 23-25, including a doubleheader on February 24.
All Northern Colorado home games are free of charge to attend.
To stay up to date on all things UNC Baseball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @NCBearsBaseball.
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