ALAMOSA, Colo. – Adams State Baseball is back on its home diamond for the third straight weekend with another RMAC four-game series.
OPPONENT: MSU Denver Roadrunners (12-7, 6-2 RMAC)
WHEN: Friday, March 22 – 3 p.m.
Saturday, March 23 (DH) – 12 & 3 p.m.
Sunday, March 24 – 12 p.m.
WHERE: Alamosa, Colo. – ASU Baseball Field
First Pitch
• Adams State enters the weekend winners in three of their last four games and is 6-16 overall, with a 3-5 mark in RMAC play.
• The Grizzlies are coming off a 3-1 series win over Colorado Christian at home. The Grizzlies split day one and went 2-0 on day two to secure their first RMAC series win of the season.
• After being at home for three straight weekends, the Grizzlies will hit the road once again for a four-game series.
Quick Hits
Adams State Baseball History
• Grizzlies Baseball begins its seventh season as an NCAA sport. The program was re-instituted prior to the 2013 season after a 35 year hiatus.
• Prior to the 2013, Adams State last sponsored baseball in 1976 season when the program was still a member of the NAIA.
• Adams State enjoyed quite a bit of success winning back-to-back RMAC championships in 1973 and 1974.
• The Grizzlies posted the best overall record in the conference in each of the last four years (1973-76) while sponsoring the sport before it was discontinued.
The Capra File
• Head Coach
James Capra has led the Grizzlies Baseball in each of the last six seasons. Coach Capra is a graduate of Adams State (Class of 1980).
• Coach Capra was a member of the 1976 team before it was cut. He also played football for three seasons at Adams State and was a three-year starter at wide receiver.
Last Time Out
• The Grizzlies secure their first conference series win and second overall of the season with 3-1 win at home against the Colorado Christian Cougars.
• Adams State took game one 8-6 behind the help of scoring six runs in the first three innings. They nearly mounted a comeback in game two, falling 7-6, after trailing five runs midway through the game.
• Day two was all Grizzlies as they secure a 2-0 sweep to take the series. They won game one 8-5 and took game two 6-3 behind a combination of solid hitting and pitching.
Batter Up!
• The Grizzlies weekend has their offense come back to life as four batters are hitting over .300 entering the weekend.
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Jared Gay now owns the top spot on offense with a .364 batting average. He is 24-66 with a team-high 20 RBI and three home runs. He has scored 15 runs as well and is slugging .576.
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Nico Nintze is second with a.347 batting average. He was the team leader for much of the season. He is 26-75 with a team-high six doubles to go along with two homers and 14 RBI.
• Adding to the offense as well are
Logan Bistrup and
Jake Angelopulos who are batting .338 and .305, respectively. The duo have scored a combined 31 runs and tallied 14 RBI.
• Bistrup has 12 of the 14 RBI between the pair, and has scored 19 runs. He also has two home runs on the season and is slugging .581 to lead the Grizzlies.
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Erik Hildebrandt is just a .300 batting average at .293. He has scored 16 runs and totaled nine RBI. Hildebrandt leads the squad in stolen bases with four this season on five attempts.
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Orlando Romero leads the team in home runs with three going into this weekend. He is batting .230 at the DH spot and has scored eight runs to go along with 13 RBI.
Doing Work on the Hill
• Despite the slow start on the mound on the Grizzlies, their pitching unit has allowed no more than seven runs in their two series wins this year.
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Troy Gutbub has the top ERA at 5.45 going into the weekend. He has appeared in seven games, made five start and is 2-2 on the year. In 33 innings of work he has struck out a team high 34 batters.
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Daniel Brennan is sporting a 7.40 ERA for the Grizzlies. He has started six games and in 24.1 inning pitched he has struck out 21 batters, which is second most for the squad.
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David Maldonado has the second most innings of work for Adams State at 26.2. he has a 911 ERA and is 2-3 on the season. He has struck out 12 batters.
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Dalton Carleo is third in strikeouts this year with 17 for the Grizzlies. He sports a 1-3 record and has pitched 26.1 innings, which is also third most on the team.
Road Warriors
• The Grizzlies were one the road for their first 14 games on the road before playing a single game on their home turf.
• Adams State will play a total of 26 games on the road this season and 24 games at home after the series shift with Colorado Christian.
Scouting MSU Denver
• The Roadrunners are 12-7 overall and 602 in RMAC play entering the weekend. They are coming off a 4-0 series sweep at New Mexico Highlands.
• MSU Denver will be a tough challenge for Adams State as they lead the RMAC in hitting, pitching, and defense. They also have one of the nation's top hitters in their lineup.
• Matt Malkin leads the team in overall hitting percentage at .435. He is 30-69 this year with 11 home runs, 33 RBI, and 21 runs scored.
• Malkin was named the RMAC Hitter of the Week after going 11-18 at New Mexico Highlands with 12 RBI, six runs, and hitting a home run in each game. The Division I transfer is the Division II leader in home runs per game (0.61) and RBI per game (1.83).
• Helping on offense as well is Draven Adame with a .396 batting average. He has 17 RBI o the year and is slugging .698.
• Zach Paschke and Logan Soole are also batting over .350 at .365 and .351, respectively. Soole is second on the team in RBI with 20 this season. Paschke is the team leader in stolen bases with seven on eight attempts.
• Four other players are batting over .300 for the Roadrunners in Chase Anderson (.338), Jake Kistatis (.327), Zach Walsh (.314), and Ty Lightley (.313). Cade Peters is just under .300 with a .293 batting average.
• Pitching wise, MSU Denver has a combined team ERA of 3.61. Eight pitchers are sporting a 3.00 ERA or better.
• Logan Soole leads the way in starts with four in six game appearances. He sports a 2.92 ERA and is 2-2 this year. He has pitched the most innings at 24.2 and has a team-high 29 strikeouts.
• Reliever John Badgett has appeared in five games and is 2-0 out of the bullpen. He has worked 10.1 innings and fanned nine batters.
• Javi Vega is second on the team in strikeouts with 19 on the year. He is 1-0 on the hill and sports a 1.77 ERA in 201. Innings pitched.
• Austin Stone also has 20 strikeouts on the season in 24 innings pitched. He is 2-2 and has a 5.25 ERA.
• Taylor Peterson is right behind Stone and Vega with 18 strikeouts. He sports a 2.38 ERA, is 3-1, and has pitched 11.1 innings this year.
• Defensively, the Roadrunners have a team fielding percentage of .971. They have forced 38 double plays and committed just 20 errors this season.
Up Next
• Adams State will head north to Golden, Colo. next weekend for a four-game set at Colorado School of Mines.
• The Grizzlies and Orediggers will begin their series with a single game on Friday, March 29. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
