ALAMOSA, Colo. – Adams State baseball is set to close out the 2019 season this week with its final series. The Grizzlies are home for the final time as well for Senior Weekend.
OPPONENT: New Mexico Highlands Cowboys (16-30, 9-23 RMAC)
WHEN: Thursday, May 2 – 3 p.m.
Friday, May 3 – 12 & 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 4 – 12 p.m.
WHERE: Alamosa, Colo. – ASU Baseball Field
First Pitch
• Adams State (8-38, 5-27 RMAC) returns home for the final time this season after playing its last road series of the season this past weekend.
• The Grizzlies play host to the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys this weekend as they get set to wrap up the 2019 campaign.
• Adams State will honor its 2019 seniors on Saturday 30 minutes prior to the first pitch against New Mexico Highlands.
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 looked to end their final road series on a high note but were unable to as they were swept by Regis in Denver.
• The Rangers took the series opener, 9-3, to gain early momentum in the series.
• Game two of the series of the series was the closest. The Rangers held off the Grizzlies for a 3-2 win.
• Game three and four belonged to Regis as they defeated Adams State 20-8 and 24-4, respectively.
Batter Up!
• A pair of Grizzly hitters are batting over. 300 entering the final weekend of play.
•
Jared Gay owns the top average batting .352. He has a team-high 40 RBI and leads the way in home runs with nine.
•
Nico Nintze is second with a .348 batting average. He is also second in RBI with 32 on the year and his eight homers are also second most. He has the most doubles and runs with 10 and 33, respectively.
• Batting just under .300 at .292 is
Erik Hildebrandt. The senior has tallied 13 RBI and driven in the second-most runs with 30.
•
Logan Bistrup is tied for second most runs with 30 as well. He is batting .281 and has third most RBI with 25 to go along with three home runs. He also leads the team in stolen bases with 11 on 12 attempts.
Doing Work on the Hill
• Entering the final weekend, the Grizzlies pitching unit will look to recover from a tough outing against Regis.
•
Troy Gutbub has the most strikeouts on the mound with 52 in 59.2 innings of work. He is 2-6 overall and has notched two saves this year.
• Sitting second in strikeouts is
Daniel Brennan with 42. He has pitched the third most innings at 52 and leads the group in ERA with 8.65.
•
Dalton Carleo is the third man in strikeouts with 34 on the season. He sits second in innings pitched 54.2.
Road Warriors
• The Grizzlies were on the road for their first 14 games on the road before playing a single game on their home turf.
• Adams State played a total of 26 games away from Alamosa and 24 games at home after the series shift with Colorado Christian back in March.
• All 26 of the Grizzlies road game were true road contests, with not a single one being a neutral site game.
Honoring Our 2019 Seniors
• The Grizzlies will honor a total of 13 seniors on the final day of the series against New Mexico Highlands on Saturday, May 4.
• The 13 Adams State Seniors will be recognized 30 minutes prior to the 12 p.m. first pitch on Saturday.
• The seniors that will be honored this Saturday are
Erik Hildebrandt,
Lucas Webster,
Tyler Erzen,
Billy Ryan,
Dakota Solis,
Eric Sommerfeld,
Patrick Huffaker,
Josh Billingham,
David Maldonado,
Trent Hughes,
Tyler Meyers,
Jared Gay, and
Daniel Brennan.
Scouting New Mexico Highlands
• The Cowboys enter the final weekend of play with a 16-30 overall record and 9-23 in RMAC play.
• Highlands is coming off a 3-1 series loss in the home final last weekend against Colorado State-Pueblo.
• Eight players are batting over .300 entering the weekend, with one being over the .400 mark.
• Auggie Francis is the leading hitter with a .416 batting average. He has the most home runs with nine and is third in RBI with 30. He also leads the team in stolen bases and runs with 17 and 59, respectively.
• Cody Reilly is second in batting at .340. He has tallied seven RBI and scored eight runs.
• In third is Eloy Reyna with a .333 batting average. He's scored eight runs, hit four homers, and put up 19 RBI on the year.
• Gaylan Young has the most RBI for Highlands with 41 on the year while batting .327. He is second in runs scored with 38 and has hit eight home runs this season.
• Jared Brown is the second leading hitter in RBI for the Cowboys with 31 on the year. He bats .302 seventh best on the team and has scored 25 runs.
• Kyle Bedsole has started the most games on the hill with 11 while appearing in 13. He has the most strikeouts with 43 in 67.2 innings pitched and is 5-7 on the year.
• Carl Shonrock has the top ERA as a reliever at 2.33. He's pitched 19.1 innings and fanned 11 batters.
• Kaleb Whitlock has the second most started with seven and has appeared in 11 games. He is second in strikeouts with 34 but is 0-4 on the hill.
