The Wyoming club baseball squad capped off an inconsistent month of play on Saturday and Sunday, winning two of three conference contests and losing one exhibition against the University of Northern Colorado Bears in Greeley, Colo.
“Our team played tough in all three conference games,” said Wyoming bench coach Will Burger. “Losing game 2 was tough, but we’ve shown how competitive we can be by taking that it into extras.”
The Cowboys have now split games with their opponents in their last five outings.
On Saturday, the Pokes won their first game against UNC with a strong defensive effort, shutting out the Bears 8-0.
Senior pitcher Rhowe Stefanski got the start for the Cowboys in game one and led the Pokes, pitching seven shutout innings and six strikeouts. He is now 3-0 on the season with a 2.143 ERA.
“Stefanski definitely anchored our rotation with his performance on Saturday,” said Burger.
Stefanski’s performance earned him Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for the National Club Baseball Association’s Mid-America region.
Unfortunately for Wyoming, this defensive effort did not carry over into the second game of the day, and the Pokes fell in a narrow 5-4 contest that went to extra innings.
Sophomore Jeff Crocker started Saturday’s second game, but was relieved by senior Ryan Bunger in the fourth inning. Bunger allowed two earned runs, and the game went to extra innings before the Bears secured a 5-4 victory in the eighth.
On Sunday, the Pokes’ offense was productive, scoring 18 runs to top UNC 18-10.
Senior third baseman Rylan Harding led Wyoming’s offensive effort with four runs, four RBIs, two stolen bases and a double.
Harding is now batting .375 on the season.
“Our offense was unstoppable in games one and three,” said Burger.
Fifth-year senior pitcher Tony Goebel started on the mound in the third game of the weekend, pitching two strikeouts over six innings.
The second game of Sunday’s double-header was an exhibition, and did not count toward Wyoming’s conference standings. The Pokes lost the game 11-4.
“I feel like we definitely made a lot of strides as a team this weekend,” said senior outfielder and closing pitcher Connor Morton. “It was a good team effort, and now we’re tied for first place in our conference.”
The Cowboys continue their season this weekend against Colorado on Saturday and Sunday in Johnstown, Colo. at Nelson Farm Park. Wyoming’s first game is set to start at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
