PUEBLO, Colo. (February 28, 2025) – It wasn't the high-scoring affair it promised to be on paper, as the Lubbock Christian Chaparrals came up short on Friday, and suffered defeat at the hands of the Colorado State-Pueblo ThunderWolves by a final of 4-2.
 
Senior Ryan Markwardt (3-2) started and took the loss on the mound for Lubbock Christian, who fell to 9-8 on the year. Markwardt allowed just three runs on four hits, but walked four and only struck out two.
 
Senior Andrew Duran was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going three shutout innings while allowing one hit, walking none and striking out five. The New Mexico native has now lowered his season ERA to 4.50 in 14 innings of work and is second on the team in strikeouts with 19.
 
At the plate, the Chaparrals did not have any player with more than one hit. Shea Bowen and Nicklaus Baumbach each had a double, and Baumbach also reached base via a walk. Bowen and Brevin McCool had the two RBI for LCU.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After cutting down a run at the plate to end the bottom of the second Chaparrals got on the scoreboard in the top of the third. Junior Kyle Lewis came across to score the lone run of the inning for Lubbock Christian after behind hit by a pitch. He scored on McCool's groundout.
 
The ThunderWolves then immediately answered back in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs on a pair of hits and four walks to chase Markwardt from the game. They added a run in the bottom of the fourth to round out their scoring.
 
Lubbock Christian pushed across a run on Bowen's two-out RBI double in the fifth, but the Thunderwolves kept them scoreless through the final four frames.
 
GAME NOTES
» Jacob Gutierrez went hitless in four trips to the plate, stopping his team-leading 14-game hitting streak.
» LCU hit just .111 with runners on base, including 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
» Markwardt lasted just 2.2 innings marking his shortest outing since March 10, 2024, when he had a two-inning save against St. Mary's. The last time he had that short of an outing in a start was on Feb. 24, 2024 against Arkansas-Fort Smith.
» The Chaps only put their leadoff batter on one time in nine chances, while the Thunderwolves were 4-for-8 in leadoff opportunities.
» Colorado State-Pueblo was led offensively by sophomore Noah Williams, who went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.

This story was partially created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.