April 17, 2008

Weekly Release: Air Force & Utah Valley

 

Northern Colorado Double Round Robin

Northern Colorado (12-22) • Air Force (11-22) • Utah Valley (7-24-1)

Friday, April 18 • Greeley, Colo. • Jackson Field • 10:00 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 19 • Greeley, Colo. • Jackson Field • 10:00 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 20 • Greeley, Colo. • Jackson Field • 10:00 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.

Audio Streaming (NC Games): www.1310kfka.com • Live Stats (All Games): www.uncbears.com

 

A Lot Of Baseball

For baseball lovers, this weekend will be heaven at Jackson Field as six games will be played over three days. Northern Colorado hosts Air Force and Utah Valley in a double round-robin tournament. The Falcons and Wolverines will play the morning games (10:00 a.m.) on both Friday and Saturday with the Bears facing each team once in the afternoon (2:00 p.m.) contests both days. On Sunday, NC will take on UV at 10:00 and AF at 2:00 to conclude the tournament.

 

Series History

This will be the second time the Bears have seen the Falcons this season. Earlier this year, Air Force defeated Northern Colorado 5-3 in 10 innings in Pueblo. The Bears hold a 74-45 advantage in the all-time series which began back in 1961. Utah Valley owns a 7-5 lead in the all-time series against Northern Colorado. The two teams began competition in 2004 and have played every year since as both are Division I Independents. Last year, the Bears were 5-0 against the Falcons and 0-2 against the Wolverines.

 

Sandberg Slugs Way Into Record Books

Junior Kevin Sandberg had a day for the ages against Metro State. The designated hitter tallied 10 RBI, breaking the school record for RBI in a single game of eight held by Scott Vatter vs Regis in 1993 and Joe Bacarella vs Western New Mexico in 1990. He also set the single game school record for at bats in a game with eight, bettering the previous record of seven, which had occurred numerous times and tied the record with six hits in a game. Both Joe Bonacquista vs Western State in 1964 and Zach Brockman vs Metro State in 2003 tallied six hits in a game.

 

Home Sweet Home

Northern Colorado has now played seven games within the friendly confines of Jackson Field, posting a 5-2 record. The Bears are hitting .385 over the seven games and 41 of the 101 hits are for extra bases, including all three of the team's triples this season. The team's slugging percentage is also .622 at home, bringing the season percentage to .386.

 

A Lot Of Ink Used

Four team records were either tied of broken in the 29-10 victory over Metro State - a game that saw a combined 39 runs, 42 hits and 27 different players come to the plate. The team had 55 at bats to tie the record from 1997 against Colorado State-Pueblo and 2003 against Metro State, tied the record of eight doubles from a game against Morningside in 1999 and set the new nine inning record for runners left on base with 15. The two teams combined for 38 RBI, which ties the record from when the two teams squared off in 2003.

 

Moving On Up

With two doubles against Metro State on Tuesday, junior Kevin Sandberg continued to climb the school's ladder for career doubles. Sandberg now has 34 two-baggers which ties Jeff Simpson (1974-77) for ninth on the all-time list. The record for doubles in a career is 47 by Chris Kirgan (1992-94).

 

You Can Bank On It

Senior Jason Banks has worked his last 8.1 innings without giving up a run for the Bears. Banks threw 4.0 against Dallas Baptist allowing just four hits and striking out seven and then pitched 4.1 against Montana State-Billings, allowing just two hits and fanning five. He now had 33 strikeouts in 24.2 innings of work and has six appearances with three or more K's.

 

In A Pinch

Senior catcher Erik Whinery, who has started 30 of the team's 33 games and pinch hit just one time this season, probably had his biggest hit as a Bear in that pinch role. In the bottom of the sixth inning (of a scheduled 7-inning game) with NC trailing 3-1 and two outs, Whinery was put into the lineup with the bases loaded and promptly hit a bases clearing double through the right side of the infield to give the Bears the 4-3 lead and the victory.

 

Coming On Strong

Junior Mike Raudenbush was used sparingly through the first part of the season, but has forced head coach Kevin Smallcomb to get him in the lineup. After starting the season 1-for-6 from the plate with three strikeouts, Raudenbush has hit 12-for-24 with no K's since the South Dakota State series. He is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, which is tied for the longest current streak on the team with fellow outfielder Andy Mees.

 

Getting On Base

Seniors Chad Murray and Erik Whinery have both done a great job lately of getting on base. Murray has reached in 10 straight games and in 20 of the last 21, while Whinery has gotten on base safely in 16 of the last 17 games.

 

It Hasn't Been Easy

With the first 24 games on the road this season, the Bears faced some of the toughest competition in Division I as four teams and 13 of those 24 contests came against teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the Collegiate Baseball Poll as Arizona State (1-1) is ranked third, UC Irvine (0-1) is sixth, Texas A&M (2-2) is eighth and Nebraska (0-6) is 10th.

 

Back-to-Back Jacks

For the first time all season, two Bears hit consecutive home runs when senior Chad Murray and Kevin Sandberg hit long balls against Metro State in the second inning. The Bears tallied six home runs in the game, the most since NC smashed nine against the Roadrunners back in 2003. It was the fourth time this season the Bears notched at least two homers in the same contest.

 

Milestone Approaching

Northern Colorado has a storied baseball tradition, one that shows when looking at the all-time record. The Bears are now just four wins shy of 1,400 in history, sporting a 1,396-1,032-3 (.575) record since the program began in 1924.

 

A Win Over One

For the first time in Division I history at Northern Colorado, the Bears defeated the top-ranked team in the nation, downing Arizona State 6-3 on March 21. This season the Bears are 3-6 against teams ranked in the top 30, while they went 0-6 against ranked squads a year ago. In 2006, NC defeated #2-ranked Nebraska, 5-2 and went 2-4 against teams appearing in the national rankings.

 

Closing In

Senior Jeff Horn is two at bats shy of 200 for his career, while Anthony Garcia's next at bat will be number 150 and Sean Zyer's next will be his 100th. Senior Cory Morales needs just eight more hits for 100 in his career, while pitcher Chris Reap needs just six more strikeouts to record 100. Junior Kevin Sandberg is now just two RBI short of 100 after knocking in 10 on Tuesday.

 

Inherited Runners

NC pitchers have done a fantastic job of not letting inherited runners cross the plate. Bears' hurlers have inherited 45 base runners and only 13 have scored. Senior right-handed pitcher Dan Kazell has paced the squad, coming in with 12 on base and just two have scored. Three times he has taken over the game with the bases loaded and gotten out of the jam.