Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – After four days of competition, the No. 3 seed Metropolitan State University of Denver hoisted the 2022 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament trophy after knocking off top-seeded Colorado Mesa 8-5 in the tournament championship. The Roadrunners went 4-1 throughout the week and earned their berth in the RMAC tournament title game after downing No. 6 seed University of Colorado Colorado Springs in Saturday’s semifinal contest at Bus Bergman Sports Complex in Grand Junction, Colo.
 
MSU Denver’s Ross Smith headlined the RMAC All-Tournament team as the Most Valuable Player after notching eight RBI and three home runs throughout the Roadrunners’ tournament bid. Smith’s bat paced the MSU Denver offense that logged 52 hits throughout the tournament.
 
Game 10 – No. 3 MSU Denver – 13, No. 6 UCCS – 3
The Roadrunners wasted no time jumping out to a lead over the Mountain Lions, scoring seven runs in the opening four innings of play. In that span, Smith, Colin Stone and Caleb Albaugh each logged home runs to build the MSU Denver lead.
 
The Mountain Lions nabbed two runs on a double from Brad Madison in the second inning and a RBI double from Aaron Faragallah in the eighth inning. UCCS earned 11 hits in the contest but left eight runners on base, limiting its ability to keep up with the explosive MSU Denver offense. Faragallah and Walker Rumsey each recorded two hits to lead the Mountain Lions at the plate on the day.
 
Smith, Stone and Tanner Garner blazed the trail for MSU Denver’s offense, which finished the game with 13 runs on 13 hits. The Roadrunners earned 10 RBI and six extra-base hits throughout the game, including four home runs and two doubles.
 
Ultimately, MSU Denver closed the game with a 13-3 win over the Mountain Lions, setting up a rematch in the RMAC Tournament championship game against Mavericks.
 
Game 11 – No. 3 MSU Denver – 8, No. 1 Colorado Mesa – 5
Conner Nantkes earned the win on the bump for the Roadrunners in Saturday’s contentious title game between the Roadrunners and Mavericks. Nantkes recorded 3.1 innings of work and delivered 52 pitches, while Eric Cox registered the save with two innings of relief work.
 
MSU Denver tabbed a pair of runs in the opening 2.5 innings to take a 2-0 lead over the Mavericks, but the advantage was not safe as Colorado Mesa erupted for four runs in the bottom of the third to gain its first lead of the afternoon. Zach Schuler’s homer to left field in the top of the fourth sparked a 4-1 scoring streak for the Roadrunners over the following three innings, putting MSU Denver ahead 6-5 heading into the final third of the game. Albaugh and Bill Ralston crossed home plate in the seventh inning, following a single from Cam Yuran and a CMU fielding error to give MSU Denver its final two runs of the game. The Roadrunners leaned heavily on their defense for the final two innings and ultimately sealed the 8-5 win, despite the Mavericks loading the bases for their final at-bat.
 
Schuler and Yuran combined for four of the Roadrunners’ six RBI in the game as the team registered 10 hits. MSU Denver’s defense stranded 13 Colorado Mesa batters on base, while the pitching staff combined for nine strikeouts.
 
In addition to Smith’s RMAC Tournament MVP nod, he was joined on the All-Tournament team by fellow Roadrunners Yuran, Stone, Carter Akerfelds and Nantkes. Colorado Mesa landed a trio of all-tournament honorees in Caleb Farmer, Haydn McGeary and Harrison Rodgers. CSU Pueblo’s Reggie Williams and UCCS’ Tyler Richardson round out the All-Tournament roster.
 
Colorado Mesa and MSU Denver await their fate in the 2022 NCAA Division II Regional Tournaments, which will be announced Sunday, May 15, at 8 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Roadrunners claim the RMAC automatic berth and will make their first appearance at the NCAA Tournament in program history. The Mavericks will aim for an at-large bid as the CMU was named the No. 1 team in the South Central region ahead of the RMAC Tournament.