Roadrunners and Mavericks Remain Perfect After Two Days at RMAC Baseball Tournament
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Four teams remain in the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament as No. 1 Colorado Mesa and No. 2 Metropolitan State University of Denver remain undefeated. No. 5 Colorado State University Pueblo and No. 3 Regis now have one loss and face elimination in tomorrow’s contests. The ThunderWolves opened the day with a 12-2 win over No. 6 Colorado Christian. The Mavericks earned a 4-2 win over fourth-seeded Colorado School of Mines, while No. 2 MSU Denver walks off No. 3 Regis in 11 innings for a 10-9 victory.
On Friday, the Mavericks and Roadrunners will face off in a rematch of last year’s RMAC Tournament Championship game to begin the day at 11 a.m. MT. CSU Pueblo and Regis will then compete in an elimination game at 3 p.m., followed by a game that will feature the winner of the 3 p.m. game and the loser of the 11 a.m. game.
Thursday Recap
Game 4 – #5 CSU Pueblo – 12, #6 Colorado Christian – 2
Thursday’s opening day started with the ThunderWolves and Cougars in an elimination battle where CSU Pueblo prevailed with a 12-2 win. Six players registered two or more hits for the Pack’s offense combined for 18 hits. Kysen Howard led his squad going 4-for-4 and four RBI on the day, while Brady Prewitt went 2-for-5 and scored three times. Nick Perry registered a strong start for head coach Bobby Applegate fanning five batters and giving up just five hits and two runs.
Jordan Medina got the Cougars on the board in the first inning with a solo home run to left center field. The Cougars’ second run in the game came on an RBI single from Caden Walton which allowed Aaron Morgan to score. Harrison Nation gave up just one earned run on seven hits in five innings while striking out three batters.
Game 5 – #1 Colorado Mesa – 4, #4 Colorado School of Mines – 2
The Mavericks earned their second win of the conference tournament after a 4-2 win over the Orediggers. Rob Sharrar was able to give the Mavericks momentum on both sides of the ball by throwing a runner out at the plate from center field, before hitting a solo home run to give the Mavericks the lead. CMU maintained their lead through the entire contest by playing the short game and not relying on the long ball.
Kannon Handy got his sixth win of the season, allowing just two runs on two hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings. Anthony Durbano closed the game for the second consecutive game striking out four in two innings of work
The Orediggers fought hard throughout the whole contest and threatened early with a solo home run from Mason Andrews. Caden Bonds singled to right field in the fifth which allowed Garret Nielsen to score Mines’ second and final run of the game.
Game 6 – #2 MSU Denver – 10, #3 Regis – 9
It took 11 innings, 12 pitchers and 27 hits between the two teams, but MSU Denver secured a victory over the Rangers.
Tanner Garner came in clutch for his squad by laying down a bunt in the bottom of the 11th that allowed Caleb Albaugh to cap off the three hours and 49-minute contest. Garner did not only come up with one big hit for the Roadrunners but registered five RBI and three hits. The senior came up big time in the fifth with a bases-clearing single to give MSU Denver the 7-5 lead. Albaugh recorded three RBI of his own to help his team.
The Rangers stayed in it until the very last pitch as Drew LaComb’s team battled the whole night. Matt Marlow came through in the fifth with a timely two-run homer to put his team up by three. Levi Padilla and Adam Panigua combined for five hits at the bottom of the lineup to flip it back to the top.