Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Top seeded Colorado Mesa defeated Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival CSU-Pueblo twice on Saturday at Suplizio Field to win their third straight conference tournament championship.
 
In the first game, Colorado Mesa trailed by one-run entering the eighth inning but exploded for eight runs on their way to a 16-8 win over the ThunderWolves.
 
The Mavericks scored the eight run on seven hits, and one error but the bat of catcher Kyle Serrano started the fuse for the Mavericks.
 
Serrano led off the inning with a solo home run over the Mays Concrete sign in left center field to tie the game at 8-8.
 
Five hits and a walk later, Serrano stepped to the plate and delivered another home run. This time it was a three-run moon shot to left field. He finished the game 2-for-5 with two runs scored and five runs driven in.
 
Andrew Contreras had four hits in the game including two runs scored and three runs driven in.
 
Reliever Nick Borowski picked up the win in relief after throwing the final three and two-thirds. Borowski allowed just three hits and struck out seven without allowing a runner to advance past second base.
 
In the championship final, a pair of seldom used pitchers stepped up in a big way for the Mavericks in a 9-5 win.
 
Freshman Kyle Leahy got the start and pitched into the fifth inning. Leahy allowed five runs on 10 hits, walked four and struck out four and stranded nine runners in the game.
 
Leahy gave way to sophomore Tyler Sandoval who pitched the final four and two-thirds of shutout baseball to earn his first collegiate victory. Sandoval allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out two.
 
The two entered the game having thrown a combined six and one-third innings on the season.
 
After falling behind 1-0, Colorado Mesa scored seven unanswered runs to take a 7-1 lead.
 
The ThunderWolves responded by scoring four unanswered runs to cut the lead to 7-5. But, the Mavericks picked up a pair of insurance runs in the top half of the sixth inning on a two-run, line drive home run by Lane LaCrone.
 
Speedy John Ballard finished the game with three hits, including a double, a triple, two run scored and two runs driven in.
 
Kyle Serrano was named the tournament's MVP and he was joined on the first team by teammates Andrew Contreras, Alex Fife, Matt Allen, and Zach McLeod.
 
Colorado Mesa (43-11) earned the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA South Central Region Tournament next week.