GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The No. 24 Colorado Mesa baseball team played with heavy hearts on Sunday afternoon but earned the series sweep over Colorado Christian with a 10-2 win at Suplizio Field.
 
Colorado Mesa lost beloved friend and teammate Ryan Teixeira last night and the Mavericks honored their fallen teammate in a variety of ways.
 
Teixeira was placed in the starting lineup at third base, batting third, with his jersey placed in position at third base.
 
After one pitch, long-time friend and teammate Garrett Ball picked up the jersey, put it on and replaced Teixeira in the lineup.
 
In the bottom of the first, Ball reached on a single and later scored the game's first run on Bligh Madris' home run to right field. The home run was Madris' second home run of the season.
 
Ball finished the game 2-for-5 with four runs driven in while Madris was 4-for-5 with a double, a home run, and four runs driven in.
 
Sophomore Kyle Leahy earned his third win of the season after pitching the first five innings of the contest. Leahy (3-0) allowed one run on three hits, walked one and struck out five. The Erie native pitched around traffic in every inning except his final one where he retired the side in order.
 
Four relievers combined to throw four innings and allowed one run on five hits, walked three and struck out three.
 
The win extends the Mavericks win streak to six as they improve to 11-5 on the season and 4-0 in the RMAC while Colorado Christian falls to 6-12 and 0-4 in the conference.
 
Colorado Mesa will head to Colorado Springs next weekend to take on first-year program UCCS. Series begins on Friday at Spurgeon Field.