GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The No. 12 Colorado Mesa baseball team double dipped the No. 28 Colorado School of Mines Orediggers on Saturday (May 12) to claim their fifth straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Championship at Suplizio Field.
In game one, Colorado Mesa had more errors than the Orediggers had hits and stranded 15 base runners but in the end, they prevailed with a 6-5 win.
The Mavericks committed six errors in the game while Mines only garnered five hits.
Dominic DeMarco got the Mavericks going in the top of the first inning with a RBI double that scored
JJ Carr.
Shortstop
Zach McLeod finished up the first inning with a two-run single to left center gave Colorado Mesa a 4-0 before Mines evened stepped to the plate.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Orediggers answered with three runs to cut the lead to 4-3.
The Mavericks tallied single runs in the fourth and fifth innings on solo home runs by DeMarco and McLeod. The two combined to finish 4-for-10 with five runs driven in.
Senior
Taylor Prokopis got the start in the day's first game and came through in a big way. Prokkopis (6-1), who walked in this morning's commencement ceremony, allowed five runs (two earned) on five hits, walked one and struck out eight in six and two-thirds innings of work.
Freshman
Frankie Fitzgerald picked up his second save of the tournament after surrendering just one walk while striking out two in an inning and a third pitched.
In game two, the Mavericks jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one inning and coasted to a 9-6 win over Colorado School of Mines in the championship game.
JJ Carr and McLeod delivered a pair of RBI doubles in the first inning to jump start the offense.
McLeod and
Jordan Stubbings delivered solo home runs in the game.
AJ Landis earned the win on the mound after pitching three innings of relief. Landis (5-2) allowed one run on four hits while striking out four while throwing 61 pitches.
Senior
Jake Mielock pitched a perfect ninth to earn his first save of the season.
Designated hitter
Dominic DeMarco was named the RMAC Tournament MVP after leading the tournament in both hits and home runs.
The win gave the Mavericks the magic number of 40 on the season. This is their sixth straight season winning 40 or more games in a season.
The Mavericks earned the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA National Tournament and will find out what seed they have earned during the selection show on Sunday at 8pm mountain time.
RMAC All-Tournament Team (Colorado Mesa)
Hunter Douglas
Frankie Fitzgerald
JJ Carr
Zach McLeod
Dominic DeMarco, MVP
