GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – No. 3 Colorado Mesa baseball team used both facets of the game to sweep a doubleheader from the visiting Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on Friday afternoon at Suplizio Field.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Mavericks hit five home runs in a 10-8 win over the Nighthawks.
Colorado Mesa hit three home runs in the first inning to take a 4-0 lead in the nine-inning affair.
Tyler Parker hit a two-run home run while Hayden McGeary hit a solo shot just two batters later. Then,
Nolan Walker hit the first of two home runs to left field on a 1-2 pitch that was his first as a Maverick.
Walker's second home run came in the bottom of the third inning, a towering two-run shot to right field to make it 7-0 Mavericks.
Northwest Nazarene came all the way back and tied it at 8-8 in the top of the seventh inning.
The Mavericks final home run of the game was the most important.
Chase Hamilton belted his first home run of the season, a two-run, go-ahead shot to left field to give the Mavericks the 10-8 edge.
The Colorado Mesa pitching staff had their first shaky outing but nonetheless came away with the win. The staff did strike out 10 Nighthawks but allowed seven walks.
Kannon Handy picked up the win in relief after pitching just a third of an inning and moved to 1-0 on the year.
Frankie Fitzgerald picked up his first save of the season after pitching the final two innings of the game without allowing a hit and striking out two.
In the seven inning night cap,
Trevin Reynolds pitched five innings of shutout baseball to lead the Mavericks to a 10-1 win and the doubleheader sweep.
Reynolds scattered just three hits in his five innings of work while striking out nine to move his record to 2-0 on the season. The senior allowed just one runner to reach third base in his outing.
Austin Lorenz and
Cade Nicol each made their Suplizio Field debut. Lorenz pitched just a third of an inning and allowed three walks and struck out one while Nicol pitched an inning and two-thirds and allowed one run on two hits and struck out five.
Colorado Mesa used the long ball again offensively, hitting three home runs to build the early lead.
Hayden McGeary continued to have a solid weekend, hitting a pair of home runs in the nightcap. On the day, the sophomore was 7-for-7 with five runs scored and eight runs driven in. His home run total is up to a team-leading seven after hitting three on the day.
Newcomer
Tyler Parker hit his fourth home run of the season in the second game. Parker had six runs driven in on the day.
The Mavericks and Nighthawks will conclude the four-game series at a new time of 12pm, Noon tomorrow at Suplizio Field.
