LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The No. 12 Colorado Mesa baseball team faced adverse conditions but came out on top in a 32-5 win over New Mexico Highlands on Friday (Apr. 22) in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at Brandt Field.
 
The two teams faced sustained 50mph winds with gusts reaching 65mph along with a thick layer of smoke in the sky due to fires in the area.
 
After Harrison Rodgers opened the game with a leadoff walk, Matthew Turner stepped to the plate and delivered a two-run home run to give the Mavericks an early 2-0 cushion. For Turner, it was his fourth home run of the season and RBIs 17 and 18.
 
After the Cowboys knotted things up in the bottom of the first, it was all Colorado Mesa as they outscored Highlands 24-0 over the next four innings.
 
Rodgers finished the game 3-for-5 with five runs scored, four runs driven in and two walks. He finished just a single shy of the cycle as he tripled in the second, homered in the fifth and doubled in the seventh. As impressive as that was, one would argue that was the third best offensive output of the game.
 
Batting just behind Rodgers in the second position, Turner went 4-for-7 with five runs scored and seven runs driven in. Aside from the first inning home run, he hit his second of the game in the top half of the fourth inning and later doubled in the fifth inning.
 
The offensive performance of the game went to catcher Spencer Bramwell. The senior went 5-for-7 with four runs scored and nine runs driven in. For the second time in his career, he hit three home runs in a game. He hit a two-run home run in the second inning, a three-run homer in the third, and a two-run round tripper in the fifth.
 
The totals were staggering for the Mavericks as they finished with 32 total hits, 16 extra base-hits, and a 1.690 OPS for the game. Every starter in the lineup finished with a hit and a RBI.
 
The 30-plus runs are the most by the Mavericks since February 28, 2010 when they defeated MSU Denver 33-7 at Suplizio Field.
 
Left-hander Kannon Handy picked up his seventh win of the season as he limited the Cowboys on Friday. Handy allowed two runs on nine hits and struck out seven in 94 total pitches through his six innings of work. It was the second time this season the sophomore didn't allow a walk.
 
Jacob Rhoades and David Reckers combined to throw the final three innings of the game that included five strikeouts.
 
The two teams will meet up tomorrow for a doubleheader beginning at 12pm.