GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The No. 17 Colorado Mesa baseball team opened the NCAA South Central Region #2 Tournament on Thursday (May 19) evening at The Diamond at the Bus Bergman Sports Complex. The Mavericks defeated West Texas A&M 5-3 in a battle of region heavyweights and ended their season as they fell earlier in the day.
 
Sophomore Kannon Handy took the ball in the region opener for the Mavericks and gave them exactly what they needed…a quality start. Handy (9-1) earned the win going six and a third innings and allowed just three runs on one hit, walked four and struck out seven.
 
Handy retired the first nine batters in a row with three of those coming via the strikeout. The first hit came in the top of the fourth inning on an infield single that second baseman Harrison Rodgers snared up the middle, but the throw wasn't in time.
 
The Herriman, Utah native went on to retire the next seven in a row before running into trouble in the seventh inning. He gave way to Cooper Vasquez who came in and put out the flames.
 
Vasquez allowed just one hit while striking out two to pick up his first save of the season. He faced nine batters in his two and a third innings on the evening.
 
Colorado Mesa got things going right out of the gate as they executed the game to near perfection. Spencer Bramwell drove a single into right field to score Caleb Farmer to take the early 1-0 lead.
 
In the next inning, Jordan Stubbings laced a double down the line on a hit-and-run play that scored Chase Hamilton from first base to make it 2-0.
 
In the top half of the third inning the Mavericks used the long ball to add to their lead. Haydn McGeary belted his 30^th home run of the season to make the score 3-0. McGeary lifted a 3-1 pitch over the field in left center that reach what has now been dubbed 'McGeary Land'.
 
Later in the inning, Chase Hamilton executed a hit-and-run that scored Spencer Bramwell in the inning to make it 4-0.
 
West Texas plated a run in the fourth inning to make it 4-1.
 
The Mavericks got an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hamilton scored on a wild pitch that came on a strikeout by Johnny Carr.
 
West Texas took a chunk out of the lead in the seventh inning on a pinch-hit two-run single to make it 5-3.
 
That was all either team would get.
 
Colorado Mesa handed West Texas A&M starter Nick Marshall his fourth loss of the season to drop him to 11-4 on the year.
 
Hamilton led the Mavericks with a 3-for-4 performance while McGeary, Bramwell and Stubbings all finished with two hits.
 
The win gives the Mavericks 40 wins in a season for the ninth straight season that dates to the 2012 season.
 
Colorado Mesa will take on St. Edward's in a best-of-three series beginning with the first two games tomorrow beginning at 3:00pm at The Diamond.