CHICO, Calif. – The Colorado Mesa baseball team earned a split of the day's doubleheader with Chico State on Monday (Feb. 20) at Nettleton Stadium in non-conference baseball action.
 
Colorado Mesa built a 4-1 lead after three and a half complete innings but couldn't hold on as they surrendered a run in the fourth and four in the fifth in a 7-4 loss to the Wildcats in game two of the three games series.
 
Conrad Villafuerte paced the Maverick offensive effort with a 2-for-3 game at the plate. He hit his third double of the season and drove in a run on the day. He singled to right field in the top of the third to plate teammate Harrison Rodgers.
 
Max Valdez hit his second home run of the season as he led off the second inning with a solo blast to left center field.
 
Jacob Rhoades got the start on the mound for the Mavericks and pitched well enough to win. He allowed two runs on five hits, walked two and struck out two in four innings of work.
 
The loss was saddled to Jared Ure who came into pitch in relief.
 
In the nightcap and series finale, Colorado Mesa received excellent pitching from Cole Seward and Anthony Durbano in a 4-1 win over Chico State.
 
Seward got his second start of the season and was outstanding. He allowed one run on four hits, walked two and struck out two in five innings of work. He earned the win in the game and moved his season record to 2-0.
 
He gave way to the relief ace for the Mavericks in Anthony Durbano. In his third appearance of the season, Durabno went two innings and allowed one hit, walked one and struck out three to earn his second save of the season.
 
It was another knockdown, drag out at the plate for Colorado Mesa but the hitters broke through in the fifth inning.
 
Freshman Kolby Felix doubled to center to score Declan Wiesner for the first run of the game. Two batters later, he scored on Caleb Thomasen's sacrifice fly to center.
 
After Chico plated a run in the fifth, the Mavericks got a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning. Harrison Rodgers sent an RBI triple to right center to score Julian Boyd while Rodgers came around to score later, on a sacrifice fly by Kennedy Hara.
 
Wiesner and Felix were the lone Mavericks with multiple hits in the game.
 
Colorado Mesa will return to action on Thursday as they travel to Nampa, Idaho for a four-game series with Northwest Nazarene.