GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – With the series on the line, No. 9 Colorado Mesa and No. 3 Rollins played their hearts out in a see-saw battle of top-10 teams in Sunday's (Apr. 16) series finale at the Diamond at the Bus Bergman Sports Complex. The Mavericks pulled out a 10-9 win in the finale to claim the series over the visiting Tars.
The Mavericks fell behind 7-2 after five and a half innings of play but fought back in a big way in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Stevenson Reynolds reached on a bases loaded walk that scored
Julian Boyd with nobody out to start the scoring rally then
Declan Wiesner and
Harrison Rodgers hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to make it 7-5 with two outs in the inning.
Robert Sharrar stepped to the plate and delivered the first of his two big hits in the game. He laced a double down the right field line that scored
Derek Shaver and Reynolds to tie the game at 7-7. The next batter came to the plate in
Conrad Villafuerte. On a 2-2 count, he laced a single up the middle that scored Sharrar and gave the Mavericks their first lead of the game at 9-8 after six innings.
It would remain that way until the top of the eighth inning when Rollins scored a pair of runs in the frame to snatch the lead back at 9-8 as they headed to the bottom half of the inning.
Grand Junction native
Derek Shaver led off the inning with a single to left field and was lifted for a pinch runner in
Jared Grenz.
Harrison Rodgers popped up his bunt attempt to move Grenz to second to make it a runner on first and one out with Sharrar stepping to the plate.
On a 2-0 count, the junior hit a no doubt, go-ahead home run to right field that sent the Maverick faithful into a frenzy that could be heard blocks away that gave Colorado Mesa a 10-9 lead that they wouldn't surrender.
Reynolds finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three runs driven in. In the second inning, he hit his second home run of the year that put the Mavericks on the board for the first time in the game.
Shaver finished the game 2-for-2 coming off the bench while Sharrar went 2-for-4 with two runs and four runs driven in.
Anthony Durbano earned the win in relief to move to 4-0 on the season. He hit the first batter he faced then was lights out moving forward as he induced a ground out then was able to catch Tar Cameron Meehan attempting to steal home to end the eighth. Then, he pitched a perfect ninth getting two strikeouts and a fly out to end the game.
In total, seven pitchers threw for the Mavericks with only
Cole Seward reaching two innings for their appearance.
The win moves the Mavericks record to 29-9 on the season while Rollins falls to 26-11.
The Mavericks will return to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action on Friday April 21 at The Diamond as they host UCCS for a four-game series.
