GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Three costly errors and 13 strikeouts against a pitcher making only his third start of the season has Colorado Mesa's baseball season on the brink.
The No. 12 Mavericks, seeded second in the South Central Regional playoffs, lost 4-2 to No. 18 West Texas A&M, the third seed in the region, Thursday night at The Diamond. Colorado Mesa (38-17) faces Angelo State, the No. 6 seed in the tournament but the defending Division II national champion, at 6 p.m. Friday (May 17) to keep their season alive.
Angelo State rode Tripp Clark's a three-run home run in the seventh inning to beat West Texas A&M 7-4 in the opening game of the tournament, then turned a rare game-ending triple play with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
The Buffs (37-18) sent senior Reese Miller to the mound, and he had the Mavericks off-balance all night, using a nasty slider as his primary weapon. He threw 145 pitches (88 strikes) in his complete-game victory. The 13 strikeouts and the nine innings pitched are both season highs for Miller.
Other than solo home runs by Robert Sharrar in the first inning and Kennedy Hara in the fifth, the Mavericks didn't do much against Miller.
They had chances. In the second inning, after the Buffs had taken a 2-1 lead, TJ Rheem drew a leadoff walk. With two out, Hara, who had three of the Mavs' six hits, laced a single to center. Rheem attempted to go first to third, but center fielder Jovan Camacho's throw was on the money to get Rheem for the final out of the inning. Sharrar's home run and a pair of base hits by Christos Stefanos were the only other CMU hits.
The Buffs scored twice in the top of the inning on a throwing error by second baseman Jonathan Gonzalez, who fielded a ground ball and tagged second. His throw to first sailed over Braden Winget at first and out of play, allowing one run to score. Camacho followed with an RBI double off CMU starter Caleb Ruter (5-1), who, despite the errors, kept the Mavericks within striking distance for six innings.
He turned the game over to Ethan Voss after throwing 107 pitches. Ruter allowed three runs on six hits, walked one and struck out three.
Voss, too, was effective, allowing one unearned run in 2 2/3 innings, but Mesa simply couldn't solve Miller. Down 3-2 in the sixth, Kolby Felix walked and Stefanos singled. Gonzalez bunted them over, but Rheem grounded back to the mound and Winget struck out. Hara singled and was on second in the seventh inning with two out, but Sharrar grounded out.
In the eighth, pinch-hitter Tyler Glowacki walked to lead off the inning. He was stranded at first when Stefanos struck out, Gonzalez flied out and Rheem took a called third strike, one of five CMU batters to strike out looking.
After the Buffs scored an insurance run in the ninth on the Mavs' third error of the game, Reese struck out two of three batters in the ninth to extend the Buffs' season.
Colorado Mesa dropped to 3-2 all-time against West Texas A&M and now face a team that's become a regional rival, playing one another in each of the past four post-seasons. The Rams have a 7-4 edge and swept CMU in last season's Super Regional on their way to the Division II College World Series championship.
