GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Have a weekend, Cameron Cartwright.
The Colorado Mesa junior outfielder owned Colorado Christian pitching in the Mavericks' four-game sweep, capping Sunday's 12-4 victory at The Diamond by hitting a pair of home runs.
In the four games, Cartwright, who transferred to CMU from Seward Community College (Kan.), hit .571 (8-14), scored nine runs, drove in 13 and struck out only once. Five of his hits were for extra bases, four home runs and one double, he drew three walks and had one sacrifice fly. Defensively, he made 11 putouts, getting starts at both corner outfield spots.
His play helped CMU (18-8, 11-1 RMAC) overcome the absence of Kolby Felix, who missed the series with an injury, and hit .369 as a team. Designated hitter Christos Stefanos hit .545 (6-11) with one home run, three doubles and eight RBI in the four games.
Sunday, the Mavericks didn't put together a game-over inning, but kept consistent pressure on Colorado Christian (6-23, 3-9 RMAC). They put up three runs in the bottom of the first inning, loading the bases with back-to-back singles by Paul Schoenfeld and Cartwright. Stefanos was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, and Stevenson Reynolds grounded to third.
A wild throw to the plate allowed both Schoenfeld and Cartwright to score and Reynolds to reach safely. Stefanos advanced to third, and the Mavs loaded the bases again when Tyler Glowacki was hit by a pitch. Ethan Ezor grounded into a double play, pushing Stefanos across for a 3-0 lead.
A two-run home run off CMU starter Tristan Wolf cut the lead to 3-2, but Cartwright — who else? – crushed a two-run home run to left-center that bounced a couple of times and settled next to The Maverick Center.
The Mavericks employed a staff day on the mound, with David Craig (3-1) coming on in the third inning and getting credit for the win. He retired all six men he faced, including striking out the side in the third.
Freshman Noah Neufeld, who got the start behind the plate, hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, starting a power surge that carried over into the seventh.
With one out, Cartwright and Stefanos hit back-to-back shots to put CMU up 9-2, and after the Cougars scored one in the eighth, CMU responded with three in the bottom half for a 12-3 lead.
Each team recorded 10 hits, but the Mavericks did more with theirs, leaving only four men on base to CCU's nine. They struck out only four times on the day and 15 times in the series.
After Wolf and Craig, the Mavericks used Jordan Pace, Brenden Morris, Sage Ferguson and JJ Almeda, with the pitchers combining to strike out nine and walk only two. In the series, CMU's pitchers recorded 35 strikeouts and walked 11, allowing the Cougars to hit .229. The staff had a combined ERA of 4.20 in the series, compared to CCU's 12.46 team ERA.
Colorado Mesa, which opens a four-game RMAC series at Colorado School of Mines in Golden on Friday, outscored CCU 56-14 in the four games, scoring 12 or more in each game.
