GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Clutch hitting allowed the No. 13 Colorado Mesa baseball team to rally past Rollins College on Saturday afternoon at The Diamond at Hamilton Ballpark in a series-clinching 9-6 victory.
Down 6-4 after the Tars tied the game 4-4 in the seventh inning and took the lead with two runs in the eighth, the Mavericks (32-10) came up with five runs in the bottom of the eighth to regain control.
The win came on 17 Strong Day, remembering former CMU player Ryan Teixeira, who passed away in March of 2017 after battling cancer and leukemia. Teixeira started the 17 Strong Foundation, which his parents run, while he was in the hospital, which awards "Victory Trips" to young adults after their treatment.
The recipient of the Ryan Teixeira 17 Strong scholarship wears Teixeira's "17" jersey, which this year is second baseman Joey Blank, who led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk.
Dave Jahnke
Blank moved up on a wild pitch and scored when Stevenson Reynolds laced an opposite-field single to right field. Brent Renteria, running for Reynolds, went to third on Kennedy Hara's base hit to right. With two out and both runners in scoring position, Kolby Felix drew another walk off reliever Douglas Rojas (1-2), who took the loss. Cameron Cartwright followed with a three-run double to the gap in left-center to put CMU up 8-6.
The Mavs weren't done, though. Ethan Nunez walked and stole second and Declan Wiesner walked, scoring Cartwright.
JJ Almeda (1-1), who came on in the sixth inning when the bullpen faltered, allowed a one-out base hit in the top of the ninth, but the defense turned its second 3-6-3 double play to secure the win in the three-game series, which concludes at noon Sunday. In the fourth inning, Reynolds and Kennedy Hara turned a 3-6-3 twin killing after the Tars got a leadoff infield single, and the one in the ninth came with Max Berni starting the game-ending play at first base.
Sage Ferguson handcuffed the Tars (27-15) on five hits through six innings, allowing two runs. He gave up a leadoff home run in the sixth and a base hit, with Liam Hohenstein being called out of the bullpen.
However, Hohenstein faced only two batters, hitting one and walking the other, before Jordan Ellison relieved him for the next five batters. Ellison gave up one run on two hits before Almeda got the Mavericks out of the inning tied at 4-4.
The Tars loaded the bases against Almeda with one out in the top of the eighth. After a strikeout, Jeslyn Whitehead delivered a two-run single to left to put Rollins up for the first time in the series. A fly ball to right field ended that threat, keeping the game close enough for the rally.
Paul Schoenfeld extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a leadoff single in the bottom of the first. Cartwright drove in four runs, going 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles. Colorado Mesa had a dozen hits, including three doubles, to win their fourth straight game.
The teams wrap up the three-game series at noon Sunday, with CMU looking to sweep — the Mavericks are now up 5-3 on the Tars over the past three years. Colorado Mesa resumes RMAC play next week, facing MSU Denver in a four-game series that begins with a 9-inning game at 6:05 p.m. on Thursday. A doubleheader follows Friday starting at 3 p.m., with the regular-season finale at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Mavericks are 23-3 (.885) in conference play, with Regis second at 19-5 (.792) and MSU Denver third at 19-7 (.731). Should Regis defeat New Mexico Highlands on Sunday — the Rangers have won the first three games — CMU needs two wins against the Roadrunners to claim their 13th consecutive RMAC title and host the conference tournament May 7-10.
