GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Cameron Cartwright's walk-up song is "A-O-K."

The junior outfielder was more than A-OK for the Colorado Mesa baseball team during the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.

Cartwright hit an astounding .629 in leading the No. 12 Mavericks to the RMAC Tournament championship and was the overwhelming choice for the tournament's Most Valuable Player award.

He went 17 for 27 with four doubles, five home runs, scored 11 runs and drove in 18.The Mavericks, playing in their 13^th consecutive RMAC championship game, had to beat MSU Denver twice on Saturday to win their third straight and 23^rd overall tournament title. They left no doubt, especially after Cartwright's second grand slam of the tournament in the first game of the day, securing a 14-9 victory.

Riding that momentum, Colorado Mesa (41-12) scored 13 runs in the first two innings of the championship game and ran away with an 18-5 victory to claim the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional. Pairings will be announced at 8:30 p.m. (MDT) Sunday on ncaa.com.

The six-team regional field is split into two three-team pods, played at the top two seeds' home sites May 15-18. Those regional winners meet at the higher seed for a best-of-three super regional series May 22-24. The South Central champion goes on to the Division II championship May 30-June 7 in Cary, N.C.

Colorado Mesa entered the week ranked No. 3 in the region behind Angelo State and UT Tyler. Angelo State defeated St. Edward's twice on Saturday to win the Lone Star Conference title. UT Tyler went 0-2 in the four-team championship tournament, but has a strong case to remain No. 2.

Five teams are vying for the final three spots — MSU Denver, Regis and CSU Pueblo from the RMAC, and St. Edward's and Lubbock Christian from the Lone Star. The Roadrunners were No. 8 in the region when the tournament began, but defeated No. 4 CSU Pueblo, No. 5 Regis and CMU during their run to the title game. St. Edward's was No. 6 and Lubbock Christian No. 7 in the region.

By sweeping the long day at The Diamond at Hamilton Ballpark on Saturday, the Mavericks made watching the selection show a formality — their only concern is who they play and where. They built a 6-0 lead after 3 ½ innings, but the Roadrunners stormed back, scoring five runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to take an 8-7 lead. It stayed that way until the eighth, when the Mavs, who were the visiting team, got an opposite-field single down the right-field line by Kennedy Hara to score Declan Wiesner, who walked and was bunted to second by Preston Winget.

The Roadrunners' bullpen faltered, walking three straight batters to put CMU up 9-8.

Singles by TJ Rheem and Ethan Ezor in the ninth, was followed by a two-out intentional walk to Paul Schoenfeld, loading the bases.

Kolby Felix worked a walk to score pinch-runner Brent Renteria for a 10-8 lead, bringing Cartwright to the plate.

On a 1-0 count, he fouled off four straight pitches, including a towering shot to left that nearly reached Orchard Avenue. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat he got the pitch he wanted and crushed his second grand slam of the tournament to left field for a 14-8 lead.

JJ Almeda allowed a home run in the ninth, but locked down his fourth save of the season. Cayden Clark got his win of the season with three innings of work, the fourth of five pitchers to take the mound. CJ Zwahlen got the start and threw three solid innings, allowing only one run on three hits.

Cartwright had four hits and drove in eight runs — he hit a solo home run in the fourth.

Christos Stefanos followed Cartwright's first home run with one of his own, hitting the batter's eye in straightaway center, and Rheem hit his first of the season in the fifth.

The "if necessary" game was almost anti-climactic, save for the celebration afterwards, because the Mavericks put up six runs in the bottom of the first inning and seven in the second, forcing the Roadrunners to go to their depleted bullpen after only six batters.

Stevenson Reynolds, one of four CMU players to make the all-tournament team, and Kennedy Hara both hit two-run doubles in the first, when the Mavs sent 10 men to the plate.

The second inning was more of the same, with 11 batters. Rheem hit his second home run of the day, a two-run shot to center, and Paul Schoenfeld cleared the bases with a grand slam of his own to put CMU up 13-2.

Wiesner hit a three-run blast in the fourth and just for good measure, Cartwright drove in the final run of the tournament with a base hit in the fifth.

Three CMU pitchers combined to allow five runs on six hits. Andrew Pogue gave up five runs in the first 3.2 innings, striking out three. Tyler Glowacki (2-0) got the win with 2.1 scoreless, hitless innings and David Craig earned the rulebook save with three scoreless innings of relief.

The Roadrunners (32-22) went through nine pitchers.

Every starter for the Mavericks got a hit in the second game, and ironically, only Schoenfeld, who had a 28-game hitting streak snapped on Friday, didn't get a hit in the first game. He did walk twice, scored one run and drove in another.

Colorado Mesa has now won 40 or more games in 11 of the past 12 seasons.