POMONA, Calif. – The No. 9 Colorado Mesa baseball team got a strong pitching performance and timely hitting to earn a series split with Cal Poly Pomona after a 10-3 win over the Broncos in the finale at Scolinos Field.
Newcomer
Rafael Espinoza got the start in the finale and pitched into the sixth inning to earn the win. Espinoza (1-0) allowed three runs on four hits walked one and struck out five in his first outing of the season. The Imperial, Calif. native retired the first eight batters he faced and didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning.
He ran into trouble in the sixth inning when he gave up three hits while recording just one out. He gave way to his bullpen who came in and only surrendered three runs in the inning.
The bullpen once again did its job allowing three hits over the final three and two-thirds innings of the game.
Colorado Mesa's offense came up with plenty of offense as they pounded out 14 hits with four of those going for extra bases.
Ezra Farmer led the way going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three runs driven in from the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Farmer finished just a double short of the cycle as he tripled in the second, singles in the fourth and seventh innings and then sent a 1-1 pitch over the fence in right field in the ninth inning.
Landon Nunes,
Isaac Torres and
Joey Blank all had multiple hits in the win. Torres' first hit as a Maverick was a double in the second inning while Blank finished the game with four runs scored.
The Mavericks will return home for 16 straight games at The Diamond at Hamilton Ballpark. That stretch will begin next weekend with a four-game series with Quincy beginning on Friday at 2:00pm.
