GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The baseball game on Friday night between the No. 1 Colorado Mesa University Mavericks and the No. 22 St. Mary's University Rattlers had a little bit of everything fans want in a playoff game, as the two teams combined for 24 runs on 29 hits – including six combined home runs - and both teams added some great defensive plays as CMU won 15-9 in the first of the best-of-three series between the two for a spot in the NCAA Super Regionals.
St. Mary's (39-18) was led by sophomore
Ryan Alaniz (San Antonio) with a 3-for-4 day at the plate and three RBI, as he hit one of the two round-trippers for the Gold and Blue. Senior
Jacob King (San Antonio) also had a three-hit night, going 3-for-5 with an RBI, while senior
Raithen Malone (Mont Belvieu, Texas) was 2-for-4 and scored twice. Junior
Ashton Beaird (San Antonio) added two hits with a run scored and a double, and senior
Garrett Brooks (Spring Branch, Texas) hit the other home run and drove in two.
Junior
Eric Tenery (Kerrville, Texas) started on the hill for StMU, pitching three innings. He gave up six runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts in a no-decision. Junior
Gabe Cook (San Antonio) took the loss to move to 7-2 on the year after pitching 1 2/3 innings. He allowed three earned runs (eight total) on six hits with one walk and one strikeout. Senior
Kaleb Gauna (Hondo, Texas) pitched the final 3 1/3 innings, surrendering one run on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Mavs (51-5) scored two runs in the top of the first and were threatening more when Beaird made a fantastic diving stop to rob Kennedy Hara of a hit. In the top of the second, Brooks broke open the scoring with a home run to left center.
CMU added two in the bottom of the second for the 4-1 lead, but the Rattlers immediately answered with five in the third. Malone singled to right center and moved to second on a wild pitch. Freshman
Blake Allen (Bulverde, Texas) walked, and Beaird singled to left to score Malone from second. Alaniz followed with a single to left center to plate Allen and knock out the starting pitcher. A sacrifice fly to centerfield off the bat of Brooks scored Beaird and knotted the score at 4-4. Junior
Dillon Lopez (San Antonio) singled to right and sophomore
Rob Gonzalez (San Antonio) doubled to the gap in left center for the 6-4 lead.
CMU again scored two in the bottom of the third inning for the 6-6 tie. A two-run home run to left center by Alaniz with two outs after Malone singled to start the frame gave StMU an 8-6 lead.
A solo home run by Landon Nunes brought the Mavericks within one in the bottom of the fourth, 8-7, and they took a 9-8 lead on a two-run home run by Hara in the fifth, and kept things going with a seven-run inning for the 14-8 advantage.
The Rattlers plated a run in the sixth with only one hit, as Alaniz was hit in the middle of his back, Brooks and Gonzalez walked to load the bases, and King singled to right to score Alaniz.
The pitching staffs put up zeroes in the next four half-innings before the Mavs scored the final run in the bottom of the eighth for the 15-9 tally.
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