Grand Junction, Colo. – The Metropolitan State University of Denver baseball team was defeated 6-4 by No. 5 Colorado Mesa on Sunday afternoon.  The Roadrunners fall to 6-12 overall and 2-6 in the RMAC.

The Roadrunners were able to strike first on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning.  Junior Jake Ekman (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge H.S.) was able to score on a throwing error and give the Roadrunners an early 1-0 lead.

Sophomore Cale O'Donnell (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain H.S.) added to the Roadrunners lead in the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run.  Senior Nick Comito (Lakewood, Colo./Mullen H.S.) drew a walk later in the inning and then stole second base.  Comito advanced to third base on a wild pitch before Ekman was able to drive him in on a single up the middle making the score 3-0 in favor of the Roadrunners.

The top of the fifth inning saw MSU Denver tally one more run.  Senior Andrew Paust (Parker, Colo./Ponderosa H.S.) scored on a play where junior Marcus Bean (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain H.S.) grounded out to second.  MSU Denver held a 4-0 lead entering the bottom of the fifth inning.

Colorado Mesa would heat up offensively in the bottom of the inning and score three runs on four hits.  The Mavericks scored three run on three more hits, two of which were home runs, in the bottom of the seventh inning to take the lead for good.

Senior Cameron Stroup (Arvada, Colo./Arvada West H.S.) took the started the game for the Roadrunners on the mound.  Stroup pitched five innings giving up three runs on six hits and received no decision.  Seven different Roadrunners tallied a hit in the game.

MSU Denver will travel to Lakewood, Colo. to take on Colorado Christian for a four-game series on March 18-20.  First pitch on Friday, March 18 is scheduled for noon.