GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – No. 18 MSU Denver got to the halfway point of each game with a lead but couldn't hold on either time as No. 1 Colorado Mesa came from behind for wins of 14-4 and 7-4 Saturday in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader.
"I'm really proud of the way the guys competed," MSU Denver coach
Ryan Strain said. "We had opportunities to get some big hits, but we just couldn't get them. And then Mesa is a really good offensive team, and if you don't make big pitches in big situations, there are able to put balls in play and extend innings."
MSU Denver (21-6 overall, 17-6 RMAC) jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead after five batters in the opener.
Jake Williams capped the outburst with a two-run homer that followed an RBI single by
Caleb Albaugh and a run-scoring double by
Niko Piazza.
But Mesa (21-2, 18-1) took a 5-4 lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and scored nine in the fifth to more or less clinch the seven-inning game.
"The one inning got away from us and so it looks like a lopsided score, but we were up 4-0 and just couldn't get things going after that," Strain said. "That's probably the most frustrating part of the day."
Trailing 2-0 in the second game, MSU Denver loaded the bases in the third inning and
Cade Peters delivered a two-run single and the go-ahead run also scored on the play due to an error. Then Albaugh's RBI single in the top of the fourth made it 4-2.
But Colorado Mesa answered with three in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
"I'm frustrated that we didn't put more balls in play all day long," Strain said. "We just had too many strikeouts. If you put balls in play, then who knows? Good things happen. We had opportunities and we couldn't capitalize on them and against good teams you've got to do it."
The series concludes in a single game Sunday with first pitch scheduled for noon.
"We'll just have to regroup and go back at them and try to salvage a win, and then come back and try to win a couple of series at home," Strain said.
