GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Nos. RV/19 MSU Denver overcame an early deficit but eventually couldn't hold off Nos. 5/1 Colorado Mesa on Friday, dropping a 20-10 decision in the RMAC Tournament.
 
It was the second-seeded Roadrunners' first loss of the tournament, and they'll play for the right to face top-seeded Mesa in the championship round in a 7 p.m. elimination game Friday against the winner of a Friday afternoon elimination game between third-seeded Regis and fifth-seeded CSU Pueblo.
 
MSU Denver (42-11) fell behind 6-0 after two innings and 9-2 after three, but got four runs in the fourth and four more in the top of the fifth to pull ahead 10-9. But the Roadrunners were unable to slow down Mesa (44-9), which scored at least two runs in six of the eight innings it batted.

"We had the two emotional wins the first two days of the tournament, and then the quick turnaround in the morning," MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "We had a chance when we took the 10-9 lead, but we just couldn't get any outs."

MSU Denver hit five homers, including back-to-back jacks from Zach Schuler and Colin Stone to move the Roadrunners ahead 10-9.
 
Also leaving the yard were Ross Smith, Tanner Garner and Jake Williams. Garner has homered in all three tournament games while going 8-for-16 with 10 RBIs.
 
Should MSU Denver win its 7 p.m. game Friday, it would need to beat Mesa twice on Saturday in order to win the double-elimination tournament, while Mesa would need to win just once. The first game would be at 1 p.m., with the second game – if necessary – at 5 p.m.