The Mavericks faced off against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival, Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado in a doubleheader Sunday afternoon.
In game one, the Mavericks were able to get the come from behind victory as the bats warmed up later in the game giving the team a 12-6 win over the Orediggers.
Down 3-4 going into the bottom half of the sixth inning, junior outfielder Conrad Villafuerte was able to double to center field, scoring junior designated hitter Haydn McGeary. Colorado Mesa University (CMU) then scored ten runs in the sixth through ninth innings.
Junior outfielder Julian Boyd then came in in the seventh and made his presence known on the field right away as he singled, scoring senior infielder Chase Hamilton. The run closed the lead on CSM 4-5. Later in the eighth, Boyd then hit a three run home run to give his team the lead.
Hamilton and senior infielder Spencer Bramwell both had solo home runs in the top half of the ninth inning extending CMU leads to six.
Senior outfielder Johnny Carr got things started for the Mavericks in the third as he flew out to center field and Bramwell was able to tag up and score on the play. After the third, the Mavericks scored in every inning besides the fifth.
Senior infielder Jordan Stubbings was able to have a successful game at the plate as well as he went 3-5 with one RBI. His RBI came in the eighth when he singled and scored senior infielder Caleb Farmer.
Junior right handed pitcher Blake Rohm got the start on the mound and delivered a solid performance. Rohm pitched five strong innings before giving the ball to senior left handed pitcher Austin Lorenz.
Rohm was able to strike out a season high ten batters in his second start of the season. Even though he struck out ten, he gave up six hits and four runs only two of those were earned. He did not give up any walks.
Lorenz came in for an inning of work and gave up one run and two hits. Senior right handed pitcher Dave Handerson came in and got his first win of the season as he struck out two Orediggers during his three innings of work.
The Mavericks went into game two having a 20 game win streak against CSM, but the Orediggers put a stop to that as they were able to obtain a 6-4 victory.
The Mavericks bats were rather quiet in the back end of the double header which is something Mavericks fans are not used to seeing. CMU has scored ten or more runs in half of their games this season, but struggled scoring runs this go around.
Although the Mavericks struggled at the plate Stubbings broke open the scoring with a three run homerun in the third inning after Farmer led off the inning with a base hit, and a RBI single from McGeary. Stubbings home run would be the 40 of his career at CMU.
The Mavericks would get out to a 4-1 lead in the inning but those would be the only runs the mavericks would score throughout the entirety of the game.
Left handed senior pitcher Ryan Day was nothing short of dominant in the first five innings of the game as he only allowed two runs off four hits on an efficient 81 pitches.
The Orediggers were able to make a comeback in the sixth as a two-run home run by Danny McDermott cut CMU’s lead to one run. Day would then be pulled from the game.
Senior right handed Frankie Fitzgerald would come on to relieve Day. But just two batters into his outing, Adam Houghtaling hit another two-run homerun to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth.
The Mavericks couldn’t make a comeback in the seventh inning, as the Orediggers reliever, Zachary Kriethe, ended the game by striking out three batters to give the Orediggers their first win over CMU since 2018.
CMU will look ahead to Mar.14 as they take on the Orediggers in the final two games of the series. First pitch is set for 12 p.m in Golden, Colo.
