A new rivalry was formed when the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) baseball team hosted the Rollins College Tars for a three-game series from April 14-16. Next season, CMU will travel to Rollins to kick off the 2024 season. Both programs are considered division II baseball powerhouses, and this year is no different. The Mavs came into the game ranked ninth in the country, while the Tars were ranked third.
The Mesa faithful packed the stands, and even Rollins fans traveled to the game and made their presence felt.
The Tars reign from Winter Park, Florida, and are no stranger to the diamond. The program’s first season was all the way back in 1895, and they have produced 43 MLB draft picks in their 127-year-old history. Earlier in the month, Rollins won two of three games against Tampa University, who were the #1 team in the nation at the time.
In game one of the series, both teams went with their aces. CMU started junior Jacob Rhoades, who was coming off the best game of his career, pitching seven innings and only allowing two runs. For Rollins, they went with sophomore Nick Berger, who is a potential future MLB draft pick, and came into the game with a 1.09 ERA, which was 4th in the nation at the time.
As great as Berger is, the Mavericks got the best of him Friday night. In just the first inning, senior Conrad Villafuerte absolutely crushed a two-run home run to give the Mavericks an early 2-0 lead.
Even after the Villafuerte bomb, the Mavs continued putting pressure on Berger, getting the lead on men on base each time in the first five innings. With the pressure, CMU scored another two runs in the second inning, stretching the lead to 4-0.
Then, junior Harrison Rodgers hit a three-run opposite field home run in the third inning to give CMU a commanding 7-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Rhoades was dealing with four scoreless innings to open the game. In the fifth inning, Rollins finally figured out the pitcher and scored five runs to close the lead to 7-5.
Going into the ninth inning, CMU held a four-run lead, and graduate student Anthony Durbano came in for the save. The veteran closer scared Maverick fans, allowing two runs to close the lead 10-8. The Tars then had the tying run at the plate, but Durbano struck him out on a nasty breaking ball, and the Mavericks got the clutch win.
In game two, it was Rollins who got out to a fast start, scoring three runs in the first inning off of junior Kannon Handy. After the shaky start, Handy settled in, allowing one run the next four innings.
Rollins then pushed across two more runs, once the Maverick bullpen came in, and led 6-1 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Then, the Mavericks attempted their comeback.
First, Villafuerte hit a sacrifice fly to score one, and left runners on the corners. Senior Julian Boyd attempted to steal second base, and on the pickoff, the Rollins catcher overthrew it, allowing a Maverick to score. However, once Boyd reached second, he tried to advance to third, but was gunned down from the outfield ending the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Mavericks got the lead-off man on base trailing 6-4. Unfortunately for CMU, a flukey double play wiped two outs off the board instantly. With one out left, another Maverick reached base, and Villafuerte came up to the plate with a chance to tie the game.
Mavericks fans were confident in the designated hitter’s chances to extend the game, but the outfielder popped out, ending the Maverick comeback.
CMU got their revenge the next day, however, winning 10-9. The Tars jumped to a quick 4-0 lead, but junior infielder Stevenson Reynolds hit a two-run dinger in the bottom of the second to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
Jared Henderson | The Criterion
Freshman pitcher Bridger Clontz warms up on the mound before entering into the game. Through
eight appearances, Clontz has recorded the third best ERA on the team (3.18) and posts a 1-0 record.
Rollins continued to score over the next couple of innings and took a commanding 7-2 lead. The Mavericks would not be deterred, however. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, Reynolds was walked which scored Boyd. Two more runners would score off two “sac-flies” before junior outfielder Robert Sharrar hit a two-RBI double. Villafuerte would then double to send Sharrar for the score to top off the 6-run inning, 8-7.
The Tars retook the lead during the last inning off a two-RBI scoring single, 9-8. The game and the winner of the series came down to the top of the Mavericks lineup. With one out and a runner on base, Sharrar hit a clutch walk-off homerun to win the game, 10-9
#9 CMU moves to 29-9, while #3 Rollins supports a 26-11 record. Baseball remains home for their next series against University of Colorado-Colorado Springs on April 21-23.
