GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - #12 Colorado Mesa's walk-off hit handed Colorado School of Mines a 4-3 loss in the semifinal round of the RMAC Baseball Tournament.
The Mavericks (43-10) did not lead until their final hit as Mines (31-21) took the early advantage in the second and broke open another tie in the seventh. Mines will play the winner of the afternoon game between Regis and MSU Denver tonight at 7 p.m. in an elimination game; Mesa will play that game's winner tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the final.
It was JJ Carr's single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth that won it for CMU after Tanner Rempel tied it in the eighth to overcome a 3-2 Mines lead.
A.J. Valerio was superb in the start for Mines, pitching into the eighth and scattering six hits with four strikeouts as he left the game with the lead.
Walter Pennington (4-2) took the loss in 1.1 innings of relief with three strikeouts.
Chris Ramirez dueled with Valerio all game, also going 7.1 innings and striking out eight to leave trailing; Jett Wodiuk and Tyler Day (5-2) pitched the balance for the Mavs.
Trevor Kehe's single in the second brought in
Jace Selsor to start Mines' scoring, and
Colton Wardle homered to left to make it 2-0 in the third. CMU chipped away with a Kyle Serrano RBI double in the third, and Bligh Madris went yard on a lead-off shot in the sixth to make it 2-2.
Mines retook the lead in odd fasion in the seventh.
Mikey Gangwish singled, then wheeled around to move two bases on a wild pitch; Serrano, the catcher, tried to get him at third but overthrew the ball, and Gangwish managed to scored on the error to make it 3-2. The lead wouldn't last long as Rempel's two-out single in the eighth scored Serrano to make it 3-3.
Mines couldn't get anything going in their half of the ninth, and after Matt Haggerty reached on an error in CMU's at-bat, pinch-runner John Ballard stole second and scored on Carr's two-out poke up the middle to win it.
