@MSUDenverBSB: Roadrunners Fall Short in RMAC Championship
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The MSU Denver Roadrunners were unable to capture the RMAC Championship Saturday afternoon, dropping both games to the Colorado Mesa Mavericks.
Ryan Strain and his team conclude the RMAC Championship Tournament with a 33-22 overall record and a 22-10 record in conference play.
With wins over #1 Colorado Mesa, #2 Regis, and #3 CSU Pueblo in the tournament, they will hope to earn a spot in the NCAA Regionals this coming week. The selection show will take place tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. MT.
After a heartbreaking end to the tournament, the Roadrunners still played some of their best baseball of the season. The offense recorded 50 runs in the five games over the last few days, and made a statement by taking down the top-three seeded teams. They notched their first shutout since April of 2024 with a 9-0 win over Regis.
Easton Amundson extended his national lead in homers with another three today to give him 34 on the season. He is just one shy of tying the RMAC record for 35 home runs hit by Colorado Mesa's Haydn McGeary in 2022. Amundson ended the day going 4-for-7 with three home runs, four runs, and seven RBIs.
His 34 home runs and 92 runs batted in on the campaign are both program records for a Roadrunner in an individual season. Amundson also leads Division II baseball nationally in home runs and now ranks second in runs batted in, only trailing Regis' Adam Peniagua.
Gavin Schmeh went 2-for-2 with one run and two walks in game one. Cam Yuran went 2-for-4 in that contest as well with a home run and two runs scored.
Michael Banderas was solid in relief for the Roadrunners in the first contest. He tossed 3.1 innings allowing just two runs on one hit.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Andrew Graham, MSU Denver: 10-for-14 with three HR's, eight runs, eight RBIs, and a walk.
Easton Amundson, MSU Denver: 7-for-19 with six HR's, 18 RBIs, seven runs, and three walks.
Brad Helton, MSU Denver: 1 GS, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 7 K's; First shutout for the Roadrunners since the 2024 season.
Andrew Biddle, MSU Denver: 10 hits, seven runs, two walks, and two doubles.
GAME ONE (Colorado Mesa 14-9)
The Mavericks struck first in this one, with an RBI double in the top of the first for a 1-0 lead. They drove in another three runs the following inning for a four-run lead after two innings of play.
With the MSU Denver bats still quiet, CMU blasted two solo homers in the fourth inning to go up by six.
MSU Denver's offense came alive in the bottom half of the inning, striking for five runs to make it a one-run deficit. A two-RBI single from Andrew Biddle and a two-run homer from Erubiel Ortiz inched their team closer.
Colorado Mesa hit another home run in the fifth to take a 7-5 advantage headed into the bottom half of the fifth. MSUD's Tyler Tobey knocked in Cam Yuran on a double to make it a one-score contest once again.
It was the lefty slugger Easton Amundson who gave the Roadrunners their first lead of the game, blasting a home run to centerfield for an 8-7 lead for his squad.
The Mavericks answered back with two-run eighth inning and five-run ninth inning to go up 14-8 on the Roadrunners to secure the game one win.
GAME TWO (Colorado Mesa 18-5)
MSU Denver started down a large deficit right off the bat, with the Mavericks kicking the game off with six runs in their time up to the plate.
The Roadrunners scored two runs of their own in the second inning thanks to another Amundson home run, but CMU would punch right back with seven runs in the bottom half for a 13-2 lead after two frames.
Amundson blasted another home run in the fourth for another three RBIs, but it felt minuscule with Colorado Mesa answering with a three-run home run of their own to take a 17-5 advantage.
CMU would score one more run and go on to claim the RMAC Championship title with an 18-5 win.
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