GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The MSU Denver Roadrunners took down the no. 1 seed Colorado Mesa Mavericks by a score of 12-10 Friday afternoon in the semi-final game of the RMAC Tournament and will advance to the championship game tomorrow. 

This is the first RMAC Championship appearance for MSU Denver since 2022 when they took down Colorado Mesa to claim the conference title. That was also the last game the Mavericks had lost in an RMAC tournament game until today. 

The Roadrunners have now taken down the top three seeds in the tournament (#1 Colorado Mesa, #2 Regis, and #3 CSU Pueblo) and will wait to see who they square off against tomorrow in the championship game. Being undefeated thus far, whoever will face MSU Denver will have to beat them twice in order to win a championship on Saturday.

Ryan Strain's offense had an impressive day at the plate, tallying 12 runs on 17 hits. They scored 8 runs in the first two innings to build a comfortable lead. 

Andrew Biddle and Andrew Graham combined for nine of the 17 Roadrunner hits. Biddle went 5-for-6 with two runs while Graham went 4-for-5 with two runs and four RBIs. He hit a clutch two-run homer in the eighth to extend his team's lead and would eventually be the game-winning hit. 

Cam Yuran reached base three times on the afternoon, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a hit by pitch. He registered three runs and two RBIs. 

Freshman Haydn Benoit picked up the win, pitching 3.1 innings of relief for Dylan Webber. He allowed three runs on three hits while also striking out three. 

GAME SUMMARY
The Roadrunners started this contest off with a bang, grabbing four runs in the top half of the first. Yuran drove in the first two runs on a double down the right field line. Graham and Vandine followed up with that on RBI singles, to put MSUD up by four early on. 

CMU was able to score one run in the bottom half to cut the deficit to three. 

MSU Denver continued to swing the bat well the following inning, with three hits to start the frame, including a two-RBI double from Ortiz to put his team up 6-1. Another Graham single scored Ortiz, and an Amundson lineout to right brought home Yuran for an 8-1 lead after two innings. 

The Mavericks blasted a three-run shot in the third to make it an 8-4 Roadrunners lead. 

Rasmussen slapped a triple down the right field line in the fifth to score Schmeh, and Rasmussen also scored on a throwing error. The Roadrunners go up 10-4 heading into the bottom half. 

Graham continued his torrid day at that plate in the eighth, belting a two-run homer to put the Roadrunners up 12-6 with just two frames to go. 

The Mavericks inched closer in the bottom half with a towering grand slam to cut the deficit to just two runs, the closest margin in the game. 

CMU was able to get the tying run up to the plate in the ninth, but Swan shut the door for MSU Denver to pick up the 12-10 win. 

UP NEXT
The Roadrunners will either play Adams State, Regis, or Colorado Mesa tomorrow in the championship game at 1 p.m. MT. The opponent will be decided later today in the evening.