GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (May 13, 2016) – Adams State University suffered an 11-1 setback to Colorado Mesa University on Thursday night in their RMAC Tournament opener.
All signs pointed to a pitcher's duel between ASU starter
Josh Keaton and CMU's Matt Allen as both teams were held scoreless through three innings.
Keaton retired 9 straight including a 1-2-3 strikeout feat in the second inning. However, the Maverick bats finally got to the junior pitcher in the fourth with two runs off two hits. The bad fortune continued an inning later as the Mavericks tacked on five runs off three hits to take a 7-0 advantage.
"I think had we gotten runs early, Josh (Keaton) would've relaxed a bit more. He started to press a bit as the game went on and lost his rhythm." ASU head coach
Jim Capra stated during a postgame press conference.
It wasn't until the sixth that Adams State registered a run on the scoreboard. With two outs,
Deven Nelson stepped into the batter's box and connected for a hard-hit double to centerfield.
Tyler Thurston followed with a RBI single up the middle to bring Nelson in to score.
Little ground was made from the run as the Mavericks followed with a run of their own in the bottom of the sixth. The damage came against reliever
Ryan Ferguson who began the frame to replace
Mason Munford. Ferguson would pitch 1.2 innings; allowing 4 runs off 5 hits including two home runs during the seventh.
It was a day to forget for the Adams State offense. The Grizzly bats struggled against Allen who struck out 12 in 7.0 innings of work. Allen gave up one run off six hits on 120 net pitches. After Allen's departure the CMU bullpen continued to fluster ASU with two hitless frames to close out the game.
Nelson and
Dillon Bollig collected two hits apiece as Thurston was responsible for the lone RBI in the sixth. The lack of hitting resulting in 10 runners left on base for Adams State compared to just 6 for Colorado Mesa.
The Grizzlies now turn to a Friday afternoon game against Colorado School of Mines at 3:30 p.m. from Suplizio Field.
For any future updates on ASU baseball, stay connected with
www.asugrizzlies.com
