GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The No. 4 seed Regis University baseball team entered into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament with its morale trending in the right direction but sustained a tough 17-3 defeat from No. 3 seed RV UC-Colorado Springs at Suplizio Field on Wednesday to open the tournament.
 
"UCCS played very well, and it was a good pitching performance from Daniel Silva for UCCS," said Regis University Head Baseball Coach Drew LaComb. "It was good experience for our players to learn and see what we need to do next year to come out ready to go for the tournament. The first game showed us we need to be ready to go defensively and on the mound. I know we will use this game as a reference point for future games next year."

How It Happened: Already leading the Rangers by a 3-0 score in the bottom of the first inning, Mountain Lions redshirt junior outfielder Matt Berg sent a double to right field while redshirt junior outfielder Aaron Faragallah, who walked, advanced to third before heading home on the throw to make the score, 4-0. UC-Colorado Springs had all the runs it needed after that.
 
Berg capped UCCS's five-run first when he scored off redshirt freshman infielder Nate Heflebower's single to right for a 5-0 Mountain Lions' lead.
 
Down by an 8-0 margin in the fourth, Regis senior outfielder Coby Zimmerman belted a three-run home run to left, taking home sophomore infielder Matt Marlow from second and senior outfielder Kyle Koontz from first for an 8-3 deficit. Marlow opened the inning with a walk, and Koontz singled through the left side in back-to-back at-bats.
 
UC-Colorado Springs last cushioned its lead in the seventh when Berg singled down the right-field line, which allowed Faragallah to reach home from third to bring UCCS to a 17-3 lead. Faragallah hit an RBI triple to center in the preceding at-bat.
 
The Mountain Lions first acquired the lead, 1-0, in the opening inning on redshirt junior infielder Jaeden Hegmann's double down the right-field line, and this gave graduate infielder Matt McDermott sufficient time to score from second. McDermott led off the bottom of the first with a single to second.
 
Hegmann went home himself on redshirt junior outfielder Evan Richards' two-run home run to right, extending UC-Colorado Springs' advantage to 3-0.
 
Game Notes: Zimmerman started the tournament with a 2-for-3 showing, including the aforementioned home run, which yielded a run scored and a team-high three RBI. Koontz turned in a 1-for-3 performance, scored a run, and drew a walk. Marlow scored the remaining run and had a share of the game-high two walks. Senior outfielder Ryan Tierney and freshman infielder Braxton Boyle each posted 1-for-4 outcomes with the bat with Tierney's hit consisting of a double.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: RU drops to a 21-18 record overall. The Rangers, who are now one game away from elimination, will next face top-seeded No. 1 Colorado Mesa (38-3) at Suplizio Field on Thursday at 2 p.m.