Regis RUBB 14-14, 5-5 RMAC

Colorado Mesa CMU 21-8, 12-2 RMAC

Regis RUBB

14-14, 5-5 RMAC

Final

Apr. 01, 2023

Colorado Mesa CMU

21-8, 12-2 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Regis RUBB	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	4	6	1
Colorado Mesa CMU	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	1

W: Ashcraft, Mason (2-2) L: Kannon Handy (4-1) S: Sloan, Ethan (2)

Regis RUBB 14-15, 5-6 RMAC

Colorado Mesa CMU 22-8, 13-2 RMAC

Regis RUBB

14-15, 5-6 RMAC

Final

Apr. 01, 2023

Colorado Mesa CMU

22-8, 13-2 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	R	H	E
Regis RUBB	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	1
Colorado Mesa CMU	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	6	0

W: Anthony Durbano (2-0) L: Ramil, Dom (1-4)

Paul Shepardson / Paul Shepardson Photography

Regis sophomore Mason Ashcraft tossed 6.2 innings and had seven strikeouts in Saturday's Game One win over Colorado Mesa (File Photo).

Game Recap: Baseball | Apr 01 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Ashcraft and Garcia deliver excellent starts, Rangers earn doubleheader split against #16/21 Mavericks

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Pitching and defense carried the day on Saturday when the Regis University baseball squared off in a pair of seven innings contests against No. 16/21 ranked Colorado Mesa University, winning the first game by a 4-1 final before falling in a tight 2-1 pitchers' duel in the nightcap.

With the doubleheader split, the Rangers moved to 14-15 overall on the season and 5-6 in RMAC play, while the Mavericks (22-8 overall, 13-2 RMAC) take a 2-1 series lead into tomorrow's finale, scheduled for 12 p.m. at The Diamond in Grand Junction.

The two teams, featuring top-3 offenses in the RMAC entering the weekend, combined for just eight runs across 15 total innings as both pitching staffs owned the afternoon.

"I thought our guys played very well and competed hard all day. And I want to give a ton of credit to our pitching staff because I thought everyone who threw today had great performances. It was nice to see them have a bounce-back week," said Regis head baseball coach, Drew LaComb. "It was really good baseball (Saturday) and we put ourselves in a position to win two road games against a very good team. It felt like playoff baseball, which was great experience for our guys."

GAME ONE: Arguably the best pitching performance of the day came courtesy of Regis right-hander Mason Ashcraft; a sophomore transfer from the University of New Mexico who had his best day in Rangers' blue as he went 5.2 dominant innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out a career-high seven.

Facing a deep and powerful Mavericks' lineup, Ashcraft (2-2 overall) held CMU to just one hit through the game's first five innings, punctuated by the right-hander striking out the side as part of a 1-2-3 fifth inning.

"He just threw three pitches for strikes and was able to keep their hitters off-balance basically the whole day. He was extremely competitive on the mound and it was for sure the best performance I've seen from Mason," LaComb said. "He had everything rolling. He was confident, competitive and could throw everything for strikes. I'm really proud of him."

Colorado Mesa was finally able to scratch out a run on one hit and a walk in the sixth, but that would be all on the afternoon as Ashcraft got the first two outs of the seventh and junior left-hander Ethan Sloan punched out CMU leadoff man Harrison Rodgers to collect his second save of 2023.

While Ashcraft was rolling on the mound, the Rangers' lineup gave him some early run support to work with as Regis pushed across three runs in the top of the second, courtesy of a RBI single from Adam Paniagua and a two-run homer off the bat of senior Colten Chase; his second long ball of the spring.

Paniagua (2-for-3, 1R, 2 RBI) would add to his strong afternoon with another RBI single in the third inning to score CJ Difiglia to give the Rangers a 4-0 advantage and all the run support they would need.

"Those swings were huge for us from Colten and Adam so we could score early. I didn't think it was going to be such a low-scoring game with all the following zeros on the board, so those ended up becoming extremely important at-bats for us at the end of the day," LaComb said.

GAME TWO: Adding to the strong afternoon from the Regis starting staff was freshman left-hander Ryan Garcia, who twirled 5.1 innings of one-run baseball in Saturday's nightcap. Unfortunately for the Rangers, CMU's duo of Liam Hohenstein and Anthony Durbano were just as strong as CMU was able to grind out a 2-1 win in extra innings to earn the split.

Garcia struck out two, walked two and limited the Mavericks to five scattered hits in the no-decision, needing just 74 pitches to go 5.1 innings.

"Ryan was able to throw multiple pitches for strikes and he was very competitive in the strike zone. The biggest thing with Ryan is, even though he is a freshman, he has a lot of confidence and maturity and is the same guy every day," LaComb said. "That external pressure that can happen doesn't phase him. Doesn't matter if he is in Yankees Stadium, Grand Junction or at our field at Regis, he's going to be the same guy every day."

After Garcia gave way, Regis sophomore right-hander Dom Ramil followed with two spotless innings of relief, striking out three and walking just one.

On the flip side, Hohenstein and Durbano were just as dominant as the duo limited the Regis offense to one run — a first inning RBI single by Matt Marlow — on seven hits and did not walk a batter across eight innings of work.

"You have to give a ton of credit to Colorado Mesa's pitching staff. They didn't walk a single batter that second game, so we didn't get many free opportunities to work with. We had to hit our way through that game and they threw two of their best arms," LaComb said. "I thought our guys competed hard at the plate, but we had a hard time adjusting, getting on time and stringing hits together."

The CMU offense, which also had just a RBI single in the first inning from Julian Boyd through the game's originally scheduled seven innings, was able to crack through in home-half of the eighth, getting a walk-off RBI single from Rob Sharrar to earn the 2-1 victory and salvage the split.

UP NEXT: Regis and Colorado Mesa will conclude the four-game series on Sunday at The Diamond in Grand Junction. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.

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