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16
CSU Pueblo CPBB 22-31
17
Winner Regis RUBB 30-23
CSU Pueblo CPBB
22-31
16
Final
17
Regis RUBB
30-23
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
CSU Pueblo CPBB 0 2 3 1 1 0 9 0 0 16 17 0
Regis RUBB 0 1 6 2 1 6 0 1 X 17 17 1

W: Deskin, Logan (1-1) L: Edwing Corrales (1-3) S: Sloan, Ethan (4)

7
MSU Denver MSUD 42-12
14
Winner Regis RUBB 31-23
MSU Denver MSUD
42-12
7
Final
14
Regis RUBB
31-23
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
MSU Denver MSUD 0 2 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 7 7 2
Regis RUBB 8 0 1 2 0 0 3 0 X 14 16 2

W: Shepardson, Blake (4-4) L: Brad Helton (2-1)

Daudet_Chase
Serena Ileleji, Colorado Mesa Athletics
Regis sophomore Zach Daudet (#12) celebrates with teammates Colten Chase (#6) and Austin Hamilton (#26) during Friday's win over MSU Denver.

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

Resilient Rangers earn first trip to RMAC Tournament title game since 2012 following wins over CSU Pueblo and MSU Denver

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The Regis University baseball team put together its most resilient 18 innings of baseball in 2023 on Friday, knocking off Colorado State University Pueblo, 17-16, and bulldozing crosstown rivals Metropolitan State University of Denver, 14-7, to secure the team's first trip to the RMAC Tournament championship since winning it all in 2012.

Regis (31-23 overall), the No. 3 seed in the tournament, staved off the two elimination games behind a multitude of big time performances and will now square off against the No. 1 ranked team in the country, tournament hosts Colorado Mesa University, at 1 p.m. Saturday at The Diamond in Grand Junction.

If the Rangers win the 1 p.m. game — which would be the first loss of the double-elimination tournament for the Mavericks (43-9 overall)— they'll play in a winner-take-all for the RMAC Championship at 5 p.m. Saturday and an automatic bid to the NCAA regionals.

"It's a great feeling and the biggest thing right now is I'm just proud of our players. I'm proud of them for how hard they've played in this tournament so far in this tournament and how hard they fought today," said Regis head baseball coach, Drew LaComb. "We'll get some rest and come ready to play tomorrow with the same competitive energy."

GAME ONE vs. CSU PUEBLO: Regis got Friday's action-packed afternoon started with a thrilling 17-16 win over CSU Pueblo, scoring at least one run in six of its eight trips to the plate while tallying 17 runs on 17 hits.

Trailing 5-1, the Rangers took their first lead with a six-run third inning that was capped by a two-run home run by sophomore Adam Paniagua; his second home run of the ballgame and two of his four RBI in the ballgame.

Regis would lead by as many as nine runs at 16-7, following a mammoth solo home run off the bat of sophomore Maxim Fullerton in the sixth, but the ThunderWolves stormed back with a nine-run seventh to tie the ballgame at 16 all heading to the eighth.

Sophomore shortstop Zach Daudet, who was a staggering 9-for-9 with six RBI between the two games Friday, would play hero for the Rangers in the 8th as he launched a 400-foot home run to left-center that broke the tie proved to be the game-winning run.

"You can't ask for a player to perform any better than that," LaComb said of Daudet. "He helped carry and ignite our offense that put up 31 runs today."

Junior left-hander Ethan Sloan worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning with two punch outs for the save, while junior right-hander Logan Deskin earned the victory with two good innings of relief in the seventh and eighth.

GAME TWO vs. MSU DENVER: Squaring off against rival No. 19 ranked MSU Denver in the nightcap, the Rangers capture the momentum early and never let it go in a 14-7 thumping of the Roadrunners.

Regis jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first inning, highlighted by a grand slam from senior third baseman Colten Chase, RBI singles by Daudet and Paniagua, and capped by a two-run double from Fullerton.

MSU Denver would never inch any closer than four runs the rest of the way as sophomore right-hander Blake Shepardson turned in the pitching performance of the tournament for Regis, willing his way through 8.0 innings on 142 pitches.

Shepardson struck out a career-high 10, allowed seven runs — only two earned — while giving most of the night off to a taxed Regis bullpen.

"Blake's outing was huge. He saved our bullpen and when needed and outing like that," LaComb said. "Blake wanted the ball and he wanted that opportunity. He just did a tremendous job and put us in a good position for (Saturday)."

UP NEXT: The Rangers will look to continue their magical run in the RMAC Tournament, which has included two one-run victories and two elimination game victories, when play resumes at 1 p.m. Saturday out at The Diamond in Grand Junction.

If the Rangers can knock off the Mavericks in the 1 p.m. game, the RMAC Championship will be decided with another single, nine-inning contest slated for 5 p.m. Saturday.

"If we can keep playing the way we did today, compete pitch-by-pitch and inning-by-inning, I think good things will happen (Saturday) and we can live or die with the result," LaComb said. "I just want us to build off and continue what we did today."
 
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