Angelo State needs to sweep two games Saturday to reach CWS
Top-seeded Angelo State University was three outs away from taking the opening game of an NCAA Division II South Central Super Regional against No. 2 seed Colorado Mesa Friday night, but now the Rams are on the brink of elimination.
The Mavericks scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning to pull off a 12-8 comeback in a back-and-forth battle at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.
Mesa improved to 43-15, while ASU dropped to 48-12.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series that determines which team will advance to the D-II College World Series is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday. A third game, if necessary, will start at approximately 7 p.m.
"First of all, what a great crowd," ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said after the loss. "I appreciate the people of San Angelo showing up in force tonight and come out (Saturday). Hopefully, we make it a long day. I thought, obviously, the start we got off to was great. And I think the credit you have to give to Mesa is every time we scored, they responded. We did not do that.
"The good news, I thought we did not play very well and to be in that game and to not play well, we expect to play well (Saturday) and we feel good about where we're at. We hit a ton of balls right at them and some of those things. We're excited about (Saturday). Let's go get Game 1 and it's pretty hot for Colorado. Hopefully, we go do our job in Game 1 and get both."
The Rams may have Mother Nature on their side Saturday, with temperatures expected to soar to 103 degrees.
ASU took a 3-0 lead in the first, but Mesa cut the deficit to 3-2 in the second.
The contest was knotted at 5-5 after five.
In the seventh, a balk was called on Rams starting pitcher Benjamin Elder, followed by a solo home run by Mesa designated hitter Haydn McGeary over the left-field that made it 7-5 Mesa.
ASU regained the momentum in the bottom of the eighth when left fielder Justin Lee blasted a two-run dinger over the center-field fence, followed by an RBI single by Thomas Cain that made it 8-7 in the Rams' favor.
The Rams were on the brink of pulling out the series opener before the Mavericks put up a five-spot in the ninth.
McGeary, who had two homers, got things started with a two-run single to center field for the decisive run, making it 9-8 Mavs.
Chase Hamilton followed with a two-run triple, capped off by an RBI double by Jordan Stubbings for the final margin.
The Mavericks know how tough it is to beat the Rams on their home turf, but they managed to do that in the opener.
"It was a good college baseball game," Mesa head coach Chris Hanks said. "Angelo is a fantastic club and we know that. It's really becoming a thing between the two of us.
"We have all the respect in the world for them and we know it's going to be a battle (Saturday). I'm proud of our guys. It was a good night for us, but we'll have to come back (Saturday) as well."
Mesa starter Kannon Handy gave up six hits and five earned runs in five complete.
Closer Cole Seward (2-1), the Mavs' fourth pitcher, worked the final 1.2 innings to get the win.
ASU starter Benjamin Elder allowed 11 hits and seven earned runs in 6.1 innings.
Carson Childers (8-2), the third of four ASU pitchers, was charged with the loss. In two-thirds of an inning, he gave up four hits and five earned runs.
Lee was 1-for-3 with a team-high three RBIs and one run for the Rams.
ASU catcher Tripp Clark had a two-run blast in the fourth and he also scored a run.
Rams DH Jordan Williams went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and one run, and Cain was 3-for-4 with one RBI and one run.
The Mavericks finished with 17 hits and limited the Rams to nine.
McGeary was 3-for-5 with the two round-trippers, a game-high four RBIs and three runs scored.
Harrison Rodgers (3-for-5) and Hamilton (3-for-5, 3 runs) drove in three runs apiece.
Mesa is trying to turn the tables on ASU after the Rams eliminated the Mavericks at home in the South Central Regional last year en route to the CWS.
Colorado Mesa 12, Angelo State 8
Mesa 020 210 205--12 17 1
ASU 300 200 030--8 9 0
Benjamin Elder, Kyle Moseley (7), Carson Childers (8), Price Siemering (8) and Tripp Clark. Kannon Handy, Cade Nichol (6), Cooper Vasquez (8), Cole Seward (8) and Spencer Bramwell. WP -- Seward (2-1). LP -- Childers (8-2). 2B -- Mesa: Conrad Villafuerte, Jordan Stubbings; ASU: Jordan Williams. 3B -- Mesa: Matthew Turner, Chase Hamilton. HR -- Mesa: Haydn McGeary 2; ASU: Justin Lee, Tripp Clark. Records -- Colorado Mesa is 43-15, Angelo State is 48-12.
Charles Bryce is a journalist covering sports in West Texas. Send him a news tip at cbryce@gannett.com. Consider supporting West Texas journalism with a subscription to GoSanAngelo.com.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Angelo State needs to sweep two games Saturday to reach CWS
