Box Score LAS VEGAS, N.M. – On getaway day on Sunday (March 23), the New Mexico Highlands baseball team (13-12, 10-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) fell to 16th-ranked Colorado Mesa (16-5, 11-3 RMAC) 20-4 at Brandt Park in Las Vegas, N.M.
Junior
Morgan McCasland belted his league-leading seventh home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth after junior
Nick Gonzales reached base after an RBI triple. Gonzales, who had no three-baggers on the season coming in to the series, has two to his credit in as many games.
The home run was McCasland's only hit in the game in as many at-bats. Gonzales and junior
Joe Cervantes both had a pair of hits in four at-bats while Gonzales scored a pair of runs.
Junior
Zach Settles fell to 0-2 on the season for the Cowboys, giving up six runs on six hits and one walk with a trio of strikeouts in four innings of work.
After both teams only recorded a hit in the first two innings, the visitors plated five in the top of the third and never led by less than four the rest of the game. With one out, Derrick Garcia hit his first home run of the year. After an infield single and a walk, Austin Kaiser went yard to put the Mavericks up four. Garrett Woodward tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly to put Colorado Mesa up 5-0.
The Cowboys got one back in the fourth when Gonzales singled and advanced to third on a fielding error. After a pair of walks, redshirt junior
Matthew Chavez hit a grounder to first that was mishandled. While the fielder recovered to get the out at first, Gonzales touched home plate to bring Highlands within four.
The visitors scored 15 runs over the final five innings for the final 20-4 margin. Kaiser led Colorado Mesa with four hits in six at-bats with six RBI's and three runs scored. Sergio Valenzuela also went 4-for-6 with four runs scored and an RBI.
Kyle Davis improved to 3-0 on the mound for the Mavericks, surrendering four runs and eight hits in five innings of work.
Garrett Carpenter, finishing the final four innings for the visitors, gave up only three hits for his second save of the season.
The New Mexico Highlands baseball team returns to action next Friday (March 28) when it travels to Denver to take on Colorado School of Mines.
