GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Rallying late to claim the final game of the series 6-3 on Saturday at Canyon View Park, No. 2 Colorado Mesa University completed a 3-1 series victory over the Montana State University Billings baseball team.
 
The Yellowjackets (5-7) led the well-pitched game 2-1 in the middle of the sixth inning, before CMU scored three in the sixth and two more in the seventh to pull ahead for good.
 
Senior Connor Redmond ate up 5 1/3 innings in his third start of the season, striking out six and walking none while throwing 110 pitches. "Redmond threw a great game and really commanded the baseball today," said MSUB head coach Derek Waddoups. "He was really dominant early, but they just got to him a little bit later on. I was proud of his competitive effort, and I love the fight of our group."
 
The Yellowjackets tried to stage a ninth inning rally, when Kevin Blair punched a two-out single to center and came around to score on Carson Green's second triple of the season. It was too little too late however, as CMU reliever Kyle Miller ended the game with a strikeout. Isaac Hayen started the game and allowed two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk in his five innings of work, before Cooper Vasquez logged three shutout innings with four strikeouts to claim his first win of the year.
 
Mitch Winter kept his hot weekend going in the top of the second inning, punching a base hit into center field to put runners on the corners after a perfect drag bunt by James Anderson. Cooper Dulich followed with an RBI-ground out, giving the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead.
 
Harrison Rodgers led off the bottom of the second with a single, and Spencer Branwell tripled to right field with two outs to pull the score even at 1-1. The Yellowjackets pulled ahead one more time in the fourth inning, this time on a two-out, RBI-single off the bat of Dulich.
 
Reigning NCAA D2 Player of the Year Haydn McGeary delivered a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth, with a swing of the bat that proved to give CMU the lead for good. Bramwell led off the seventh with a double, before Chase Hamilton and McGeary had run-scoring hits to make the score 6-2.
 
Winter was the lone 'Jacket with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 in the game. The Yellowjackets totaled seven hits in the low-scoring affair, while leaving eight runners on base. McGeary went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Farmer, Rodgers, and Bramwell had two hits apiece for the hosts.
 
THE BUZZ: Redmond was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…MSUB is now 4-14 all-time against Colorado Mesa.
 
NEXT WEEK: The Yellowjackets' stay in Colorado continues, as a four-game series against Colorado Christian kicks off on Thursday at 11 a.m. in Lakewood. Live coverage for the series against the Cougars will be available online here.