GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A milestone performance from
Jack Nehler wasn't enough as Montana State University Billings baseball (6-6) fell 4-1 to No. 9 Colorado Mesa University (7-2) on Wednesday afternoon at The Diamond in the opener of a four-game set.
Nehler paced the offense, going 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. With his eighth inning run, the senior became just the seventh Yellowjacket in program history to reach 100 career hits, 100 runs scored and 100 RBIs. Nehler now ranks sixth in the MSUB record books with 185 career hits, eighth in RBIs with 103, and ninth in runs with 100.
On the mound,
Sam Coxen (1-1) turned in a competitive outing despite taking the loss. The sophomore right-hander allowed just three earned runs over 6.0 innings, striking out five on 112 pitches.
Malcolm Bartholomew provided strong relief to earn himself player of the game honors, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings without allowing a hit while striking out two and walking one.
"Sam had an outstanding job of pitching today, said head coach
Derek Waddoups. "We had some bad luck and bad hops that didn't go our way in the first few innings, but he was able to minimize those innings and keep us in the game. Bartholomew was tough out of the pen for us. Putting up zeros in the seventh and eighth inning gave us a chance."
The Yellowjackets (6-6) scattered eight hits and worked five walks but were unable to capitalize consistently, stranding 12 runners on base. Three defensive miscues proved costly, as two of Colorado Mesa's four runs came unearned.
"Our situational hitting let us down today, we just left way too many runners on base." Waddoups said. "I loved our eighth inning but unfortunately hitting into a double play with bases loaded to hold us to just one run in the inning."
Game Flow
Colorado Mesa struck early, plating a run in the first inning on an RBI double and adding another in the second to build a 2-0 lead. The Mavericks extended the advantage in the third inning, taking advantage of a pair of MSUB errors to score twice more and make it 4-0.
The 'Jackets threatened in multiple innings, putting runners aboard in six of the first eight frames. In the fourth,
Cade Queen singled and
Keeton Bell followed with a bunt single to place two on with one out, but Colorado Mesa escaped the jam. MSUB's best opportunity came in the eighth inning.
Jack Nehler opened the frame with a single to right field, and
Jason Wright followed with a base hit down the left-field line.
Kaden Bertram then singled to left to load the bases with no outs.
After a strikeout, Queen delivered an RBI single to left field to score Nehler and cut the deficit to 4-1. However, the Mavericks induced an inning-ending double play to limit the damage. MSUB mounted one final push in the ninth, as
Ryker Fortier singled and Nehler drew a walk to bring the tying run to the plate, but a strikeout would unfortunately end their rally.
Queen finished 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Wright was 1-for-2 off the bench, while Bertram went 1-for-4. Bell added a bunt single, and Fortier collected a hit in the ninth.
STAT LEADERS
H: Jack Nehler (2);
Cade Queen (2)
R: Jack Nehler (1)
RBI: Cade Queen (1)
IP: Sam Coxen (6.0)
SO: Sam Coxen (5)
THE BUZZ: Malcom Bartholomew was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game after throwing two complete innings in relief with two strikeouts while allowing zero hits and zero runs.
UP NEXT: MSUB will continue its four-game series against Colorado Mesa with a doubleheader tomorrow at 12:00 & 3:00 pm in Grand Junction, CO.
