GRAND JUNCTION, CO- Colorado Christian closed their series at Colorado Mesa on Sunday with an afternoon matchup at The Diamond. The Cougars battled hard but in the end they fell to the Mavericks by a final score of 12-4. 

CMU took advantage of an unfortunate error in the first to score three runs, but CCU had an answer. Nathan Mensen teed off on a pitch in the second, sending it over the right field wall for a two-run homer to bring the deficit to just 3-2. A pair of runs in the bottom half of the second from the Mavericks made it 5-2 after two innings of play. 

The pitching settled in from there as neither team could plate a run the next three innings. Mesa used the long ball to stretch the lead in the sixth and seventh, grabbing a commanding 9-2 lead before the Cougars tacked on a few more runs. William Brassil came home on a wild pitch in the eighth, and he picked up a ninth inning RBI single to score Connor Laeng, but in the end the hosts came away with a 12-4 victory. 

Chad Naf was strong on the mound, going 5.1 innings and allowing just three earned runs while striking out two batters and scattering five hits. Matthew Morben and Sawyer Shepherd closed the game out with 1.2 and 1 inning of work respectively. The freshman Mensen provided the power with his second inning blast, the first home run of his collegiate career. 

CCU will look to get back on track as they return home to All Star Park for a series with CSU Pueblo starting March 28 at 3 p.m. MST.