GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo was three outs away from earning a first-round win in the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament here Wednesday afternoon, but a three-run, two-out walk-off home run by MSU Denver's Cam Yuran helped the No. 2 seeded Roadrunners to a come-from-behind 16-15 victory over the No. 5 seeded ThunderWolves at The Diamond.
 
Yuran's home run was the 10th and final home run of the game as the two teams combined for 36 hits, 31 runs and 15 extra-base hits. Pack redshirt senior shortstop Trey Vasquez (Greeley, Colo./Dodge City CC) hit two of CSU Pueblo's four home runs and went 5-for-5 at the plate with three runs scored and had a season-high 5 RBI.
 
With the setback, the Pack falls to 21-30 overall on the season and moves into the consolation bracket where they will face the loser of Wednesday's final game between No. 1 seeded Colorado Mesa and No. 6 seeded Colorado Christian, who will play their first-round game at 7 p.m. MSU Denver, who improved to 41-10 on the season, will move into the winner's bracket and will face the winner of Wednesday's second game between No. 3 seeded Regis and No. 4 seeded Colorado School of Mines.
 
In addition to Vasquez's five hits, 5 RBI and three runs scored, sophomore rightfielder Elijah Borjas (Denver, Colo./Lakewood) and junior leftfielder Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) each had four hits, including Casteneda hitting his team-leading 10th home run of the season. Senior first baseman Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) had two hits and scored three runs in the loss. The Pack had 20 hits in the game as every starter, but freshman catcher Cody Macias (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills), who was 0-for-3 at the plate.
 
MSU Denver jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a solo home run by Ross Smith off junior hurler Tyler Curtis (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Idaho), who started for the Pack on the mound.
 
The Pack would rally to score six runs in the top of second inning to take a 6-1 lead. Vasquez got the scoring started on his 2-run single to left and then Borjas followed with an RBI single through the left side to give the Pack a 3-1 lead. Casteneda made the score 4-1 in the Pack's favor on his RBI single to right and then junior second baseman Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC) followed with an RBI single to chase MSU Denver starting pitcher Jack Slominski from the game. The sixth run in the inning came on a balk by MSU Denver reliever Brady McLean.
 
MSU Denver got two of those runs back in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Caleb Albaugh and bases loaded walk issued to Tanner Garner by Curtis to cut the Pack's lead to 6-3.
 
The Roadrunners pulled within 4-1 in the bottom of the third on a lead-off homer by Williams.
 
Pueblo would add four more runs to its total in the top of the fourth to take a 10-4 lead. Vasquez got the scoring started in the inning on his 2-run homer over the centerfield wall. Later in the inning, the Pack would load the bases on a walk, a fielder's choice and a single by sophomore third baseman Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) and then junior designated hitter Edmund King (Imperial Beach, Calif./Southwestern) drilled a 1-1 pitch from reliever Gabe Austin down the right field line for a 2-run single. Austin replaced McLean after allowing Howard's single.
 
MSU Denver, though, would explode for seven hits and scored eight runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 12-10 lead in the game. The big hits in the inning were 3-run homers by Cody Schultz and Jake Williams. The homer by Williams was his second of the game and 18th of the season.
 
The Pack got one of those runs back in the top of the sixth on a lead-off homer by Casteneda to pull within 12-11 and then retook the lead at 14-12 in the top of the seventh thanks to three runs with two of those coming on 2-run pinch hit homer by freshman Ty Thurman (Buckeye, Ariz./Liberty) and the other run scoring on an RBI single by Borjas off MSU Denver reliever Zane Covey.
 
MSU Denver pulled within 14-13 in the bottom of the seventh on a lead-off solo homer by Garner off  sophomore pitcher Frank Wierman (Surprise, Ariz./Shadow Creek), who was the third hurler of the game for the Pack.
 
The Pack pushed its lead 15-13 in the top of the ninth on a one-out, solo home run by Vasquez.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, Garner reached on a one-out infield single, moved to second on Wierman wild pitch and after Smith drew a walk to put two runners on base, Wierman was replaced on the mound by junior Dylan Weaver (Fruita, Colo./Highland CC). The first batter Weaver faced was Williams and he forced Williams to fly out to center for the second out of the inning. The next hitter, though, Yuran took a 3-2 pitch from Weaver over the wall in right field for a 3-run walk-off homer to seal the victory for the Roadrunners.
 
MSU Denver finished with 16 hits and Garner, Williams, and Colin Stone each had three hits, while Yuran and Albaugh each had two hits in the win. Williams had four hits and scored three runs, while Garner had 2 RBI and scored three runs and Yuran had three runs scored and 3 RBI.
 
Weaver (3-5) took the loss for the Pack as he pitched one-third of an inning and allowed one hit and one run, while walking and striking out none.
 
Curtis tossed 4.1 innings and allowed six hits and seven runs (five earned), while walking three and striking out two.
 
Eric Cox (2-3) earned the win for the Roadrunners as he tossed 2.2 innings and allowed two hits and one run, while striking out four and walking none.
 
The teams each left eight runners on bases and recorded two hit batsmen in the game.