One day after scoring 22 runs on 19 hits, the Mesa State College baseball team struggled to score Friday afternoon.

The No. 15 Mavericks (42-16) were limited to three runs on five hits and left 13 runners on base in an 11-3 loss to the University of Nebraska-Kearney in the RMAC tournament at Suplizio Field.

“They walk us 10 times and we didn’t take advantage of it,” Mesa State coach Chris Hanks said. “(Jason) Fronczak did a good job pitching, but they got enough metal on it to get by us.

“Maybe we were sluggish; maybe they pitched us good. They are a good club.”

The Lopers (32-25) advances to the RMAC championship at noon on Saturday. The Mavericks play the winner of this afternoon’s Colorado School of Mines and New Mexico Highlands at 7 tonight at Suplizio Field.

“It’s one game,” Kearney coach Damon Day said. “All this win did was get us to Saturday. We want to get to regionals and we’re a long way from being there.”

The Mavericks, who are ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II West Region, are in a must-win situation and will need to win three games to win the RMAC tournament.

Hanks believes the Mavericks will need to win the tournament to receive a NCAA regional berth.

“I felt we should’ve been fourth or fifth (in the region),” Hanks said. “We’ll see what happens, but we’re not going to worry about it.”

Hanks said he’s leaning toward starting T.J. Butch (6-0) in the elimination game.

Kearney relief pitcher Ryan Seefus (5-5), who came in relief of Seth Svoboda in the fifth, limited the Mavs to one run on three hits in 4 1/3 innings for the victory.

“Ryan came in and did what we needed him to do,” Day said. “He gave our hitters a chance to take a breath and hit.”

Fronczak (3-1) allowed six runs on 10 hits in six innings.

Kearney pushed a run across in the second inning then scored four runs off Mesa State starter Jason Fronczak in the third. Joe Gonzales doubled home a run then Joe Nowaczyk hit a three-run home run over the batter’s eye wall in center field for a 5-0 lead.

Mesa State scored in the bottom of the third on a Matt Miller sacrifice fly off Svoboda. Mesa senior Curtis Englehart hit an inside-the-park home run in the fifth, but the Mavericks left the bases loaded.

The Lopers scored one run in the seventh then Mesa got it back in the eighth only to see Kearney put up five runs in the ninth.

Nowaczyk was 3 for 5 with three RBI for the Lopers. Cole Archer was 1 for 4 with two RBI.

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E-mail Allen Gemaehlich at agemaehlich@gjds.com.