GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The No. 16 Harford baseball team (52-10) dropped its 2016 JUCO World Series opener to No. 1 Chattahoochee Valley on Saturday, 10-2. The Fighting Owls scored first and took a 1-0 lead into the sixth, but the Pirates took control of the contest with a six-spot.

Harford couldn't get things going offensively against Chattahoochee Valley ace Chase Burks (13-0) despite littering the base paths in the early innings. The Fighting Owls left six runners on in the first three frames, including the bases loaded in the first, but could not come up with the big hit.

Dominic DiSabatino got Harford on the board in the fourth with a two-out double to left center that easily scored JP Vail. Vail singled and stole second base prior to the liner by DiSabatino. Chase DeMars followed with a rocket off the bat, but right at the shortstop to end the threat.

Mike Adams (11-1) suffered his first loss of the season despite holding the No. 1 team in the nation off the scoreboard for the first five frames. He escaped a few jams and was helped by a pair of spectacular plays behind him, but ran into trouble in the sixth. The righthander retired the leadoff hitter in the inning but then allowed five of the six runs in the inning. 

Adams struck out five in 5.1 innings. In the second, he allowed a double over the head of right fielder Ben Bomberger, but the sophomore recovered to throw it back into to the infield where DeMars fired a seed to the plate to nab the Pirate base runner and end the inning. In the fifth, after a leadoff single, CVCC tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Adams was forced to field the ball, but slipped and threw the ball away. Vail chased the ball down and threw a laser to third base to get the lead runner trying to advance. Adams struck out the next batter and escaped the jam with a groundout two batters later.

Jack Hamner went 2-for-2 and drew a pair of walks to reach base all four times. The left fielder singled in the third and fifth innings, but did not come around to score. DeMars and Joe Burton collected the other Harford hits. The Fighting Owls added a late run on an error and a wild pitch, but couldn't scratch another run across to extend the game, despite having the bases loaded in the seventh. 

Harford now faces Santa Fe (FL) on Sunday at noon eastern in an elimination game. The Gulf District Champions held a 3-1 lead over Iowa Western but allowed three unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth to fall.