MESA, Ariz. (Interstat) — Xavier Melendez homered twice and drove in three runs, but the Abilene Christian Wildcats held off the Texas-Arlington Mavericks 5-3 in the Western Athletic Conference baseball championship Wednesday at Mesa.

Melendez’s second homer, a two-run shot in the top of the ninth inning, cut Abilene Christian’s lead to 5-3, but the Wildcats’ bullpen escaped further damage. The Mavericks (19-32) left a runner on base after Melendez’s blast and could not complete the comeback.

Abilene Christian (25-29) broke open a tight game with a three-run bottom of the sixth inning, turning a 2-1 lead into a 5-1 advantage. With the bases loaded and one out, Braden Regala singled to drive in a run, Maddox Miesse walked to force in another, and Diego Cardenas added a sacrifice fly. The outburst came after Texas-Arlington’s pitching change in the middle of the inning, when Merek Sears replaced starter Kyle Winkler. Sears faced four batters, allowed one inherited runner to score and gave up an earned run before Hayes Melville entered to retire the side.

Wildcats starter Aidan Coleman earned the win, pitching eight innings and allowing three earned runs on seven hits while striking out three. Coleman rebounded after a rough outing May 14 in which he gave up eight earned runs in two innings against Utah Tech. He retired the side in order in the third, fourth and fifth innings and induced groundouts and flyouts to keep the Mavericks in check.

Melendez put Texas-Arlington ahead in the top of the first inning with a solo homer to left center. He finished 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBI. The Mavericks recorded only three runs despite eight hits, stranding six runners.

Abilene Christian answered in the bottom of the fifth. Pinch-runner Braden Regala, after a single and a stolen base, scored on a steal of home as Miesse stole second. Cardenas had a sacrifice fly earlier in the inning to bring in the first run, tying the game at 1-1 before Regala’s steal gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.

The Wildcats collected 13 hits, led by Regala, Miesse and Zandt Payne, each with two hits. Miesse drove in a run, and Cardenas had two RBI on sacrifice flies.

Texas-Arlington’s early-inning offense stalled after Melendez’s first homer. The Mavericks had a runner in scoring position in the second inning but could not capitalize, and they managed only two hits between the third and eighth innings.

Kyle Winkler started for Texas-Arlington and threw 5⅓ innings, allowing two runs on zero hits while striking out four. The Wildcats did not record a hit until the bottom of the fifth, when they erupted for four hits and two runs. Winkler walked two and hit a batter.

The game featured a replay review in the bottom of the sixth when Abilene Christian challenged a safe call at first base. The call was confirmed, and Texas-Arlington retained its lone challenge.

The series between the two teams this season had been high-scoring and close. Abilene Christian won two of three regular-season meetings in April, including a 14-4 victory and a 9-8 win in 10 innings. Texas-Arlington won the other game 11-6.

The loss marked the fourth defeat in five games for Texas-Arlington, which fell to 1-4 in its last five contests. Abilene Christian snapped a three-game losing streak.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a 4-3 final score in favor of Abilene Christian, and its ELO system gave the Wildcats a 57.40 percent probability to win.