Coming into the NCAA Super Regional, it was a clash of the number one teams in the nation as both the Mavericks and the Angelo State University (ASU) Rams ranked first in the two of the three national ranking polls.
The two powerhouses have also developed a bit of a rivalry. In 2019 Colorado Mesa University (CMU) beat the Rams in the super regional in route to a national runner up season. Just last year ASU defeated the Mavs to advance to their fifth world series.
This go-around was all ASU. Playing at home in San Angelo TX, the Rams won game one 8-2 and game two 6-0. The 6-0 shutout was the first time CMU was held scoreless in over 100 games.
Jacob Rhoades got the start for the Mavs in game one and had an up and down day on the mound.
The junior struggled with his command through the first few innings, but he did enough to keep the Rams scoreless early and the Mavericks took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a sacrifice hit.
However, in the fourth the Rams used their signature small ball to tie the game.
The Mavericks were almost out of the inning with two outs and the score still tied. ASU then hit a pair of singles to jump out to a 4-1 lead. On the second single, outfielder Julian Boyd fired a throw from left field perfectly to catcher Declan Wiesner, but the ASU baserunner pulled off an incredible swim move to avoid the tag and score.
Junior Cade Nicol then came in for the Mavs in the fifth, and allowed the Rams to score two more runs to take the 6-1 lead. Nicol went on to finish the game, but never got the traditional run support from the offense. CMU only mustered five hits in the 8-2 loss.
Going into game two, the Mavericks had the impossible task of taking the national pitcher of the year favorite Kade Bragg. Bragg has a 1.03 ERA, and with another season like this next year, he has a real shot to break the NCAA DII career ERA record that has stood since 1967. All season long he has been simply un-hittable.
The Mavericks went with RMAC freshman pitcher of the year, Liam Hohenstein, who kept up with Bragg through the first three innings. In the fourth however, Hohenstein loaded the bases with one out. He then rolled a double play ball to potentially get out of the inning, but Maverick third baseman Ethan Ezor committed a throwing error allowing two runs to score. ASU then hit a sac-fly and took the 3-0 lead.
For the Maverick offense, they did have seven hits against Bragg in his seven innings of work. However, the Mavericks only had more than one runner on base just twice in the game.
The Rams then added insurance runs in the fifth, seventh, and ninth to win the super-regional 6-0.
For CMU it was another amazing season going 48-11. At one point the team was 9-6, and unranked in the national polls. Fast forward two months and the club was a consensus top three team in the nation, with a real chance at a national title.
Star outfielders Julian Boyd and Conrad Villafuerte will move on, along with a couple of pitchers. However, the majority of the starting lineup and key rotational guys will be back next year to give the team another shot at a national championship.
