Four and counting.
The Colorado Mesa University softball team has been crowned the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champions for the fourth consecutive year and with their eyes aimed towards the postseason, the only thing that can stop them is themselves.
After defeating Colorado Christian University 4-3 last Friday, CMU was awarded their twelveth overall RMAC Championship. Then, they came back to win their remaining three games of the regular season against New Mexico Highlands and one more against CCU to finish with a 42-7 overall record.
“It’s something to where it doesn’t matter to who’s out there pitching or who’s at-bat for what situations. You always feel like that is the one you want there, “ Head Coach Eric Kozel said. “Because they can do the job and you know that they can do the job and having that sense and feeling of knowing is always what we strive for.”
The Mavericks ended the year in the best way possible. The pitching staff allowed only five hits in the final two games last Saturday and the bats performed well in a couple of sound wins. Kaila Jacobi went 5-6 with six RBIs while also hitting the go-ahead run against the Cougars. She did the exact same thing on Friday against CCU via a two-run bomb. The senior catcher ended the regular season leading the team with 15 home runs and was second in RBIs with 58.
“Now it’s just one game at a time,” McKenzie Surface said. “It’s one game until we get to our end goal which is hopefully a national championship.”
Jacobi’s counterpart, AnnMarie Torres only had three hits over the four-game POD Weekend but still scruffed out four RBIs and currently leads the team in hits (65), RBIs (64) and batting average (.485). Torres will be a prime candidate for RMAC Player of the Year as she currently sits as the best hitter in the conference while failing to encounter a hitting slump the entire year.
CMU’s bats remain to be one of their biggest contributions to the immense success of the season. 13 different Mavericks are hitting over .300 while nine have over at least 25 hits. The team batting average remains an impressive .359 and the slugging percentage stands at .610. Both are a conference best.
It has been a constant rinse and repeats for this team. The bats have never gone cold and the players within the lineup continue to build off each other and overcome any challenge that has been presented to them. No loss has been too detrimental or hardening and any adversity seem to quickly become an afterthought.
What about the pitching? Well same story. Both Kimbri Herring and McKenzie Surface recorded their 19th wins during the weekend and seem to be interchangeable with whoever is on the mound. Surface, who became the winningest pitcher in RMAC history earlier this season, has the better ERA between the two (2.02), however, Herring has struck out more batters with 111.
Something is different this year than last season at this point before the RMAC Tournament. Herring and Surface have some consistent backup from within the pitching circle. Both Shea Mauser and Paige Adair have thrown significantly well when the two aces are sitting out. Mauser’s opponents hit only .188 against her while Adair leads the team with four saves.
“It’s great to have that extra help and be able to relax and know that if you aren’t having your best day, someone is gonna be able to back you up and that’s not a problem for us,” Surface said. “We have that depth to go deeper into where we want to go for the postseason.”
The Mavericks were considered one of the best teams in the country at this point last year, however, some would argue the 2019 Mavericks are a more complete team. CMU has not lost back-to-back games since Feb. 16 and is entering the postseason winning 27 out of their last 28 games…not to mention the confidence and hard work levels are through the roof.
“We have an entire team and it’s gonna take an entire time,” Head Coach Erik Kozel said. “Buying into the fact that if you don’t do your job, no, it’s not acceptable but yes I do have an entire team behind me that will take care of it for me. That’s something you always work to have with a team, but when it finally comes full circle and all working together and clicking, it’s something really incredible to watch.”
CMU will play host to the RMAC Tournament and will play their first game of the tournament against CSU-Pueblo on May 2.
