The Mavericks were able to clinch the outright regular season Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) title as they swept Chadron State College this past weekend.
On Friday, Colorado Mesa University (CMU) got two solid team wins as they got a 6-2 game one victory and then a 11-0 victory in game two.
The Mavericks pitching staff was solid all weekend and that started with CMU’s starters on Friday.
Senior pitcher Paige Adair got the ball for the Mavericks in game one and was able to pitch the full seven innings. Her counterpart in junior pitcher Ellie Smith pitched an almost perfect game in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader.
Smith pitched a one hit shutout and was perfect until the top half of the fifth inning when she gave up a hit to Lauren Zimmerman. She was able to strike out five batters while almost facing the minimum batters.
She also was able to get a lot of help from her offense starting in the first as sophomore infielder Aislyn Sharp tripled to left field scoring junior infielder Ashley Bradford. That was not the only RBI that Sharp had on game two as she singled in the second allowing junior catcher Kaley Barker to score. She then doubled in the fourth, scoring redshirt junior outfielder Lauren Wedman.
Redshirt junior infielder Nicole Christensen homered in the third as she scored Jorissen and in the fourth as she scored sophomore catcher Ally Distler, and Sharp. Christensen led the team in RBIs with five.
Bradford, Wedman and Jorissen also all had RBI singles throughout the game.
In the series opener, the Mavericks scored six runs as they were able to get to the Eagles and Tia Kohl early on.
Sophomore outfielder Illiana Mendoza singled to left field in the second allowing junior outfielder Brandi Haller to score in the second inning. Then with Wedman up to the plate Mendoza was able to steal second and then advanced to third on the error by the Eagles center fielder.
Wedman was able to fly out to left field and then Mendoza scored on the throwing error by the left fielder. Freshman infielder Myah Arrieta tripled, continuing the scoring for CMU.
Distler hit her 17 home run of the season as she hit a no doubt into straight center fielder opening up the Mavericks lead to four in the third. Haller then joined Distler by hitting a home run in the third as well.
Bradford continued to dominate at the plate as she hit a homerun in the fourth inning giving CMU their sixth run.
A single in the fifth from CSC allowed a run to score, getting the Eagles on the board. They then were able to hit a solo homerun giving them their two runs.
On Saturday, CMU celebrated the team’s four seniors in Wedman, Adair, Christensen and redshirt junior pitcher Shea Mauser.
The Mavericks were able to complete the sweep with two mercy rule wins on Saturday.
Adair got the ball in game one for the Mavericks and was able to get her 16 win of the season with a 16-0 victory.
After scoring six runs combined in the first three innings, CMU had a big 10 run fourth inning that gave them the edge in the game.
Arrieta hit a two home run that put the Mavericks ahead 8-0 to start the fourth inning. With sophomore infielder Bryerly Avina coming in to pinch run for CMU, Christensen was able to double to left center field allowing her to score. Christensen then scored on a single from Smith.
Sharp then came in to pinch hit and singled, scoring Smith to give the Mavericks their 11 run. Freshman outfielder Rylee Crouch then came in and doubled to score Jorissen. A groundout by Bradford allowed Sharp to score.
Sophomore infielder Ava Fugate then came in and hit a three run home run to right field as she helped extend the Mavericks lead. Freshman outfielder Brooklyn Corns then singled back to the pitcher allowing Distler to score.
In the series finale, the Mavericks were able to pick up the 9-0 victory in five innings behind the pitching of Mauser who only allowed three hits.
After a scoreless first inning, Barker was able to hit a two run home run scoring Smith. Smith then got an RBI of her own in the third as she was able to hit into a groundout that scored Bradford.
Barker was able to double, scoring Jorissen and Christensen in the third. The Mavericks catcher led the team in the series finale with four RBIs.
Christensen singled in the fourth, scoring Sharp and Wedman as the Mavericks went up 7-0. Jorissen then was able to hit a two run home run closing out the game for CMU.
CMU will host the RMAC tournament starting May 5 and will go through May 7. The Mavericks are still waiting to hear who and when they will play in the tournament. Check out the CMU Athletics and RMAC Sports websites for all tournament information.
