The Mavericks were outplayed by Angelo State University (ASU) Friday night and will now face elimination tomorrow afternoon.
On the winner’s side of the South Central Regional tournament bracket Colorado Mesa University faced an opponent they are no stranger to in ASU. The Rams were able to get the victory over the Mavericks 2-5.
A big two run home run from Josh Elvir put ASU up on the board early as he continued to dominate for the Rams. They continued to score off of CMU as Nicholas Novak doubled to lead off the home half of the second inning.
Two batters later, Reece Johnson put a sacrifice ground ball into play where Novak was able to score.
The Rams scored twice again as Koby Kelton singled to right fielder junior outfielder Matt Turner allowing Novak to get 90 feet away from scoring for the second time. Novak did just that as a wild pitch was thrown by CMU junior left handed pitcher Ryan Day.
Kelton got his chance to score as well as Johnson this time hit a fly out to left field that was deep enough for his teammate to score.
CMU had multiple opportunities to strike at the plate but were unsuccessful.
In the fifth inning, freshman infielder Harrison Rodgers started the inning out with a 2-3 walk. He then moved up to second as junior infielder Caleb Farmer singled to center field. Another walk to junior catcher Spencer Bramwell loaded the bases for the Mavericks.
The Rams then put in pitcher Carson Childers to try to get out of the inning. He did just that as he struck out the three next three batters in CMU’s lineup.
The Mavericks were able to put a run on the board as sophomore outfielder Conrad Villafuerte flew out to left field allowing sophomore designated hitter Haydn McGeary to tag up and score from third.
Another sacrifice fly came from the Mavericks as Farmer flew out to left field in the ninth allowing Villafurte to score.
Even though CMU did not come up with the victory, they still had one more hit than ASU. The Mavericks struggled to get runners off the base paths in the game as they ended with seven runners left on base.
Matt Szabo put on a good performance for his squad even though he walked away with the no decision in the game. He was able to strike out five Mavericks and only allowed three hits.
For CMU, Day had a solid outing as he was able to strike out seven Rams. He did give up five runs on five hits and walked two.
Sophomore right handed pitcher Gage Edwards has been a staple for the Mavericks coming out of the bullpen this season. Over his two innings of work he only gave up one hit as he struck out four.
The Mavericks will have to battle for the title and a spot in the Division Two World Series as they will face West Texas A&M on May 29 at 1 p.m. The winner of the game will go on to compete against ASU in the championship game at 5:30 p.m. If the winner of the game is from the loser side of the bracket an if necessary game will be played at 3 p.m. on Monday May 30.
