The two-seeded Mavericks historic season comes to an end after dropping their series to the one-seeded Angelo State University (ASU) in the NCAA South Super Region Tournament in San Angelo Texas at Foster Field.
The two programs have been consistent powerhouses and are no stranger to the Super Regional Tournament. Just two years ago these teams matched up in this exact series with the Mavericks winning in three games.
The series this year lived up to expectations as it gave everything fans could ask for from crushed home runs to elite pitching to just overall smart baseball from each side.
The bats were alive for both teams in game one in an exhilarating back-and-forth showdown. ASU stormed out of the gates with three runs in the bottom of the first via a Run Batted In (RBI) groundout and an RBI double.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) was able to quickly retaliate and keep the game close with timely hits when runners were in scoring position. In the top of the second, senior Chase Hamilton crushed a triple to deep right-center that just missed the right fielder and scored junior Conrad Villafuerte.
Sophomore infielder Harrison Rodgers then beat out a throw on an infield single that scored Hamilton. Rodgers continued his clutch hitting into the fourth inning where he hit another single which scored Villafuerte and Hamilton to briefly give the Mavericks the lead, 4-3.
ASU then retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-run deep home run to left field courtesy of sophomore catcher Tripp Clark to make it 4-5.
From then on, it was the Haydn McGeary show. The star junior catcher once again showed why he is one of the best in college baseball and blasted a pair of home runs in the fifth and seventh innings to give the Mavericks the lead 7-5.
CMU’s pitching did their best to curtail a red-hot Rams lineup. Sophomore pitcher Kannon Handy rebounded after an eventful first inning and went on to pitch four more innings and allowed just two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore pitcher Cade Nicol held ASU scoreless for two innings and allowed zero hits.
However, the Rams bats came back in the eighth inning, scoring three runs taking the lead back with a two run homerun and a RBI single off of Mavericks Pitcher Cooper Vasquez.
The Mavericks entered the ninth inning down one run and had the top of the order scheduled to hit. The Mavericks loaded the bases for McGeary and he came up big once again hitting a single up the middle to give the Mavericks the lead back. After McGeary’s single, Hamilton and senior infielder Jordan Stubbings added two more extra base hits to extend the lead.
Freshman right handed pitcher Cole Stewart entered the game in a tough situation in the eighth inning, but the freshman came up with the last five outs for the Mavericks and got the save without allowing a hit to clinch game 1 for the Mavericks 12-8.
In game two and three the Mavericks could not continue the timely hits, and the clutch pitching. The Mavericks amounted a total of nine runs in the two games but against a smart offensive juggernaut like ASU, that would not be enough.
In the second game the fans at Foster Field got to witness history in the sixth inning. McGeary, as he has done so many times before, saw a pitch he liked and smoked it to right center for a solo home run.
With the homerun the junior totaled his 34 of the season and the 74 of his career. With the 74 career total home runs he now holds the record which was held by Bryan Fogle for the last ten years.
Rogers once again provided an offensive boost with a RBI single which got the Mavericks in the scoring column. Sophomore infielder Jonathan Gonzalez got into the action with a pinch hit solo home run in the seventh. Senior pitcher Frankie Fitzgerald was credited with the loss, giving up six earned runs.
Game three was more of the same for the Rams as they couldn’t be stopped offensively. ASU used their small ball game plan to perfection, scoring 16 times on 16 hits.
Some final fireworks occurred for the Mavericks in the third inning. The star trio of seniors Caleb Farmer, Spencer Bramwell and Haydn McGeary all blasted back to back-to-back-to-back home runs. The Orchard Avenue Bombers put on one last show and ultimately finished the season with 85 total home runs from the trio.
The Mavericks end another successful season with a record of 43-17, the ninth straight year where they have reached the 40 win mark during a full season under Head Coach Chris Hanks.
McGeary, Bramwell, Hamilton, Farmer, and Handy all notched D2CCA South-Central All Region Honors. McGeary was named the 2022 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year, his second time winning the award.
