In it for the team.
The Mavericks return a majority of their roster from the 2021 season while adding freshmen that will add power to their starting rotation.
After the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Baseball team lost in the NCAA regional tournament last June, they are coming back with a new attitude and focus coming into this season.
The team has a test right off the bat as they will travel to California to take on nationally ranked Azusa Pacific University to open their season on Feb. 10. They will face their second ranked opponent in the first three weeks of the season when they play against Northwest Nazarene University at home starting Feb. 24.
“We are going to go into these games to be the best us. It doesn’t matter who the other teams are, we are going to compete against Mesa. […] Our goal this year is to take every week seperatly that is at hand and we need to take every game, game by game; it is not going to be looking forward to the next series,” Senior first baseman Jordan Stubbings said.
The team returns many fifth year seniors due to the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted athletes due to the season being cut short in 2020. The Mavericks are using this to their advantage as many opponents in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference lost a significant amount of athletes after the 2021 season.
“I think we have the most veteran team in the nation, but that can also backfire on us as we all might expect us to do something that we all think we can. We still have to look at each other like we’ve got more to prove. We have more to prove this year than I think we ever have and it is going to be interesting because all the teams around us are changing. UCCS [University of Colorado- Colorado Springs] lost all their dudes, Metro [State University- Denver] lost all of their pitching and everything. There are a lot of teams that are going through ‘prove it’ years in a sense of having a lot of new people come in. Angelo State and these big time schools that we have competed against throughout our entire career here are going through this time where they are trying to go find a leader on the team,” Stubbings said.
The Mavericks infield is back as seniors third baseman Caleb Farmer, catcher Spencer Bramwell, shortstop Chase Hamilton and Stubbings return for their final year in maroon and black.
While the four seniors have developed a great game chemistry, they have also worked well with the guys coming up behind them. Sophomore infielder Harrison Rodgers saw playing time at second base but could see some time at shortstop as well this upcoming season.
Rodgers has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with with the bat as well. The thing that makes him dangerous at the plate is that he can hit for power or contact on any type of pitch.
Junior catcher Haydn McGeary is set to come back this season after he won Division Two player of the year after his monster season last year. McGeary put up 20 home runs and had a batting average of .481. He is sure to be an asset to wherever he is put in the Mavericks line up.
The Mavericks pitching staff changed a bit this season as the Mavericks lost both Andrew Morris and Trevin Reynolds. They still have two weapons in their southpaws. As a pitching staff last season, they had an earned run average of 4.38.
Senior Ryan Day and Kannon Handy return to the Mavericks starting rotation after making names for themselves in their first year of being Mavericks. Sophomore right handed pitcher Jared Ure did not play in the last weeks of the season due to injury and is still working his way back to the mound.
Freshman right handed pitchers Cole Seward and Brendan Morris look to add to the Mavericks pitching staff this season.
The Mavericks have depth in their bullpen which also carries a very strong veteran presence. Seniors Austin Lorenz, Frankie Fitzgerald and Anthony Durbano highlight a bullpen that has depth from their short inning relievers to their closers.
The Mavericks head to sunny Azusa, Calif. to take on Azusa Pacific on Feb. 10 at 4 p.m.
