Executing the small things.
The Mavericks were able to get a solid 5-1 victory as they faced West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) in the teams first game of the regional tournament.
WTAMU was forced to play the Mavericks as they dropped the afternoon game to St.Edward’s University. The team came out with their season in the line but could not get the job done as Colorado Mesa University (CMU) sent left handed sophomore Kannon Handy to the mound.
The coaching staff wanted Handy to deliver so they could rest arms for the rest of the weekend out of the bullpen. Handy stepped up to the plate and gave his team a six and one third innings performance. He struck out seven Buffalos while only giving up one hit.
“Kannon set the tone, he pitched a great game, he pitched deep into the game. We needed him to go that far we were hoping that would occur. He had great stuff and then Cooper was great coming out of the pen,” Head Coach Chris Hanks said.
Handy was able to settle into the game quickly as he seemed in the zone by the second inning.
“He had a pretty true zone so learning that quickly was nice for me . […] Skip texted us before the game, get ahead, stay ahead and compete so that is what I was telling myself before every better,” Handy said.
Sophomore right handed pitcher Cooper Vasquez then came in and continued to show his postseason dominance. Vasquez has been one of the go to guys out of the bullpen as of late and definitely has earned his spot. He went two and two third innings while striking out two and giving up no runs.
CMU has made it a priority to execute all of the little things as often as you can offensively in the postseason, so while it is nice to hit the home runs you have different ways to produce runs.
“ It is important because as you advance on the teams get better there is more at stake and you have to be able to manufacture runs. […] You don’t have to hit home runs to win, you have to execute the game and you have to play the game better than the other team and so we are just going to try to do that,” Hanks said.
In the first the Mavericks got on the board first as senior infielder Spencer Bramwell singled allowing senior infielder Caleb Farmer to score. Bramwell also scored in the third as he came home on a single by senior infielder Chase Hamilton.
A double by senior infielder Jordan Stubbings helped the Mavericks in the second inning as they were able to put another run on the board.
In the sixth senior infielder Johnny Carr struck out but the ball went behind the Buffalos catcher and Hamilton was able to race home.
Junior designated hitter Haydn McGeary was not only named the South Central region player of the year, but he also now holds the most home runs this season in any college baseball division.
WTAMU had some momentum as they loaded the bases off of walks by Handy in the seventh inning. Paul Wittmann came in to pinch hit and helped his team out in a big way by singling through the gap allowing two runners to come across. Will Fuenning got the scoring started for his team as he hit a sacrifice fly that allowed a runner to come across.
The Mavericks were able to do the little things right and contain the energy they had coming into the game and transfer that energy to winning their first game of the regional tournament.
The team also showed stellar defense as Farmer, Rodgers and Hamilton all made stellar plays in the infield. Stubbings also did a good defensive job by holding runners at first.
“We really pride ourselves on being a good defensive club and Caleb Farmer showed out, Harrison showed out, Stubbs me. We had a really good defensive day and the main point was staying focused, ” Hamilton said.
The Mavericks will now compete in a best of three series with St.Edward’s University. The two teams will meet for a doubleheader on May 20 starting at 3 p.m.
