This past week, the eighth-ranked Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Mavericks had a four-game series with Azusa Pacific at the Diamond in Grand Junction, Colorado.
During the offseason, the team had to fill the shoes of program staples like Haydn McGeary, Spencer Bramwell and Caleb Farmer. McGeary was drafted to the Chicago Cubs, Bramwell was drafted by the Miami Marlins and Farmer signed a contract with the Washington Nationals.
Nonetheless, there is a general sense of optimism around this year’s eighth-ranked team despite the losses.
“I believe the offseason went exactly as it needed to go. We got some great additions. We’re never trying to replace those guys, but we’re trying to find the team that’s going to best fit our needs now. Recruiting this offseason and bringing together a group of guys that I really think is going to be something special this year,” pitching coach Blake Rohm said.
Shortstop Harrison Rodgers is a returning honored veteran. Rodgers burst onto the scene last year, earning his first All-RMAC nod after recording a .338 average, 42 runners-batted-in (RBIs) and 12 home runs.
“We lost a lot of pieces that had big impacts,” Rodgers said, “But, we’ve had a lot of guys coming up through the ranks these last few years that haven’t gotten their shot yet. There’s different teams each year, and there’s different ways for how you’re gonna get it done. This year, we may not live and die by the long ball, kind of like we did last year. But there are other ways to win baseball games, and we’ve been practicing a lot working on executing the game.”
One of such transfers is sophomore outfielder Paul Schoenfeld, who was formerly at Butler Community College. Schoenfeld hit .286 with nine home runs and also showed his craftiness with 17 stolen bases in 52 games last season. The outfielder expressed championship aspirations.
“I have a lot of little personal goals, but one of the biggest goals is to win a National Championship with my boys,” Schoenfeld said.
Last weekend, the team opened their season with a bang and completed an impressive four-game sweep against 38th-ranked Azusa Pacific.
There were a lot of Mavericks that showed up to play last weekend. Leading the team in hits was senior outfielder Conrad Villafuerte, who had eleven hits, two home runs and brought seven of his teammates into base. Villafuerte’s outing did not go unappreciated, as he was named as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Hitter of the Week.
Following Villafuerte was junior infielder Julian Boyd who had one home run, three doubles and helped bring eight of his fellow teammates into base.
After a three game series at Chico State University, the team travels Feb. 23 through Feb 25, as they will be playing a four-game series against Northwest Nazarene University.
The Maverick’s next home game at the Diamond will be in two weeks against MSU Billings March 2nd. This will be a four-game series: one on Thursday, two on Friday, and one on Saturday.
The team expressed their appreciation of the Grand Valley community. “We appreciate the fan’s encouragement and the fan turnout at any of our games, more than they know,” Rodgers said, “Whether they’re the local Grand Junction fans or students here at Mesa I just want it to be known that we appreciate that support so much.”
