The streak has officially ended for the Colorado Mesa University softball team. After going 37 games without a loss, the fourth and final game against Regis University was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The first game on Sunday saw a 4-1 score in favor of CMU and the second was the opposite 1-4 as Regis toppled the Mavericks.
“I am kind of at a loss for words,” Head coach Ben Garcia said. “It is numbing to lose a game after so many tries. There isn’t a lot you can tell the kids since they are in shock too. I am hoping that if you have to lose a game and learn a lesson, this is the biggest lesson for us.”
The first game was slow and didn’t see any progress until the third inning when AnnMarie Torres scored a two-RBI single. The fourth and final score occurred in the fourth inning off of Hailey Hinson’s RBI double.
The pitching and defense were picking up the slack where the hitting was lacking. However, tragedy also struck in this field of the game when McKenzie Surface was injured and had to be replaced so the Mavericks could finish the game. Zero errors and six strikeouts divided evenly between Surface and Kimbri Herring showed that the Mavericks were still playing a game that they could win and completed the streak the girls had been building for so long.
“The first game we did what we needed to do, we took advantage of any situation we had and ran the bases very well. We played good team ball,” Head coach Ben Garcia said. “They threw the ball well. You gotta give the pitcher some credit, she kept us at bay in a couple situations.”
The second game did not go nearly as smoothly as the team would’ve liked it to go. Kellie Mrofcza was the sole scorer for the entire game, getting only the fourth off of a fielder’s choice. With only one official error, the defense seemed to have the game on lock, but there were some mistakes that they made, allowing Regis to get the upper hand.
“They pretty much took advantage of all the situations,” Garcia said. “We made some mistakes and Regis has some opportunities to take advantage of it.”
The pitching was split between Hodgson and Herring with three and four strikeouts each. CMU only had four hits for the entire game and proved to be the lowest scoring game that the team has had the entire season.
Garcia stated he had noticed some heads hanging after the game and support for the team is the best way to help them get past their loss. They plan to get out of their funk and to get back on track to win the RMAC tournament and complete the goals that they had set at the start of the season.
CMU’s next game will take place on April 21 against Colorado Christian in what will be the last regular season home series for the Mavericks. This will also be considered the toughest test for CMU as CCU currently sits at second in the RMAC behind CMU.
