It was a special night at the diamond at the Bus Bergman Sports Complex.
The Mavs grabbed another win to extend their lead in the RMAC and recognized a program legend, Sergio Romo, who had his professional jersey #54 retired on the outfield wall.
Romo was only at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) for one season, but left an immediate legacy lasting for years to come. After his All-American season for the Mavs, he was selected in the 28th round in the MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants and embarked on a legendary career.
In his MLB career, Romo operated as one of the best closers in the game, playing 15 seasons in the big leagues. In 2013, he was selected an all star, and was the closer for the Giants dynasty that won three World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Romo got the last out to win the 2012 World Series, striking out Miguel Cabrera, who has the 17th most hits in MLB history.
Despite having an illustrious career, Romo was doubted initially. At 5 ‘11”, the pitcher was viewed as undersized, because he didn’t throw with elite speed. However, he had a notorious slider and a killer mentality that carried him in his career.
“Most people look past the interior intangibles. They forgot to say competitive, they forgot to say passionate. They forgot to say savvy, they forgot to say gritty. Maybe they didn’t take the time to see those things up until I got to a certain position to where, I mean, if you turned on the TV, I was blessed to be on it,” Romo said.
Though Romo was drafted, he and many others were doubted because of playing DII. With the DII powerhouse that head coach Chris Hanks has built, Romo has been a guidance for the 16 Mavericks drafted after him over the last 20 years, including seven in the minor leagues right now.
“It’s just letting them know they belong. We were taught some of our playing styles, and how we carried ourselves and approached the game, a part of that was grown here, which is now considered the Maverick way. We let them know we’re fearless,” Romo said.
As a Maverick, Romo displayed all his interior intangibles, and looked back at two performances in particular. The first being in a hostile environment at CSU-Pueblo (CSU-P). CSU-P set their attendance record in the game, and were chanting obscenities at Romo. Romo then responded with a complete game, setting the program records in wins, complete games and strikeouts while clinching a RMAC championship.
The second game Romo recalls was a NCAA playoff against New Mexico Highlands University, who handed him his only regular season loss, which drew some comments from their head coach. Romo responded with another complete game, and was one out from no-hitting them.
“I don’t know who sent newspaper clippings our way, but there were clippings about their coach saying certain things about me specifically and I remember my teammates literally going, ‘they have no idea what’s going to come tonight, they have no idea,’” Romo said.
The constant between Romo’s savage performances and the great performances of the Maverick team in recent memory is head coach Chris Hanks during his 26 year tenure. Hanks had Romo spend some time with the team before the game.
“Here’s a guy [Romo] that was a Maverick, that can talk about when he played here, traditions we’ve had, and expectations that have never changed since he was here. We run the same infield/outfield [practice] pregame, exactly to the same song, as when he played. It’s never changed,” Hanks said.
After Romo’s time with the team, his professional jersey number #54 was revealed, which was printed on the left-field wall. He then threw the first pitch and signed autographs throughout the Maverick’s big win.
In the 16-12 win, both teams battled the conditions. Huge gusts of wind the whole game made fielding pop flys and fly balls a struggle, and the wind was the difference between some home runs or outs.
CMU fell behind 5-1, after giving up four in the fourth inning. Led by a six run inning in the sixth, and a seven spot in the eighth, the Mavs came back and provided enough insurance runs to win 16-12.
After dropping a few series in the early season, CMU has turned it on in RMAC play, and are now ranked 11th in the country, with a commanding lead to win their 12th straight RMAC regular season championship.
The Mavericks look to build on even more momentum now. With Romo’s inspiration, the team looks to continue playing with the belief, confidence and swagger that Romo portrayed in his career.
