The 2017-2018 school year saw many Colorado Mesa University teams experience success. The men’s lacrosse team went undefeated in the RMAC and won their third straight RMAC title. The baseball team clinched their seventh straight RMAC regular-season title.
But one team broke ridiculous records and accomplished feats that haven’t been seen at CMU for a long time.
Softball.
Their season has been incredible and close to completely…well, perfect. The softball team won 37 straight games without a loss and finished with a 47-3 record before NCAA Tournament play, and went 33-3 in the RMAC. The Mavericks are the first team since 2010 to win both the regular season RMAC title and the RMAC tournament title.
Standout senior Brooke Hodgson put up a season for the ages, one she, her teammates and coaches will always remember. She broke numerous school records in the process: single-season runs scored with 76, single-season RBIs with 100 and career runs scored at 231. Her 100 RBIs lead all of Division II, and she is just the third woman in NCAA Division II softball history to record 100 RBIs in a season.
The Mavericks lead Division II in a number of offensive categories. CMU leads the nation with a .400 batting average and hits with 547.
CMU was ranked first nationally for seven weeks in a row. The Mavericks started to display excellency during the beginning of the year, and have kept up the pace in their pursuit of a national title.
Besides all the accomplishments, the way the Mavericks play is something to marvel at. CMU always looks prepared, playing with grit and determination as they dismantle their opponent. It’s a tribute to the job Head coach Ben Garcia has done.
CMU’s pitching has been nothing to scoff at either. They have a 1.91 team earned run average, and that success has come mostly from two Mavericks starters: McKenzie Surface and Kimbri Herring. Surface and Herring’s stats are just outstanding. The two right-handers are both 21-1 this season. Surface has 21 complete games, six shutouts and a 2.36 ERA. Herring’s ERA sits at 1.75, first in the RMAC, and had 13 complete games of her own.
Not to mention both have managed to throw a no-hitter at one point this season.
The Mavericks backed up their play in the RMAC postseason, a time when the best teams tend to play their best softball. The No. 1 seeded Mavericks went 4-0 to secure the title and had five players make the All-RMAC Tournament team: Herring, Hodgson, Maggie Manwarren, Alexandria Dufour and Zoe Pakes.
This season has been one for the ages. Anytime a years-long record is broken, it’s special. Records are made to be broken, and when they are, it’s an accomplishment that signals talent and hard work coming together, a formula the Mavericks have mastered this year.
Manwarren has been a force from the leadoff spot. She has scored 78 runs, breaking the RMAC single-season runs record Hodgson broke and leads the RMAC with 45 stolen bases. Having the leadoff hitter on base in almost all of their at-bats is an invitation for the floodgates to open. The Mavericks have accepted those invitations, scoring 488 runs, good for, yeah, you guessed it, first in the RMAC.
And just to pile on the number of accomplishments, here are the offensive categories the Mavericks lead the RMAC in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, runs batted in, doubles, total bases and home runs. Talk about dominance.
CMU’s only losses this year came against Regis and Colorado Christian (twice). The loss against Regis gave people a complete jolt since the team had been playing so well. Regis’s victory took the air out of people and provided a handful of gasps. That’s how special the team has played this season.
The Mavericks are a team that doesn’t beat themselves. CMU plays sound softball, sharp defense, electric pitching and keeps the opposing defense on their toes by consistently putting the ball in play. They play with such confidence and a swagger that couldn’t be matched to this point.
This season was special, and one that will be tough to repeat. Not many teams have been on this type of run. As the Mavericks await NCAA Regional play in their pursuit of an NCAA Division II National Title, they will be ready. This team is hungry and could be one of the toughest tournament outs in the country.
To everyone who’s watched, you have quite possibly witnessed the best team in CMU softball history. For everyone who continues to watch: strap in and enjoy the ride.
