acastro@mavs.coloradomesa.edu

The baseball team’s hopes of having a perfect RMAC season were dashed on Sunday after a 7-5 loss to the Colorado School of Mines. The loss also put an end to the Mavericks’ 11-game winning streak.

“We knew Mines was gonna put up a good fight and we needed to get locked in early,” senior pitcher Nolan Snell said. “I struggled a little early but when I got into a rhythm I felt great.”

The Mavs and the Orediggers faced off in four games last weekend, with the Mavs coming out on top in three of the four. They won 11-4 on Friday and 11-6 and 17-1 in their doubleheader Saturday before coming up short on Sunday.

Despite being down in Sunday’s game, the Mavs didn’t let the Orediggers shake their confidence.

“It didn’t affect our confidence,” Rosales said. “We always believe we can comeback in any game but today we were a little passive on the offensive side instead of staying with the aggressive mentality like we had the first three games.”

The Orediggers comeback win last weekend was due not only to the Mavs passive mentality but also the caliber of the Oredigger’s pitching.

“They threw one of their top pitchers today and he did a good job of keeping our hitters off balance,” Snell said. “We had some great opportunities but didn’t get timely hits.”

Despite their loss and the Orediggers putting an end to their winning streak, the Mavs aren’t going to let this loss put them in a rut or shake their confidence.

“We came out in [Sunday’s] game a little flat and had to overcome a five run first inning by Mines,” Rosales said. “We just couldn’t get anything going on offense until the last couple innings. We just have to go one game at a time and [Sunday’s] game just shows that any team can beat us so we have to stay humble in the moment.”

The Mavs will have the opportunity to get revenge on the Orediggers come May when they close out their regular season against them.

“Any time a team beats us, the next time we step on the diamond with them is a chance to show them that they should’ve never beat us,” Rosales said.

In the meantime, the Mavericks will take on New Mexico Highlands (14-7, 10-2 RMAC) in a four-game series this weekend at Suplizio Field.