The Colorado Mesa University (CMU) softball team has solidified their position among the top-three powerhouse RMAC schools, posting a dominant 17-2 conference record since Feb. 19. The Mavericks now sit at third place in the conference standings, behind 17-1 Metro State University-Denver (MSUD) and 18-0 Colorado Christian University. Regis University possesses the next best RMAC record at 13-7.
After a 2-6 start to the 2023 season, the Maverick softball team won their first five RMAC series, which pushed their overall record to 19-8. CMU is on a 12 game win streak and swept their last three opponents.
CMU won three out of four games in their home-opening series against Fort Lewis College (FLC). The Mavericks exploded out of the gates, hitting six home-runs on the first day of action against the Skyhawks.
Sophomore outfielder Rylee Crouch, redshirt junior second-baseman Aislyn Sharp and graduate student catcher Miranda Pruitt all homered during the first game while junior pitcher Hannah Sattler only surrendered eight hits to secure the 11-4 victory.
Sharp opened the second game in style, hitting a grand-slam in the first inning. Then, redshirt senior Brandi Haller hit a solo-shot the next at-bat to push the lead 6-0. CMU led 8-2 going into the bottom of the fifth inning before Crouch homered again and sent another runner to score which enacted the 8-run mercy rule, 10-2.
The next day, Sattler earned her third win of the season in a complete game performance. The score would remain 0-0 until FLC homered at the top of the fourth to make it 1-0. Haller, however, immediately responded with a home run of her own to tie the score. Freshman outfielder Bella Aragon scored in the next inning off a FLC error, before freshman third-basemen Makayla Westmoreland stole home plate later in the game, which pushed CMU’s lead 3-1.
The Skyhawks took advantage of a CMU fielding error in the seventh inning and managed to tie the score, 3-3. With the bases loaded, Pruitt was hit by a pitch, which sent sophomore middle-infielder Maya Arrietta home for the game-winning run, 4-3.
In game four, FLC broke CMU’s 29-game win streak between the two programs since 2015. Pruitt homered early, but FLC led 3-1 at the start of the fifth. However, junior first baseman Ava Fugate hit a double for an RBI before redshirt junior third baseman Sarah Jorissen hit a two-run homer to take the lead, 4-3. FLC homered and scored off an error in the seventh inning, however, and won 6-4.
The Mavericks hosted Black Hills State University (BHSU) the next weekend. CMU clobbered the Yellow Jackets on the first day of action, outscoring them 32-2 and enacting the mercy rule in the fifth inning in both games.
Pruitt homered twice, while Jorissen, Crouch and Haller each hit a bomb of their own. Sattler pitched her sixth complete game of the season, allowing just five hits and one run as the Mavericks cruised to a 10-1 victory in game one. In game two, the Mavericks were up 5-2 going into the third, before CMU steamrolled BHSU with a 15-run inning. The Mavericks won 22-1 which is their biggest margin of victory since a 23-0 win over New Mexico Highlands University in 2018.
The Yellow Jackets won the third game of the series the next day, ending a 27 game CMU winning streak that stretched back over the last 10 years. The Mavericks led 5-2 in the fifth, but BHS hit a two-run homer in the fifth and then recorded another run to tie the game. BHS clinched the win in the seventh inning by hitting a solo-shot and retiring the remainder of CMU’s hitters, 6-5.
The Mavericks bounced back to mercy-rule the Yellow Jackets in the final game to take the series. Down 2-0, Pruitt homered before Crouch blasted a 3-run homer in the third. In total, CMU scored ten unanswered to win 10-2. This win would kick off a 12 game CMU win streak.
Game one was the closest of the series, but the Mavericks held on in a chaotic 13-10 win. Sharp hit a three-run shot to give CMU a 5-2 at the top of the second. Crouch then tripled in the fourth to tack on two more runs before ASU fought back with a four-run inning of their own, 7-6. Later, Arrietta recorded a RBI triple to extend CMU’s lead 13-7. A three-run homer would make things close at the end, but it was too little, too late for the Grizzlies.
CMU blew out ASU and reached the mercy rule in the second game, 22-5. The Mavericks scored runs in every inning. Arrieta, Bradford and Crouch, who were in the 2, 3 and 4 spots of the Maverick lineup went a combined 9-for-11 with ten runs scored and 14 RBIs.
The Mavericks won the last game of the series in blowout fashion, 15-1. Jorissen, Arrietta and Crouch all homered. Fugate hit two triples, which is the fifth time a Maverick has ever recorded two triples in one game. Sattler struck out seven and only surrendered one run which improved her win-loss record to 6-4. The final scheduled game was canceled due to wind. CMU has won 26 straight versus the Grizzlies.
CMU was on the road again to claim a four-game sweep of New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU). The Mavericks never trailed in the first two games, outscoring NMHU 32-8. Reigning RMAC Player of the Year Bradford hit three homeruns while Crouch and Pruitt homered twice in the two games. Sattler and Vis each picked up wins as well to improve to 7-4 and 4-3, respectively.
On the second day of action, Crouch hit three home runs while Sattler pitched a two-hit shutout, the first of her career. Pruitt and Haller each homered again as well. The Mavericks took the third game 15-0, but were down 5-0 early into the fourth. However, Crouch delivered a two-run homer, while Sharp, Westmoreland, Bradford, Jorissen and Aragon all delivered RBI hits in seven-run third inning. CMU finished strong and won the game 14-6.
Lastly, CMU returned home for a weekend series against University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) on March 18. The Mavericks pitched three shutout games, and outscored the Mountain Lions 25-3 during the sweep. Head Coach Mercedes Bohte earned her 100th career win during the series, largely on the heels of some impressive pitching performances from Sattler and freshman Marisa Nehm. Bohte is the fastest coach in program history to reach the 100 win milestone, just needing 122 games to do so.
Sattler struck-out a career high nine in the first game, while Nehm tossed 5 1/3 innings of 1-hit, no-run relief in the second game as the Mavericks rallied from 3-1 down to record the victory. Both dominated again on the second day as Sattler surrendered just two hits and improved to 10-4 on the season. Nehm, meanwhile, completed her first career shutout and extended her pitching record to 3-0.
CMU will be on the road again against Chadron State University starting on March 25, before returning home for an important series with second-place MSUD, who have a 17-2 RMAC record.