A grand slam, a shutout and a whole lot of heart kept the Mavericks’ championship hopes alive through two critical series in RMAC play.
With just one weekend remaining in the regular season, Colorado Mesa Univeristy (CMU) sits at 34-12 overall and 32-8 in RMAC play after battling to a hard-fought split on the road against Colorado Christian University (CCU) before returning home to win one of two in an emotional Senior Weekend series against Chadron State.
It began in Lakewood, where the Mavericks squared off with a Cougars team nipping at their heels in the RMAC standings.
“It’s great to play that tough competition at the end of the year, because it really prepares us for the playoffs,” said head coach Mercedes Bohte.
The Mavericks scattered eight hits and stayed within striking distance all game, but couldn’t overcome three home runs launched by the Cougars. Two long balls in the second and fifth innings drove in three runs, proving to be the difference.
The Mavericks showed signs of life in the third when senior Myah Arrieta laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to bring home a run, and in the seventh when senior Chloe Valdez drove in another on a fielder’s choice. However, the Cougars’ pitching proved too much, recording nine strikeouts and shutting down multiple scoring threats.
That grit materialized in game two. Senior Preslee Christensen took the circle and delivered an outstanding performance. In just 69 pitches, she tossed a three-hit shutout, keeping the Cougars off balance and carving her way to her seventh win of this season.
The offense backed her with just enough support, breaking through in the sixth inning. Valdez and redshirt sophomore Olivia Litzen knocked backto-back singles before freshman Kamdyn Hagerty came up big again, this time with a single to right field that plated both runners and gave CMU a 2-0 lead they wouldn’t give up.
Valdez and sophomore Cailynn Parsons led the offense with two hits apiece, while Litzen, Distler and Parsons each doubled. The win saved the series split and gave the Mavericks an important boost as they returned home for their final homestand of the season.
Back in Grand Junction, emotions ran high as the Mavericks honored their four seniors, Arrieta, Christensen, Valdez and Distler, with a performance worthy of their contributions. Friday’s opener against Chadron State was never in doubt.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Jessalyn Gallegos showed out in the circle, throwing a six-inning shutout while allowing just two hits and striking out five. She moved to 17-2 on the year behind a barrage of offense that erupted in the fifth inning.
That’s when Arrieta, one of the day’s senior honorees, stepped up with the bases loaded and crushed a grand slam over the right-center field fence to blow the game open. The slam turned a 3-0 lead into a dominant 7-0 advantage.
Valdez added a solo homer in the sixth to cap the scoring at 8-0, walking off the Eagles via run rule.
But the emotional high didn’t last long. In the second game of the day, and final game of the series, the Mavericks were crushed 6-0 by Chadron State’s pitcher, who threw a complete game and held CMU to just three hits. Garner walked only two and needed just 88 pitches to quiet the Mavs’ bats.
Christensen got the start and allowed two runs over five innings before CMU rotated through four additional pitchers. The Eagles piled on four more runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach. CMU threatened late but couldn’t avoid the shutout, their first at home this season.
Valdez, Litzen and Hagerty each tallied a hit, but no Mav reached base more than once. Meanwhile, the Eagles racked up 14 hits, five of them from multi-hit games.
Despite the finish, the Mavs still walked away with a 3-1 series win.
Mesa used three different pitchers, but early scoring from Chadron, three runs in the first, proved to be too much to overcome in the finale. Still, the weekend was a success overall for a CMU team chasing its fiftteenth RMAC title in program history.
With the results, the Mavericks remain in a virtual tie for second place with Colorado Christian, both trailing MSU Denver by just half a game. The standings remain close heading into the final weekend, and the Mavericks will look to close strong when they travel to Black Hills State for a four-game set.
Every game will matter. MSU-Denver closes the season at Chadron, while Colorado Christian hosts Colorado State University–Pueblo. For CMU, the formula is simple: win out and hope for help.
“It’s all going to come down to this last weekend,” said Bohte. “I think this team has gotten a lot better this season, but it’s crunch time now.”
