The Colorado Mesa University Mavericks baseball team is back in action with their first series set to go this weekend. They will host Nebraska Kearney. Mesa is picked to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) which they have done seven out of the last nine years. Mesa is also ranked #3 in the national preseason 2016 Division II poll.
Last season, the Mavs had an impressive record of 48-9 and a conference record of 35-4. Mesa won 21 straight games. They would end up winning the RMAC regular season and the RMAC Tournament. Mesa hosted the South Central Tournament. It is a double elimination format. They won it the year before and moved on to the Division II World Series. That season they went to the title game and lost by one run. Mesa was hoping for repeat trip to the World Series but this time win the whole thing. In their first game against St. Mary’s University they gave up 6 runs in the second inning. They would battle back but came up short losing 6-5.
Mesa would be in the loser’s bracket and needed to win all their remaining games to win the Regional. They beat St. Edward’s University to keep their hopes alive. The season ended with a loss to Angelo State by a score of 8-6. Angelo State went on to the Division II World Series.
Mesa returns 17 players from last year’s team. The key for Mesa to be successful this season starts with pitching. In the games they lost last year it seemed like either the starting pitching was solid but then the bullpen faltered late or pitchers wouldn’t last four innings. That would mean the bullpen ate up innings to keep games close. Starting pitchers must go at least 6 innings for Mesa to have any chance of doing something special this year. They are always going to have the hitting because the field they play in, Sam Suplizio Field, is a hitters’ ballpark. Hopefully, this season will be a special run to the Division II World Series and who knows, maybe even bring a National Title back to Grand Junction, Colorado.
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