GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Senior Saturday turned into an epic day of celebration for the No. 25 Colorado Mesa softball team.
The Mavericks' 8-0 victory over CSU Pueblo in the opening game of a doubleheader secured the outright Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
That victory set off a happy-dance group hug as it was announced the Mavericks (43-7, 41-3 RMAC) will host the RMAC Tournament, which begins Thursday, May 2 at the CMU Softball Stadium at Bergman Sports Complex.
After their four seniors — first baseman Ava Fugate, center fielder Iliana Mendoza, catcher/designated player Miranda Pruitt and pitcher Hannah Sattler — were honored, the Mavericks got to celebrate a couple of records on the final hit of the weekend.
Myah Arrieta launched a no-doubt home run to straightaway center field in the fifth inning that not only cleared the fence, but sailed well beyond the party deck, to end the game in a 9-1 victory.
With that one swing, Arrieta's 26th home run of the season broke the RMAC single-season home run record, previously held by Krystal Krebs of CU-Colorado Springs (2005) and Tara Mickelson of MSU Denver (2010). It was also the 113th of the season for the Mavs, adding to their school record and also breaking the RMAC single-season team record, set in 2010 by MSU Denver. CMU's team total is only one off the NCAA Division II record of 114 set in 2013 by Cal Poly Humbolt.
The record-breaking home run was the fifth of the day for the Mavericks and the second by Arrieta, who led off the first game with a solo home run to tie the conference mark.
Pruitt also went deep in the first inning of the opener, her 19th, and Jackie Oster hit her seventh of the season to lead off the sixth inning.
With one out in the sixth, pinch-hitter Allison Lindsay tied the RMAC team record with a shot to center, her fourth of the season, and CMU added three more runs in the inning to end the game on the run rule. Pruitt and Mendoza hit back-to-back doubles, with Mendoza's scoring two runs to put the game away.
Arrieta — and everyone in the stadium — thought she had broken both records in the first game with a line-drive in the fourth inning that was headed over the left field wall.
Darleen Falcon, who had a terrific weekend defensively for the ThunderWolves (22-33, 20-24), tracked the ball and timed her jump perfectly, reaching over the wall to rob Arrieta.
Preslee Christensen claimed her 17th win of the season, throwing a five-hit shutout, with one walk and three strikeouts. She needed only 66 pitches and lowered her ERA to 1.99 on the season.
Mendoza drove in five of CMU's 17 runs on the day with a pair of doubles. Chloe Valdez ripped a three-run double in the Mavs' seven-run second inning in the finale, showing they weren't satisfied with simply clinching the conference crown, their 11th since 2000 and 15th in program history. Mendoza drove in another run in the third, setting things up for Arrieta's record round-tripper.
Macy Magdaleno got a rare start as the Mavs' designated player in the second game, her third start and 16th game played. She responded with a pair of sharp singles and one RBI, boosting her batting average from .053 to .136.
Sattler and Christa Zagala split pitching duties, with Sattler picking up her 13th win, allowing one run on two hits in the first three innings. Zagala retired all six batters she faced in the final two innings.
Arrieta will enter the playoffs as the top hitter in the conference with a .500 average and a league-leading 81 runs scored.
CMU also enters as the hottest team in the conference, on a 33-game winning streak and is 20-0 at home. The Mavs and Colorado Christian will receive first-round byes in the six-team, double-elimination tournament that runs through Saturday. The champion receives an automatic bid to the South Central Regional playoffs. CMU is currently ranked No. 6 in the region, with eight teams making that field.
Colorado School of Mines and Regis will open the tournament, with that winner facing CMU in Game 3. MSU Denver faces the ThunderWolves in the other first-round game, with that winner advancing to face Colorado Christian in the final game Thursday.
When finalized, game times will be posted on the RMAC Tournament page, https://rmacsports.org/tournaments/?id=244, along with ticket information.
