After the Mingus softball team defeated Desert Edge 2-1 in the first round of the 4A state playoffs, the Marauders immediately shifted to their next game — the state quarterfinals on Tuesday, May 11 against Paradise Honors.
While No. 4 Mingus hosted the game, the No. 5 Panthers came in undefeated. Unfortunately for the Marauders, Paradise Honors was still undefeated when the quarterfinals game was over, as the Mingus season ended with a 6-3 defeat.
The game ultimately came down to the seventh inning. Entering the final inning, the two teams were tied 3-3. But the visiting Panthers scratched three runs across the board to take the lead. The game was not over, as the Marauders had some of their best hitters due up in the bottom of the inning. But Paradise Honors reliever Krista Francia retired Mingus in order to preserve the win.
“Other than the last inning, I felt like our team played as well as we could given the pressure that we were under,” Mingus coach John Brown said. “To come back twice and tie the ballgame up and give ourselves a chance right there at the end, I liked our odds going into the seventh. I liked the fact that the heart of our lineup was coming up. We just didn’t get it done today.”
One of the issues that the Marauders had on Tuesday is that they were consistently playing from behind. When Mingus scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth, it only tied the game, answering the two that the Panthers had scored in the top of the third. Similarly, when Mingus scored a run in the bottom of the fifth, it was an answer to the one that Paradise Honors had scored in the top of the inning.
There were also issues with defense. Marauders pitcher junior Alexis Ayersman pitched the full seven innings and allowed all six runs. But only three of the runs that she allowed were earned, as the other three were scored off of two errors that the Mingus defense made.
“It’s a tough way to lose,” Brown said. “But if you’re going to go down, go down swinging, and they did. They fought and they gave it their best. I think they’re going to build from it. It’s a good feeling to carry that and not want to feel it again.”
Paradise Honors’ undefeated season came to an end two days later when the Panthers lost 9-1 to No. 1 and eventual state champion Salpointe Catholic in the state semifinals.
The Marauders finished the year at 17-2 overall, 18-3 including the two playoff games. They were 15-2 in 4A Conference play and went 11-1 in the 4A Grand Canyon Region. The latter mark was good enough for Mingus’ first Region title since before anyone on the team was born.
The most obvious piece of silver lining for the Marauders is that much of the roster will be back. Ayersman, who was the team’s No. 1 pitcher and led Mingus in most offensive categories, was only a junior. Other key statistical leaders from 2021 who will return include juniors Marissa Vocca, McKell Gordon, Ella Behlow, Mackenzie Figy and
sophomores Sydnee Stapleton and Kiki Saravo.
With a returning senior heavy group, the Marauders will enter the 2022 season on a short list of state championship favorites.
“This core is going to be back, they’re going to be stronger and they learned a lot this year,” Brown said. “They’re growth was insane. The sky’s the limit for this group. We’ve got one more year to get after it. Then they’re going to be done and I’m going to be done.”
While Mingus will return most of its team to the diamond in 2022, some players will not be back. The loss to Paradise Honors marked the final high school game for the Marauders’ four seniors — Kaylee Watson, Yazmein Mestas, Mallorie Copeland and Tabitha Freeman.
“You put a lot of time into these four years playing all year, different sports,” Mestas said. “For it to finally come to an end hurts. You don’t create friends, you don’t create teammates, you create family. To be able to play with them for the full year, to create chemistry, it means a lot to us.”
“It’s basically our whole lives — we’ve been doing it since we could walk,” added Copeland, who will play next year at Colorado Northwestern Community College. “It’s sad. It’s my life. I’ve come back from a lot of stuff, from not being able to play, to playing again and now going on to play more [Colorado Northwestern] but it’s not with this team. And that makes it hard.”
