It was an unfortunate ending to a great season as the Mingus softball team lost 8-5 to rival Bradshaw Mountain on Thursday, May 9.
With the loss, the Marauders ended the season at 25-9-1 and 10-2 in sectional play.
“I told them I was proud of them after the game ended,” Mingus coach John Brown said.
Mingus squared off against Bradshaw in an elimination game after the Marauders fell to top-seeded Salpointe Catholic 10-0 on Tuesday, May 7, at the Rose Mofford Complex.
“I will remember this year as a great season,” Brown said. “There were a lot of ups and downs this season, but it was mostly ups.”
Mingus fell to 25-8-1 after the loss to Salpointe. The match also snapped the Marauders three-game winning streak.
Diana Montano led the Lancers with three hits and five runs batted in.
Sophomore Alyssa Aguillar earned the start for Salpointe and allowed three hits in six innings.
Aguillar struck out nine of the 22 batters she faced.
The Lancers won the 2018 4A state championship.
Salpointe defeated Bradshaw Mountain 2-1 on Saturday, May 11, to advance to the 4A state championship.
The Lancers will face Cactus High School on Tuesday, May. 14.
Mingus graduates six seniors from this year’s team.
“I have known most of the older girls since they were 12 and I have a ton of fond memories of all of them,” Brown said. “Those girls never quit and always gave it their all.”
All six of the Marauders seniors played at least 33 out of 34 games and recorded at least 18 hits.
The Marauders senior class also accounted for 26 of the Marauders 43 home runs this season.
“This senior class was the core of our program this year,” Brown said. “They were all great kids, great students and they worked year-round to play softball at a high level.”
“I will always remember the amount of hard work they put in.”
The Marauders were heavily represented in the 4A Grand Canyon Recognitions as seven Mingus players earned all-region honors.
“I would say this season was a success due to all the hardwork the girls put in,” Brown said. “They have gave it their all since their freshmen years and they play all summer and fall during the offseason.”
Maddie Bejarano was given region offensive player of the year after batting .594 with 20 home runs.
Bejarano’s 66 runs batted in led the entire 4A conference and were second in the entire state.
In 2019, Bejarano led the Grand Canyon region in runs batted in [66], home runs [20], runs [65] and slugging percentage [1.396].
Coach Brown earned regional coach of the year honors after leading the Marauders to a 15-2 conference record.
Seniors Lexi Ough and Bejarano earned first-team honors along with junior Jasmine Shults.
Shults finished the season ranked second in the region in on-base percentage [.645], third in batting average [.581] and third in slugging ].925].
On the second team, senior third baseman Lacey Saravo earned second-team honors with pitchers Chloe Shults and Alexis Ayersman.
Despite only being a freshman, Ayersman went 14-4 and registered the region’s third lowest earned run average [2.14]
Dylan Sweeney earned honorable mention after batting .326 with 29 hits and 27 runs batted in.
For Brown, this season will be remembered for all the close victories Mingus was able to pull out.
“Looking back, I will remember the competitive games the we played in the most,” Brown said. “Winning those close ones with this team will always be a great memory.”
The Marauders concluded this season with a perfect 10-0-1 home record.
“The girls played above expectation, so I believe it is a great start to a long lasting legacy at Mingus softball.”
