9-14 Roundup
Top-ranked boys soccer rolls by 10-0; volleyball and softball handled in one-sided losses.
The sweet beat goes on for Mullen boys soccer …
Late Tuesday in Colorado Springs, the Mustangs rolled host Mesa Ridge 10-0 in nonleague at the El Pomar Youth Sports Complex.
It pushed their record to 7-0 as they are top-ranked in Class 4A.
It also upped the team’s aggregate scoring advantage to 42-1 to date in 2021.
First-year Mustangs head coach Matt Degitis called it “a good result for the boys.”
Mullen had four players score twice – Jaycee Campos, Andrew DeBerardinis, Eli Kerschen and Jack Sargent. Kerschen upped his goal total to 13 and DeBerardinis has eight.
Leo Aguilar and Ethan Lehman also found the back of the net.
Concerning assists, DeBerardinis and Jorge Valdes each had two. Kerschen, Lehman, Alex Evans, Andrew McGrath and Nathan Muir all had one.
The Mustangs will complete the nonleague portion of their schedule on Friday, Sept. 17, at home against Salida at 4:30 p.m. They will have a break before beginning Centennial League matches on Sept. 28 with a roadie in Aurora against Grandview, 6 p.m.
MULLEN 10, MESA RIDGE 0
Mullen – 10
Mesa Ridge – 0
Mullen goals – Jaycee Campos 2, Andrew DeBerardinis 2, Eli Kerschen 2, Jack Sargent 2, Leo Aguilar, Ethan Lehman.
Mullen assists – Andrew DeBerardinis 2, Jorge Valdes 2, Eli Kerschen, Lehman, Alex Evans, Andrew McGrath, Nathan Muir.
Volleyball
It happens.
It was a dud and Mullen didn’t see it coming.
The Mustangs dropped their second match in succession on Tuesday night, a one-sided 25-13, 23-25, 25-11, 25-13 loss at Denver South in nonleague.
Mullen dropped to 6-3.
“It was probably the worst we’ve played all season,” head coach Jeff Oliver said.
He said losing libero Madeline Karr to an illness and an injury didn’t help, but “I don’t know, we just didn’t play very well tonight. We didn’t match (Denver South’s) intensity.”
It began early – Mullen trailed 5-0 and 11-1 in the first game and never recovered. The Mustangs had to scrap to win Game 2 before being easily handled twice more.
It was frustrating, Oliver said, “as we’re just a better team than we showed tonight.”
The Mustangs will have plenty of time to regroup. They won’t play against until Sept. 23, when they will open play in the Centennial League at Grandview in Aurora. There will be one go-round through the league before a season-ending tournament (three matches).
Oliver said the unusual gap between nonleague and league play is a result of the season beginning a week earlier than usual.
Softball
The Mustangs got their bats going, but were outslugged 22-11 by host Cherry Creek in Greenwood Village on Tuesday.
Mullen is 7-6 overall and dropped its second consecutive Centennial League game. It is 0-2.
Mustangs pitchers were battered for 20 hits overall as well as 11 runs in the second inning, when the Bruins took command.
Offensively, senior Bella Aragon had four hits and scored three times; Morgan Stewart had two hits and three runs batted in; Elizabeth Brady had a home run among her two safeties and drove home three; and Morgan Margeson went for three hits and an RBI.
Mullen will resume play on Friday, Sept. 17, at Smoky Hill in Aurora, first pitch at 4:30 p.m.
CHERRY CREEK 22, MULLEN 11, 6 inn.
Mullen 144 200 -- 11 14 4
Cherry Creek 1(11)2 035 -- 22 20 2
Mullen – Aragon cf 5-3-4-1, Stewart c 4-2-2-3, Brady 2b-ss 3-2-2-3, Schwarz rf 0-0-0-0, Medina ss-p 2-0-1-2, Walters lf-2b 4-0-0-0, Margeson p-rf 4-1-3-1, Hurtado 3b 2-0-0-0, Linares 3b 1-0-0-0, Newman 1b 2-2-1-1, Holz rf-lf 4-1-1-0, Martinez cr 0-0-0-0. Totals 31-11-14-11.
SAC – Linares. SB – Aragon 2, Stewart. LOB – Mullen 9. BB – Brady, Walters, Hurtado, Linares.
2B – Stewart, Newman, Medina. HR – Brady.
Pitching – Margeson (L) 1 IP, 7 H, 10 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K; Medina 4.1 IP, 13 H, 12 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4 K’s.
WP – Margeson 2, Medina.
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