Mavericks softball season recap

MOSES LAKE — The Mavericks softball team concluded the 2025 season with a 16-9 record and appearances in the 4A district title game and the state tournament. Despite not bringing home hardware, head coach Mike Hofheins said his team had a successful season.

“I think we had confidence within ourselves that we were going to be right in it for a league title, and we were, and we were able to capture the regular season title, and we took second in districts and qualified for state,” he said.

The Mavericks started off 1-2; they won their first game against Walla Walla but dropped two in a row to Mt. Spokane and Richland. Despite the losses, Hofheins said those two games showed him what his team was capable of. According to him, his team was able to hang with both of them and put up a fight.

“We knew that was going to be a test for us (to) kind of see where we were at. And it was 0-0 after five. We were right there with them, but I knew if we could hang with them, we were going to be pretty solid,” Hofheins said.

After those two games, the Mavericks erupted for a five-game win streak. In three of those five wins, they were able to score over 20 runs and only allowed five at most from their opponents. From there, they would drop a game here and there but overall remained dominant against their opponents. Their biggest margin of victory was a 30-0 win over AC Davis.

Hofheins said he felt like some people expected the Mavericks to take a step back after losing seven seniors from the 2024 team. They put together another winning season despite that, going 8-6 playing at home and 8-3 playing on the road.

“Reload, not rebuild, so I feel like that was our mantra this year, and obviously it’s always nice to have the reigning league MVP back in the circle,” Hofheins said.

Given the large turnover, the Mavericks benefited from having reigning league MVP Paige Richardson return as pitcher. She repeated her success this season and earned a second straight MVP award in her senior season. Hayden Morris was named offensive player of the year; she plays shortstop for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks had nine players represented on the Big Nine all-league teams, including honorable mentions.

“When you win the league title, you should be pretty highly represented on the all-league team,” Hofheins said.

Hofheins had high praise for Morris; she joined the team this year after transferring to Moses Lake High School. He said she may be one of the best shortstops in eastern Washington, if not in the state.

“She is the ultimate competitor. Works hard in practice, one of the most clutch, in-the-moment players that I’ve coached in any sport. When the pressure is the tightest, she performs consistently,” he said.

Hofheins also took home coach of the year, an award he appreciates receiving but said he does not want to take credit for. He said it’s a team effort and a reflection of the talented roster and coaching staff he got to work with this season.

The Mavericks fell short in the 4A district title game to Eastmont but bounced back in a crossover game to advance to the state tournament. There, they lost in the first round to Issaquah and then Tahoma by one point in the consolation bracket.

Their season may be over, but Hofheins said his team had a successful season and accomplished a lot. Looking forward to next season, he will have a chance to assess his roster with slow pitch in the fall. There’s a lot of roster overlap, so the Mavericks may not have much rust to shake off when the spring season begins.

“We return starters everywhere, and we should have a great offensive lineup. So yeah, I think we’re going to be in the mix for the league title going down to the last week of the season, just like this year,” Hofheins said.

    Mavs Eryn Eckenberg runs for third base in a game against AC Davis. The Mavs were dominant in that doubleheader, scoring a total of 47 runs and allowing zero runs.
  

    Mavs Mya Martinez makes the out at first against AC Davis. Moses Lake’s doubleheader wins put the Mavs at 11-4 and positioned them strongly to earn higher seeding in the district tournament.
  

    Mavs Paige Richardson pitches in a Big 9 game. Richardson won her second straight league MVP award.