COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— To the victor, go the spoils.
 
After winning both the 2017 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles, the Colorado Mesa University softball team was selected as unanimous favorites to top the conference again in 2018, according to the Preseason Coaches' Poll which was released Monday.
 
Additionally, the Mavericks had six Preseason All-RMAC selections and swept the Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year honors with senior Brooke Hodgson and junior McKenzie Surface taking those accolades, respectively.
 
They were joined on the Preseason All-RMAC team by sophomore AnnMarie Torres, junior Alexandria Dufour and junior Kaila Jacobi at first, second and third base, respectively, and by senior utility player Abby Toller.
 
The Mavericks, who went 48-8 overall and 35-4 in RMAC play last year to win their second straight regular season crown return eight of their most nine regular starters and both of their top two pitchers for the upcoming 2018 campaign which begins Friday at the CMU Invitational in Rio Rancho, N.M.
 
In the coaches' poll, which asked coaches to rank their opponents 1-11 without voting for their own squad, the Mavericks received all 11 possible first place votes to top the poll with 121 points.  2017 RMAC runner-up and RMAC Tournament finalist Colorado School of Mines was second with 103 while MSU Denver, which will play the Mavericks this weekend in a non-conference tilt, was slated third with 102.
 
Regis received Maverick coach Ben Garcia's first place vote and was picked fourth with 90 points.
 
Hodgson, slated to be a utility player in 2018, was the RMAC's Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2017 and went on to earn First Team D2CCCA and Second Team NFCA All-America honors after hitting .420 with 34 extra-base hits, while driving in a RMAC-leading 72 runs and slugging at a .847 clip.  She also led the RMAC with 19 home runs.
 
Surface posted a phenomenal 27-6 record and a RMAC-best 1.63 ERA in 2017 while tallying a RMAC-leading 195 strikeouts in 197.2 innings pitched.  She also threw nine shutouts and was the RMAC Tournament MVP, the RMAC Academic Player of the Year and a D2CCA Honorable Mention All-America pick.
 
Torres was the RMAC Co-Freshman of the Year in 2017 after hitting .412 and slugging at a .736 clip.  She also led the RMAC with 21 doubles and was third in the conference with 59 RBI while making just one error defensively in 222 total chances, good for a .995 fielding percentage, helping her earn a multitude of post-season accolades, including NFCA Third Team All-America plaudits.
 
Dufour was a First Team All-RMAC pick in 2017 and hit .343 with 27 RBI.  She also stole 14 bases a year ago.
 
Jacobi hit .371 and hit seven homers while driving in 39 runs throughout the 2017 campaign while earning Second Team All-RMAC accolades.
 
Toller hit .348 in 31 games last year, her first as a Mav after transferring from the College of Southern Idaho, recording six homers and 23 RBI.