GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After going 7-3 and posting winning records in each of their first two tournaments, the Colorado Mesa University Softball Team will begin Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play against Fort Lewis College.  They will now do that at home, pending favorable weather conditions.

The 4-game series was originally scheduled for Durango but has been moved to the CMU Softball Field under a new RMAC rule that allows for the switching of sites if the home team's field is unplayable.   There are several inches of snow still on FLC's Aspen Field.

The games will still count in the RMAC standings.

The dates and times of the series are still the same with doubleheaders slated for Noon on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Live statistics and a single-camera streaming with natural sound only for all four games of the series will be available at the links above and tickets may be purchased at www.cmumavericks.com/tickets.

First win, first shutout

Maverick freshman pitcher Shea Mauser picked up her first collegiate victory on Sunday and did it in style as she also recorded her first shutout allowing just one hit while striking out five in the Mavericks' 12-0, 5-inning victory over Texas-Permian Basin.  The Arvada West High School product started for the first time after throwing an inning in the Mavericks' 5-inning, 11-0 shutout of Saint Martin's on Friday and tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings on Saturday against Simon Fraser as the Mavericks fell just a run short of what would have been a 8-run comeback.  In total, Mauser pitched 8 1/3 innings allowing just three hits while striking out six over the weekend, holding opponents to a .115 batting average.  In four appearances spanning nine scoreless innings this season, Mauser has given up just three hits.

3-homer inning, 6-homer game

The Mavericks hit six home runs in Saturday's 13-12 loss to Simon Fraser as they tied their school-record for home runs in a single game.  They trailed 13-5 going into the bottom of the fifth but avoided a potential run-rule defeat when AnnMarie Torres homered in the bottom half of the inning.  Lexie Comer, Hailey Hinson and Brooke Doumer then all hit home runs in the seventh inning as the Mavericks scored four more runs to pull within 13-12 after entering the bottom of the seventh, down 13-8.  Doumer and Kaila Jacobi had also hit home runs back in the first inning against the Clan.

Bombs away

Nine different Mavericks have combined to hit 15 home runs this season.  Doumer, Jacobi and Torres have three each.  As a team, the Mavericks lead the RMAC in home runs per game (1.50) and are second in total home runs behind only this week's opponent (Fort Lewis), which has 16 homers in 13 games.

CMU has given up just two home runs.

Three shutouts

The Mavericks have already recorded three shutout wins this season to lead the RMAC.  Pitchers Kimbri Herring and Shea Mauser both have an individual shutout to their credit and combined for another on Friday when Herring threw four innings of CMU's 11-0 win over Saint Martin's before giving way to Mauser.

The Maverick have given up just 29 total runs in their 10 games thus far and have a RMAC-leading 2.68 ERA surrendering just 24 earned runs.

The Mavericks posted 15 shutouts last year to lead the RMAC by five and had a 2.15 ERA to lead the conference by more than a full run per game in 2018.

Patience pays

The Mavericks have drawn a RMAC-leading 38 walks this season and also lead the conference with 84 total runs, an average of 8.4 per game.  AnnMarie Torres has drawn a league-high 10 walks as well, helping her to a .600 on base percentage, the third highest in the conference thus far.  She has also been hit a conference-high three times and leads the conference with 10 runs scored.  CMU has drawn seven hit by pitches thus far.

Showing some mercy
 
The Mavericks posted an impressive 24 mercy-rule victories last season, ending 13 games in five innings and another 11 in six.   They scored two more run-rule wins last weekend at the Cactus Classic and have now claimed four mercy rule wins out of their seven total victories this year.
 
In their 36 regular season conference games last season, the Mavericks outscored their opponents by a combined 291 runs (365-74), winning by an average of 8.08 per.  The Mavericks won exactly half (18) of those conference games via the mercy-rule.
 
Thus far in 2019, the Mavericks have outscored their non-conference opponents 84-29 are scoring 8.40 runs per game and 1.38 runs per offensive inning.  They are also hitting .344 as a team and have outscored their opponents in every inning of regulation this year, including a 13-2 mark in the first inning and by a combined 46-10 margin in the third (22-2) and fourth (24-8).
 
Those pesky 1-run games
 
All three of the Mavericks' losses this season have come by a single run.  In 2018, the Mavericks were a perfect 4-0 in games decided by a single run.
 
Record-setting record

The Mavericks, who have won the last three and four of the last five Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Regular Season titles, are coming off a record-setting 48-5 season in 2018. 

The team's .906 winning percentage a year ago was a school-record, breaking the 2017 team's mark of .857 (48-8).  The 48 wins were just one shy of the school-record for wins, which was set by the 2002 squad, which finished 49-13.

The Mavericks started last year by winning a RMAC record 37 consecutive games.

25 Straight in the Top 25

The Mavericks are ranked 22^nd in the first regular season edition of the NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, which was released on Wednesday.  The Mavericks, who were 21^st in the preseason poll, received 56 points in the polling of 16 NCAA Division II head coaches, with two representing each of the nation's eight regions.

In 2018, the Mavericks were ranked in all 14 editions of the poll, including the preseason and post-season poll, which saw the Mavericks end up in the No. 16 spot.  They were ranked eighth in the 2018 preseason poll and were No. 1 for seven straight weeks in the midst of their 37-0 start to last year's campaign.  They were ranked in the top three of all 12 regular-season editions of the poll.
The Mavericks were also ranked in 13 of 15 polls in 2017, beginning that year ranked 19^th in the preseason and finishing 11th. CMU has now been nationally-ranked in 25 consecutive polls dating back to Mar. 22, 2017.

Conference newcomer Dixie State is the only other RMAC team in the latest poll at No. 13. 

Three other teams from the South Central Region are also in the poll, all of which are in the new top 10.  The group is led by new No. 1 Angelo State, which had been sixth in the preseason.  No. 5 Texas A&M-Commerce, up four spots from the preseason, and No. 8, up six spots from the preseason, Tarleton State, which also hail from the Lone Star Conference, are also nationally ranked.  Texas A&M-Commerce and Tarleton State competed in the NCAA regional that the Mavericks hosted last year.

Picked second

Despite winning the last three regular season and last two RMAC Tournament titles, the Mavericks were edged for the top spot in this year's RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll by conference newcomer Dixie State.  The Mavericks received six first place votes and were picked a strong second with 135 total points.  Dixie State, which advanced to the West Super Regional after finishing third in the PacWest Conference last year, received seven first place votes and 138 total points.  Colorado Christian (113), Regis (110) and MSU Denver (102) were the other teams picked in the top five of the polling of the league's 13 head coaches, who ranked their opponents 1 through 12 without voting for their own squad.

Well represented

The Mavericks were also well represented with four selections, tied for the most of any squad, on the Preseason All-RMAC team, which was announced in conjunction with the league's poll on Jan. 24.  Leading the way was RMAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year Kimbri Herring, a senior out of Stansbury, Utah.  First baseman AnnMarie Torres, outfielder Hailey designated player Bailey Kleespies, all juniors, were also selected.  All four earned All-RMAC honors at various levels in 2018.

Herring, who was the RMAC Tournament's MVP, also earned First Team D2CCA All-South Central Region honors in 2018 after posting a 22-3 record and 2.25 ERA.

Torres was a Third Team All-America pick by both the NFCA and D2CCA after hitting .394 with 12 home runs and 67 RBIs last year.  She earned First Team All-RMAC honors.

Hinson was a Second Team All-RMAC pick last year and hit .396 with 22 RBIs and five home runs.  Kleespies earned Honorable Mention All-RMAC pick in 2018 and hit .349 with five doubles while starting 20 games at the designated player and third base finishes.

Nation's top offense

In 2018, the Mavericks led all of college softball with their .398 team batting average, which smashed the RMAC record of .369, which they had set the year prior.  The batting average was also the best of any Division II team since 2009.

The Mavericks also led Division II in doubles per game (2.55) last year, cranking out a RMAC-record 135 to crush the former RMAC record of 112, set by Mines in 2009.  The 135 doubles are the fourth most in Division II history while the per game average was the fifth highest.

CMU was also second in Division II for scoring (9.58 runs/game), winning-percentage (.906), slugging percentage (.643) and on-base percentage (.461) last year.  They also hit 1.30 home runs per game to rank fourth in the country.

The Mavericks scored 508 total runs to break the RMAC record of 452, set by MSU-Denver in 2010.  They also recorded 442 RBIs to break the Roadrunner's former RMAC record of 413, set in 2009.  The 508 runs scored were the seventh most in Division II history.

Doing it with the glove as well

The Mavericks also played solid defensive ball in 2018, committing just 37 errors while finishing the year ranked eighth in Division II with their .972 fielding percentage.  Their opponents were guilty of nearly 100 more errors (128) and fielded at just a .914 clip.

The Mavericks have only made six errors in their first 10 games this year and are fielding at a .977 clip so far this season, the best mark in the RMAC by 12 full points.

Title #11
 
The Mavericks, who went 33-3 in regular season play to win the RMAC's Regular Season Championship for the third straight year and fourth time in the last five years in 2018, have now won 11 official RMAC Championships, four more than any other institution in conference history.  They are the first program to win three straight outright crowns* since Nebraska-Kearney won four straight from 1996-99 after claiming a 1995 Mile High Intercollegiate Softball League title before the RMAC officially resumed official sponsorship of the sport in 1996.
 
The Mavericks also won RMAC titles in 1982, 1983, 1989, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2014.
 
The Lopers, who are no longer RMAC members, are second in conference history with seven crowns.
 
*-Colorado Mines did win 2012 and 2013 RMAC titles after sharing the top spot with MSU Denver in 2012.  MSU Denver had won the 2010 and 2011 crowns.
 
Speaking of 11
 
2018 also marked the Mavericks' 11^th NCAA Tournament appearance.  They have been included in the field of 64 for each of the last three years.  The Mavericks, who went 1-2 while hosting a regional for just the second time in program history, are 15-22 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.  They also qualified in 1997 and 1998, in three straight years from 2000-02, and again in 2009, 2010 and 2012.
 
Three straight 40s
 
The Mavericks have reached the 40-win mark in each of the last three years and have six such seasons in the NCAA Division II portion of their history, which dates back to 1992. The 2016 Mavericks went 40-13 before the back-to-back 48-win seasons.
 
The Mavericks also won 40 or more games in three straight years from 2000-02 winning a school-record 49 games in 2002 (49-13), two years after going 44-12 while reaching the Division II Women's College World Series in 2000.  The 2001 team went 41-12.
 
Scouting the Skyhawks

The Skyhawks are off to a 5-8 start and have played in the same two tournaments that the Mavericks have over the past two weekends after opening their season a week before the Mavs in New Mexico, where they got off to a 3-0 start.  They have gone 1-4 on each of the past two weekends.

The Skyhawks and Mavericks already have nine common opponents this year.

As a team, the Skyhawks are hitting .299 and have a team ERA of 4.59.

Skyhawk senior utility player Angelique Elemen is off to an incredible start, especially in the power numbers.  She has been named as the RMAC's Player of the Week after each of the past two weekends and has a conference-leading eight home runs, twice as many as any other RMAC player, to go along with her five doubles and 14 RBIs, tied for the second most in the conference.  She is hitting .432 and has a 1.091 slugging percentage and has scored 15 runs.

Sophomore outfielder McKenna Hefley is hitting .357 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

The Skyhawks have used five different pitchers, all of whom have started at least one game.  Mandy Lorenson leads the staff with a 1.35 ERA but has made just two appearances and one start, which she won.  She has 11 strikeouts and 10 walks in 10 1/3 innings.  Emily Morris has made four starts and has a 2-3 record and a 3.13 ERA.  She has a team-high 17 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings of work.  Kelly Decker has been used the most, making eight appearances and four starts.  She is 0-4 with a 6.51 ERA.

The Last Time We Met

In 2018, the Mavericks also hosted Fort Lewis and swept the series without conceding a single run.  Scoring 42, the Mavericks posted a pair of 12-0, 5-inning wins on the second day of the series after claiming run-rule wins on the first day by 8-0 and 10-0 margins.

The Mavericks recorded a team batting average of .490 and cranked out 50 hits, including 19 for extra bases, while giving up just nine singles.

The Mavericks have won 17 straight games over the Skyhawks dating back to 2015.  They also swept a home series in 2015 and 4-game "away" sets in 2016 and 2017, both of which were played in Aztec, New Mexico, which has traditionally been the Skyhawks' alternate location.

Up Next

After this weekend's series, the Mavericks will remain at home to host fellow nationally-ranked Dixie State in a match-up of the top two RMAC teams, according the to the preseason coaches' poll.  That's series is slated for Mar. 2 and 3.