GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University Softball team will begin the 2019 season this weekend with five games at the Dixie State Courtyard Classic in St. George, Utah, beginning Thursday against Cal State-East Bay at the Canyons Softball Complex.

The Mavericks will then face Central Washington and Western Washington on Friday before taking on two Hawai'i schools in Hawai'i Pacific and Hawai'i-Hilo on Saturday.  All five of their opponents played last weekend at the Montana State Billings Desert Stinger Classic in Las Vegas, going a combined 5-7 in the tournament.  Hawai'i Pacific also played the host Yellowjackets in a Monday doubleheader outside of the tournament.

Live statistics will be available for all five of the Mavs' games.  Additional information about the tournament can be found on the links above.

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 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.

New (But not so new) man at the top

The Mavericks will enter the 2019 season under the direction of interim head coach Erik Kozel, a Maverick assistant for the past six seasons.  Kozel was promoted to the position in September after former Maverick Head Coach Ben Garcia resigned for a similar position at Division I Northern Colorado.

Kozel, a former CMU baseball standout, is no stranger to the Maverick softball program.  He was a critical part of the Maverick's back-to-back RMAC Regular Season and Championship winning teams in 2017 and 2018 in his two years as the program's top assistant.  In those two years, the Mavericks posted a combined 96-13 (.881) record.  The Mavericks also won RMAC titles in 2014 and 2016 when Kozel was on the staff.

In his assistant coaching role, Kozel worked primarily with the catchers and outfielders and served as the hitting coach, guiding two All-America outfielders in Brooke Hodgson and Maggie Manwarren, a Second Team All-RMAC catcher in Zoe Pakes last year.  The Mavericks also set a RMAC record with their team batting average of .398, which led all divisions of college softball.  The former mark of .369 was set in 2017 with Kozel on staff.

In 2019, Kozel will be assisted by Mercedes Lovato, the program's pitching coach, PJ Gonzales and former Maverick Abby Toller, completing an internship as a student assistant coach.

Sitting at No. 21

The Mavericks have been tabbed 21^st in the NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) Preseason Top 25 Poll, which was released on Jan. 30.  The Mavericks received 82 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 preseason poll and were No. 1 for seven straight weeks in the midst of their 37-0 start.  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 24 consecutive polls dating back to Mar. 22, 2017.

Conference newcomer Dixie State is the only other RMAC team in the NFCA Preseason poll this year at No. 17.  Three other teams from the South Central Region are also in the poll, led by No. 6 Angelo State.  No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce and No. 14 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 yesterday.

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.

Lots of other returning weapons

The Mavericks also return four other 2018 All-RMAC selections in seniors Alexandria Dufour, Kaila Jacobi, Kellie Mrofcza and McKenzie Surface.  Dufour, the Mavs' second baseman, and Surface, a 3-time First Team All-RMAC pitcher, were also all-region honorees a year ago while Mrofcza, CMU's shortstop, earned all-region honors as a utility player in 2017.  Jacobi is CMU's third baseman but is also slated for time at the catcher position.

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.

Title No. 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.
 
Eyeing RMAC pitching records
 
With her entire senior year remaining, Maverick junior pitcher McKenzie Surface is already tied for second in RMAC history for career victories.  She picked up her 69^th and 70^th of her career in the final regular season series of 2018 at CSU-Pueblo to move into what is a 3-way tie for the No. 2 spot with Kelly Unkrich (Mines, 2010-13) and Kerri Chase (CSU-Pueblo, 1999-2001) in the RMAC record book.  Surface, who broke Melanie Meuchel's 17-year old CMU record of 67 against Colorado Christian the week before, is just eight wins away from the RMAC record of 78, currently held by Regis' Kaitlyn Gentert (2005-08).  Surface went 21-1 last year the RMAC lead for winning percentage (.955).
 
Surface also sits seventh in RMAC history for career strikeouts with 483, breaking the Maverick record as a sophomore.  She is within range of the RMAC record and enters 2019, just 148 away from the conference mark, set by Amanda Kelly of Nebraska-Kearney.  Surface had 144 last year and in 2016 and recorded 195 strikeouts as a sophomore in 2017.
 
Surface has also completed 63 of her 82 career starts and already ranks seventh in RMAC history for career complete games.  She enters 2019 just 15 shy of the Maverick record of 78, set by Heather Hatzenbeller from 1997-2000.
 
Perfect on the road
 
A large reason for the Mavericks' success in 2018, was their ability to win on the road.  The Mavericks were perfect away from home.  The Mavericks went 16-0 in away games and 10-0 in neutral-site early-season tournament contests last year.
 
They will play their first 14 games of the 2019 campaign away from home as well, playing ten total games in two early season non-conference tournaments before opening the 40-game RMAC schedule on Feb. 22-23 with a 4-game series at Fort Lewis in Durango.
 
The Mavericks host Dixie State on Mar. 2 and 3 for their home-opening series, a 4-game set that is looking to be pivotal for the RMAC title chase as a showdown between the conference's two nationally ranked squads picked first and second in the conference's preseason poll.
 
Mercy, Mercy
 
The Mavericks posted an impressive 24 mercy-rule victories last season, ending 13 games in five innings and another 11 in six.   They defeated MSU Denver 10-2 and Colorado Christian 10-0 in their two middle games of the RMAC Tournaments.  Both of those games went just five innings.  They then defeated Rogers State 10-2 in six innings to open the NCAA Tournament.
 
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) conference games via the mercy-rule.
 
Scouting the Opponents

Cal State East Bay

The Pioneers, who hail from Hayward, finished the 2018 campaign with a 19-36 overall record and 13-27 mark in CCCA play.  They have been picked eighth in this year's CCCA poll.  Fourth-year Head Coach Claire Sua-Amundson did not lose any seniors to graduation a year ago and returns the senior trio of Courtney Leyba, Bailee Glover and Jennifer Palmares, who were all named to the 2018 All-CCCA team.

Leyba, an outfielder, led all CCAA players with seven triples and finished as East Bay's team leader in batting average (.341), on-base percentage (.410), slugging percentage (.480) and several other categories.

Glover, a right handed pitcher, also started 45 games as the Pioneers' designated player in 2018 and finished second on the team in doubles (10).  She hit .211 overall and picked up eight wins while posing a 3.28 ERA inside the circle.

Palmares started all 54 games a year ago as the Pioneers' shortstop and leadoff hitter and finished second behind Leyba in batting average at .311.  She also led the CCAA with 19 doubles.
The Pioneers were due to start their season last Saturday (Feb. 1) against Holy Names but had that doubleheader postponed due to rain.

Central Washington

The Wildcats, who reside in Ellensburg, won a third straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season title in 2018 and have been picked second in this year's preseason poll, just two points behind Northwest Nazarene, which shared the title with them.

Head Coach Mike Larabee, entering his fourth year, have won at least 30 games in each of the past three years going 31-16 overall and 19-10 in GNA place a year ago.  They hit .309 as a team late year to rank second in the GNAC but had just 91 extra-base hits and just 12 home runs out of their 402 total hits.  Instead, they manufacturing their runs swiping 82 bases, 18 more than any other team in the RMAC.

Larabee will rely heavily on returning First Team All-GNAC and NFCA All-West Region honoree Savannah Egbert, who was second in the GNAC with her .453 batting average a year ago.  She also set a CWU record with 30 stolen bases.

Lexie Strasser, who went 18-10 with a 2.91 ERA in 166 innings from inside the circle, and Katie Kastning also return after earning First Team All-GNAC honors a year ago.  Kastning, an outfield hit .367 as a freshman last year.

The Wildcats went 2-1 at the Desert Stinger Classic in Las Vegas. Strasser was named as the GNAC Pitcher of the Week after going 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA in 15 innings of work.  She allowed just seven hits and struck out eight.  Savannah Egbert went 3-for-7 (.429) to lead the Wildcat offense.

Western Washington

The Vikings, who hail from Bellingham near the Canadian border, will be looking to improve upon a 15-32 overall and 9-19 GNAC season from 2018 and have been picked fourth in this year's coaches' poll.  They won the GNAC title in 2017.  New head coach Sheryl Gilmore will have a bulk of the 2018 roster at her disposal, including First Team All-GNAC third baseman Shearyna Labasan, who hit .421 with 11 doubles, four home runs and a .586 slugging percentage.  She was also the team's No. 2 pitcher a year ago, posting a 3.48 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 142 2/3 innings.

Senior first baseman Emily Benson and senior pitcher/infielder Makinlee Sellevold, who both sat out the 2018 campaign, also return.  Benson earned All-GNAC and All-West Region honors in 2017 hitting .418 with 12 home runs, 37 RBIs and a .733 slugging percentage in 2017.  Sellevold hit 3.90 in 2017.

The Vikings also played at the Desert Stinger Classic, going 1-2.  Jackie Lucido was 4-for-7 to lead the offense while Sellevold started all three games in the circle, posting a 3.18 ERA, aided by a 5-inning shutout performance against Cal State Dominguez Hills in the season-opener on Friday.

Hawai'i Pacific

The Sharks, who hail from Honolulu, have been voted sixth in the PacWest Conference Preseason Poll.  Co-Head Coaches Bryan Nakasone and Jarnett Lono return six starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's squad that went 22-18 overall and 15-14 in the conference to place sixth.

Sophomore Cieana Curran led the Sharks with a .355 batting average last year and drove in 25 RBIs.  Senior Jordan Curry led the pitching staff with an impressive 1.48 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 12 starts and 14 appearances.  She also started 25 other games in the infield last year.

The Sharks also played at the Desert Stinger and went 1-2 with a 3-1 win over No. 23 UC-San Diego in the season opener on Friday.  They also dropped both games of a Monday doubleheader to MSU Billings on Monday.  Tiana Cantero-Kawelo is leading the regulars with a .333 batting average while Curry is 1-1 with a 3.41 ERA in three appearances and two starts thus far.

Hawai'i-Hilo

The Vulcans, who call the island of Hawai'i (Big Island) home, were picked to finish fourth in the 10-team PacWest in this year's coaches poll after going 31-15 overall and 19-9 in the conference to finish fifth last year.  Utility player Brinell Kaleikin was named as the conference's preseason player of the year after earning Second Team All-Pac West and All-West Region honors last year.  She hit .361 with 12 doubles, six homers and 39 RBI's year ago.

The Vulcans also opened their season at the Desert Stinger, going 1-2.  Markie Okamoto went 3-for-8 with a home run while Isabelle Mejia three shutout innings in her lone start.  Meanwhile, Leah Gonzales also allowed just one earned run (6 total) in nine innings over three relief appearances helping the Vulcans post a 1.91 team ERA thus far.

The Last Time We Met

The Mavericks have played the Vulcans in each of the last two years at the Dixie State Tournament posting 6-5 and 8-5 wins in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

The Mavericks dropped a 9-1 game to Western Washington at the 2016 edition of the Desert Stinger Classic in the only recent match-up with the Vikings.

CMU has not played any of their other opponents dating back to at least 1994.

A look at the RMAC

Seven of the RMAC's 13 softball teams began their season last weekend, going a combined 8-20.

Fort Lewis was 3-0 at an Eastern New Mexico hosted tournament in Albuquerque.  Adams State went 0-3 at the same tournament.  UCCS went 2-2 in a 3-team event at MSU Denver going 1-1 against both the hosts and Sioux Falls.  MSU Denver went 1-4 overall dropping three games to Sioux Falls.

Colorado Christian was 1-2 at the Desert Stinger Classic in Las Vegas while Chadron State went 1-4 over the weekend at Lubbock Christian's Tournament.  Colorado School of Mines was 0-5 on a trip to Texas but did play nationally-ranked Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Commerce.

Up Next

After this weekend's tournament in Utah, the Mavericks will head south to Tucson, Arizona for five more games at the Cactus Classic, which will be contested Feb. 15-17.  They then begin RMAC play on Feb. 23-24 at Fort Lewis.