GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa baseball team will open up its season this weekend by taking on a pair of former NCAA West Region foes in St. George, Utah. The Mavericks, ranked No. 12 in the preseason Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, will take on the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks and the Cal State L.A. Golden Eagles to open the season.
 
RANKINGS
The Mavericks begin the season ranked in all three of the major publications. They sit as high as No. 4 by Perfect Game and as low as No. 17 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association. Colorado Mesa ended last season in the top ten in all publications following a runner-up finish in the NCAA South Central Regional in Canyon, Texas.
 
RETURN OF AN ACE
The Mavericks hope to benefit from the return of former ace of the staff JR McDermott after being shut down last season with an injury. McDermott, an All-American in his freshman season, pitched in three games a year ago before his season ended with an injury.
 
Maverick head coach Chris Hanks says he is back and healthy but will be very precautious with him and how many starts he makes until midway through the season. He may start the opening weekend but then skip a start or two possibly before making another one.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Colorado Mesa has a bevy of highly talented freshman this year that could make an immediate impact on both the mound and at the plate. Monarch High School product Andrew Morris could make a start for the Mavericks during the opening weekend in St. George. Morris, who just turned 17 this fall, has dominated early in the fall and in spring scrimmages despite being nearly four or five years younger than his teammates.
 
Nathan Wilson and Jahred Butler are both Southern California products who could see time on the mound as both a starter and a reliever. Wilson has been tabbed to play in the Cape Cod League this summer already while Butler was a highly recruited prospect out of the same high school Maverick shortstop Caleb Farmer attended.
 
Thunderbird High School standout Haydn McGeary is as big as they come when he steps to the plate. Standing at six-feet, five-inches tall, he led the nation in home runs for a majority of his senior season before being named an ABCA Third Team High School All-American.
 
THE BULLPEN
Senior AJ Landis anchored the Colorado Mesa bullpen last year as a junior and will look to do the same as a senior. Landis, a preseason All-RMAC selection, made 20 appearances and finished with a 2.80 ERA with a record of 6-2 and four saves.
 
Landis got big help late in the season from a fellow Las Vegas native in now sophomore Frankie Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald saved two games in the RMAC Tournament earning himself a spot on the RMAC All-Tournament Team. Fitzgerald finished his freshman campaign with a 3-0 record and a 2.42 ERA.
 
VETERAN PRESENCE
Senior catcher Tyler Sandoval provides the team a veteran leader the youthful Mavericks need this season. Sandoval is now in his third season of catching duties handled the pitching staff last season despite having a broken hand down the stretch run.
 
The Delta native batted .313 with seven doubles, four triples, and five home runs in his junior season. He retooled parts of his swing this offseason and feels like he is back to 100 percent after the hand injury.
 
TEACH ME HOW TO DOUGIE
Senior outfielder Hunter Douglas is another one of those veteran leaders the Mavericks will rely on this season. Douglas was named to the All-Region team in his first season on the field for Colorado Mesa. Douglas played gold glove defense and batted .406 out of the leadoff spot in the lineup. Even more impressive is the .509 on-base percentage he showed in his junior season.
 
The Lubbock, Texas native is slated to start the season in right field but could slide over to center depending on who is hot during the season.
 
STUBBS
Sophomore Jordan Stubbings had a great freshman season at the plate for the Mavericks and is looking for more in his second season. Stubbings was named the RMAC Freshman of the Year and claimed an All-Region award after belting 11 home runs in his first campaign as a Maverick. He added a .382 batting average and had 11 doubles and a triple.
 
The Legend High School product had an outstanding summer in the New York Collegiate League where he was named an All-Star.
 
NEWCOMER BUT A FAMILIAR FACE
Senior transfer Garrett Hutson transferred to Colorado Mesa for his final season of college baseball after a stint as a junior with NCAA Division I Abilene Christian. Hutson is in his first season with the Mavericks but is very familiar with Grand Junction and Suplizio Field.
 
Hutson competed in back-to-back NJCAA World Series for San Jacinto and Cowley County and credits the tournament as the reason why he came to Colorado Mesa.
 
The EL Dorado, Kan. native earned a win during the 2017 JUCO World Series for Cowley County and earned a win for San Jacinto in the 2016 JUCO World Series.
 
SCOUTING THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
Colorado Mesa is familiar with the two teams the will square off with this weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. The Mavericks own a 6-3 record against Northwest Nazarene in the two programs' history. The last time the two teams played was in 2005 where the Mavericks took three of the four games at Suplizio Field.
 
The Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles have had the Mavericks number when it means the most. Cal State LA defeated Colorado Mesa in the 2006 NCAA West Regional and in the final of the 2007 NCAA West Region Championship game, defeating the Mavericks in consecutive games that season. The lone win for the Mavericks against the Golden Eagles actually came in St. George, Utah in 2007, an 18-8 win at Dixie High School.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Mavericks will host Montana State Billings in a three-game series next weekend at Suplizio Field as a part of Leadoff Weekend. They will host their annual Leadoff Dinner on February 14 with tickets available by visiting the baseball page at CMUMavericks.com.