One of the premier matchups in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is occuring this weekend at Suplizio Field. No. 5 Colorado Mesa will take on No. 9 Colorado School of Mines in a four-game series beginning on Friday March 15 at 6:05pm.

The Orediggers are coming off a four-game conference opening sweep of the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys in Golden. They went 9-2 in the non-conference portion of their schedule with a series split on the road at Angelo State and earning a huge series sweep over St. Edward's down in Austin, Texas.

Former assistant coach Robbie Bales takes over the reins of the program this season and hasnt missed a beat. Former Maverick Taylor Hamilton is one of the assistant coaches for Colorado School of Mines.

Gabe Garvens is one of the top two-way players in the RMAC, leading Mines in hitting at .391 while earning three saves thus far out of the bullpen. 6-7 righty Tyler Blomster will likely get the ball on game one, ranking third in the RMAC in strikeouts with 33.

WEEKEND RECAP
Colorado Mesa swept the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opening series with Regis over in Denver. The Mavericks offense came alive in the series with a .378 batting average with 27 of their 59 hits going for extra bases. They averaged nearly 12 runs per game and committed just four errors. The pitching staff had a 5.34 ERA and allowed the Rangers to bat .282 while striking out just over six batters per game. 

CATCHING FIRE
Fresh off his All-Region freshman season, sophomore Jordan Stubbings is starting to heat up. On Sunday, Stubbings became the first player to have three doubles in a game since Bligh Madris did it in 2015 against the same Regis Rangers. On the weekend, the Legend High School product batted .353 with six runs scored and four doubles.

PITCHING DEPTH
Colorado Mesa has transitioned to having the depth on mound over the past three seasons and this season is no different. The Mavericks have 10 pitchers that have five appearances on the rubber with six pitchers making at least one start. Seven pitchers have thrown 10 or more innings with five of those holding opponents under a .250 batting average. 

LEADING OFF
Senior Hunter Douglas continues to be the Mavericks prototypical leadoff hitter. The Lubbock, Texas native leads the team in on-base percentage at .694 but also leads the team in both home runs (5) and RBIs (20). He currently sits thrid in the RMAC with 28 hits and fifth in RBIs. He provides the punch at the top of the order and the ability to reach base for the meat of the order. 

YOUTH MOVEMENT
This week's youth movement note features a left handed pitcher with ties to Regis. Ryan Overboe has turned out to be a stopper out of the bullpen this past weekend. He appeared in three games and didnt allow a hit while walking one and striking one out. His brother was a former catcher for the Rangers.

THE STREAK OF 40
The Mavericks finished last season with a 43-16 overall record making it six straight seasons that Colorado Mesa has won 40 or more games. The last time the Mavericks didn't win 40 games was in 2012 when they went 39-16 and lost in the Central Regional in Mankato, Minn. The high mark during the streak came in the 2017 season where the team won 50 games and reached the NCAA Championship Final Four that included a win over No. 1 ranked Delta State. 

NATIONAL RANKINGS
All the national rankings outlets have updated their rankings now and Colorado Mesa sits in the top five of everyone of them. The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, also known as the coach's poll, has the Mavericks up to No. 5 from their preseason ranking of No. 12. Perfect Game has the Mavericks in the top spot for the second straight week while the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association has the Mavericks at No. 2 for the second straight week behind No. 1 Delta State.

THE SKIPPER
Head coach Chris Hanks enters his 21st season guiding the Mavericks and has an impressive 847-346 record, the most wins from a coach in program history. He has led Colorado Mesa to three region championships, a feat that has earned him ABCA Region Coach of the year three times now. Last season, he earned his 10th RMAC Coach of the Year award while leading the Mavericks to the regular season and tournament titles.

UP NEXT
The Mavericks will head back out on the road for another conference series next weekend. They will take on an upstart UCCS Mountain Lions team in Colorado Springs in a four-game series. UCCS is on their longest road trip of the conference season this weekend down in St. George to take on the Dixie State Trailblazers.