GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After splitting last weekend's series against the Colorado School of Mines, the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks will head back to MSU Denver's Regency Athletic Complex for another 4-game Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Softball set against the Roadrunners.
 
Doubleheaders are slated to begin at noon on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday.
 
Live statistics and streaming of all four games can be found at the link above.
 
The Mavericks who slipped five spots to 17^th in this week's NFCA Division II Coaches' Poll, will enter the weekend with a 16-6 overall record. They are 9-3 in RMAC playing and only trail conference leader Colorado Christian (8-2 RMAC) by percentage points in a very tight, yet early conference title chase.
 
The Roadrunners currently sit in fourth place and are 7-3 in RMAC play and just a game off the pace.  However, they have sub-.500 overall record at 11-13 after being run-ruled in both games of a Tuesday doubleheader by then No. 9 (now No. 8) West Texas A&M in downtown Denver.
 
Home field No. 2?
 
The Mavericks should feel a bit more comfortable this weekend at MSU Denver's Regency Athletic Complex, an all-sports turf field after playing their last weekend against the Colorado School of Mines, which could not host last weekend's series at their home field.
 
The Mavericks would also love to play there again in May as MSU Denver will serve as the host for the NCAA Division II Women's College World Series.
 
Milestone Saturday
 
Maverick senior pitcher McKenzie Surface reached a pair of milestones on Saturday in the Mavericks' 8-3 second game win against the Orediggers.  She pitched four plus innings in that game to claim the win and recorded two strikeouts.  The victory was the 75^th of her career.  The strikeouts were the 499^th and 500^th of her career making her just the seventh woman in RMAC history to ever reach the milestone.
 
Surface also recorded another win and two strikeouts on Sunday and enters this weekend with 76 career wins and 502 strikeouts.  She is now just two wins shy of the RMAC record of 78, currently held by Regis' Regis' Kaitlyn Gentert (2005-08). 
 
She is a perfect 6-0 this season and has won 27 of her last 28 decisions after leading the conference in winning percentage (.955) with a 21-1 record last year.
 
Already the Mavs' career strikeout leader since her sophomore year in 2017, Surface has an outside shot to break the all-time record of 631, set by Amanda Kelly of Nebraska-Kearney (1997-2000).  She is just 131 shy of that total.  She had 144 last year and as a freshman in 2016 while recording a Maverick single-season record 195 in 2017, which is also tied for the 10^th best single-season total in RMAC history.
 
Surface is now just eight strikeouts shy of Kerri Chase for the sixth most in RMAC history. Chase had 510 in her 1999-2001 career at CSU-Pueblo.
 
Surface has also completed 64 of her 86 career starts and already ranks seventh in RMAC history for career complete games.  She is just 14 shy of the Maverick record of 78, set by Heather Hatzenbeller from 1997-2000 and two shy of the sixth spot in the RMAC record book, a position occupied by former CMU standout Melanie Meuchel (1998-2001). 
 
Surface broke Meuchel's former school-record of 67 career wins last year.
 
1-run game troubles
 
Five of the Mavericks' six losses this season, including both last weekend against Mines, have come by a single run this season.  Conversely, the Mavericks are 12-1 in games decided by five or more runs this season.
 
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 already have eight mercy rule wins out of their 16 total victories this year, the last of which came by a 12-0 score in five innings against Dixie State on Mar. 3.
 
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 opponents by nearly a 3:1 ratio (178-60) and are scoring 8.09 runs per game to rank sixth in the country for scoring average.
 
The Mavs outscored their opponents in every inning of regulation this year, including a 33-4 mark in the first inning and by a combined 81-20 margin in the third (31-8) and fourth (50-12) innings.
 
Balance of Power
 
Ten different Mavericks have combined to hit a RMAC-leading 30 home runs so far this season, an average of 1.36 per game that ranks CMU fifth nationally.  The Mavericks hit five home runs in last weekend's series against Mines.  AnnMarie Torres leads the team with six while Kaila Jacobi and Kellie Mrofcza are right behind with five each.  Brooke Doumer and Tayah Gerber have four home runs each.
 
Those five players all have the same or more home runs as three full RMAC teams as Black Hills State, Mines and New Mexico Highlands have just four each. 
 
Torres is fourth in the RMAC individually while Jacobi and Mrofcza are part of a tie for fifth most.

Leading hitter
 
AnnMarie Torres continued her strong season last weekend hitting .615 (8-13) with a double and home run in the series against Mines.  She is now hitting .541 on the season to lead the conference and rank 13th nationally.  She also leads the conference and ranks sixth nationally with her .650 on-base percentage and is tied for the conference lead with 31 RBIs, four of which came against Mines.  Torres also stands second in the RMAC for total hits (33) and is tied for second with 15 walks.
 
Save me
 
The Mavericks picked up saves in both of their wins last weekend and now have four saves this year, twice as many as any other RMAC squad.  On Saturday, freshman Shea Mauser earned her first career save as she allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out two in a 3-inning relief appearance of McKenzie Surface, who earned her 75^th career win.
 
On Sunday, Kimbri Herring picked up her first career save after two flawless innings of relief of Surface.  Herring has started 51 of her previous 63 career appearance as a Maverick.
 
Sophomore Paige Adair has the Mavericks' other two saves this year and is tied with Colorado Christian's Kenzie Mattey for the RMAC lead in that category.
 
The four saves are already tied for third most in a single season in CMU history and are just one shy of the record of five, co-held by the 2004 and 2007 squads.
 
Scoring runs is as easy as 1-2-3
 
The Mavericks' normal 1-2-3 hitters in the lineup are all at the top of RMAC for runs scored.  Brooke Doumer, the Mavs' lead-off hitter in 16 of their 22 games thus far this season, has scored a RMAC-leading 30 runs thus far, just one more than Kellie Mrofcza, who has hit in the No. 2 spot of the Mavs' lineup 19 times.
 
AnnMarie Torres, the No. 3 hitter in 19 games, is tied for third in the RMAC with 25 runs scored.
 
Doumer ranks seventh in the NCAA Division II statistics for runs per game (1.36) while Mrofcza is 11^th on 1.32.
 
As a team, the Mavericks are outscoring their opponents 33-4 in the first inning of games this year.
 
Streaking
 
Doumer has reached base safely in each of the Mavs' last 15 games and has recorded a hit in each of the last five.  Meanwhile, Mrofcza has a 7-game hitting streak entering this weekend, joining Bailey Kleespies, Torres and Alexandria Dufour, who have all had 7-game hitting streaks this season.
 
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.
 
Back to 17^th as the count reaches 28
 
The Mavericks returned to the No 17 spot in this week's NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, which was released on Wednesday (Mar. 13).  The Mavericks, who were 21^st in the preseason poll, 22^nd in the first regular season poll and 17^th on Feb. 28 before moving up to 12^th last week, received 131 points in this week's polling of 16 NCAA Division II head coaches, with two representing each of the nation's eight regions.
 
The Mavericks are the RMAC's only nationally-ranked team and are now the fourth highest ranked team in the South Central region behind only No. 8, West Texas A&M, No. 12 Texas A&M-Kingsville and No. 15 Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
Two other Lone Star Conference teams in Tarleton State and Angelo State are receiving votes but outside the Top 25.
 
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 28 consecutive polls dating back to Mar. 22, 2017.
 
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, a team the Mavericks defeated in three out of four games to prove that they are still the team to beat. 
 
In the RMAC poll, the Mavericks did receive 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.
 
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 15 errors in their first 22 games this year and are fielding at a .973 clip so far this season, the best mark in the RMAC, and the 24^th best mark nationally.
 
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 Roadrunners
 
The Roadrunners were in first place of the conference standings after Saturday's portion of their RMAC pod series against New Mexico Highlands and UCCS in Las Vegas, New Mexico, but lost games to both opponents on Sunday and two more to nationally-ranked West Texas A&M on Tuesday to fall to 11-13 overall and a game behind the Mavericks and the conference lead at 7-3 in RMAC play.
 
In 2019, they are seventh in the RMAC with their .307 team batting average.  They are ranked fifth in team ERA at 4.14 but have held opponents to two or fewer runs in 10 of their 24 games while recording three shutouts.
 
Darby McGhee is the team's leading hitter and pitcher.  She is hitting .410 at the plate and has a RMAC-leading 11 doubles to go along with three home runs and 25 RBIs.  Inside the circle, she has a 2.79 ERA and has struck out 57 hitters in 70 1/3 innings of work.  She has a 4-6 record and has made 14 appearances and 11 starts.
 
Rebecca Gonzales, Laney Sheppard and JJ Sheppard also have provided some pop in sixth year Head Coach's Annie Van Wetzinga's lineup.  Gonzales has nine doubles and 16 RBIs and is the only Roadrunner to start all 24 games thus far.  She is also hitting .380 and has swiped eight bases without being caught.
 
Laney Sheppard is hitting .373 and has seven doubles and a team-leading four home runs, nearly half of their team total of 10.  Her sister JJ, is hitting .367 and has six doubles. JJ is also perfect defensively on 125 total chances from her first base position.
 
The Last Time We Met
 
Due to some quirks in the RMAC schedule, the Mavericks and Roadrunners have not played a full 4-game series over each of the last four years.  However, they have met multiple times over the last few years playing in RMAC pods in both 2015 and 2016 before facing each other in non-conference play in 2017 and 2018.  They have also faced each other in three of the last four RMAC Tournaments.
 
The Mavericks have won four straight games in the rivalry after the Roadrunners had won the previous eight meetings.  In 2018, the Mavericks defeated the Roadrunners 8-5 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico before claiming a 10-2 run-rule win during the RMAC Tournament in Grand Junction.
 
The Mavericks also took two non-conference games from the Roadrunners at the Regency Athletic Complex to begin the 2017 season by 10-1 and 9-4 margins.
 
The Roadrunners do hold a 25-11 lead in the rivalry since restarting their program in 2008 and are 9-3 against the Mavericks in Denver.
  
Up Next
 
After this weekend's series, the Mavericks will return home to the CMU Softball Field for their next eight and 16 of their next 20 games, beginning Mar. 23 against Adams State.  CMU is 7-1 at home this year.