GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After claiming a weekend sweep on the road at MSU Denver last weekend, the Colorado Mesa University Softball team will return home for their next eight and 16 of their next 20 games, starting this weekend against Adams State University.
 
Doubleheaders against the Grizzlies 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 links above.
 
The Mavericks, now ranked 18^th nationally, currently have the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's best overall record at 20-6 and have the most conference wins with their 13-3 league record.  In the official standings, which are calculated by winning percentage, the Mavericks trail only Colorado Christian (10-2 RMAC), which has had RMAC games canceled due to weather related issues.
 
Adams State will enter the weekend series with 6-22 overall and 6-16 RMAC records.
 
RMAC Record Holder
 
Maverick senior pitcher McKenzie Surface became the RMAC's winningest pitcher of all time on Sunday as she claimed her third pitching victory of the weekend series at MSU Denver in the 4-2 series finale.  The win was her 79^th career victory allowing her to surpass Regis' Kaitlyn Gentert, who had 78 career wins in her 2005-08 Ranger career.  Surface, who appeared in every game of the series with the Roadrunners had equaled that mark on Saturday as she won the first game of the series in relief before starting the second.  Surface also registered her first save of the season in Sunday's first game and went 3-0 with a save while allowing just four runs in 13 total innings.
 
Surface is a perfect 9-0 this year after leading the RMAC in winning percentage with her 21-1 record last year.  She went 22-9 as freshman and 27-6 as a sophomore and now has an impressive 79-16 record as a Maverick.
 
Moving up a spot
 
Surface also recorded 13 strikeouts while allowing just one walk in the series against MSU Denver and now has 515 career strikeouts to her total.  During the series with the Roadrunners, Surface moved past CSU-Pueblo's Kerry Chase (510; 1999-2001) into sixth place on the RMAC career strikeout charts.  With just four more strikeouts, Surface would equal Nebraska-Kearney's Katie Anderson (519, 2002-04) for the No. 5 spot in RMAC history.
 
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 116 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 has also completed 64 of her 88 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.
 
Save me
 
As a testament to the deep pitching staff, all four of the Mavericks' pitchers this year have recorded a save this year.  The Mavericks have six as a team, three teams as many as any other RMAC squad.  Black Hills State and Colorado Christian have two each.  That total is already a school-record, surpassing the former Maverick record of five, which had been co-held by the 2004 and 2007 squads.
 
Maverick sophomore Paige Adair recorded her RMAC-leading third in the final game of the series against MSU Denver and now has the most saves of any Maverick pitcher in a single-season since Sara Jordan recorded a school-record four in 2009.  She is tied for sixth nationally in saves.
 
Being stingy
 
The Mavericks have allowed just 12 total runs in their current 5-game winning streak giving up just two runs in four of those games.
 
1-run game troubles
 
Five of the Mavericks' six losses this season, have come by a single run this season.  Conversely, the Mavericks are 12-1 in games decided by five or more runs this season.  They are also 3-0 in 2-run games.
 
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 20 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 (199-70) and are scoring 7.65 runs per game to rank eighth nationally.
 
Balance of Power
 
Ten different Mavericks have combined to hit a RMAC-leading 33 home runs so far this season, an average of 1.27 per game that ranks CMU eighth nationally.  The Mavericks hit three home runs in last week's series at MSU Denver.  AnnMarie Torres hit two against the Roadrunners and now has a team-leading eight this year, tied for second most in the conference.
 
Kaila Jacobi and Kellie Mrofcza are right behind with five each.  Brooke Doumer and Tayah Gerber have four home runs each.
 
Those five players each have the same or more home runs as Black Hills State does as an entire team (4).

Leading hitter
 
AnnMarie Torres continues to lead the RMAC in hitting and now has a .521 batting average as she has recorded 38 hits in 73 official at bats.  She has also drawn a conference-high 20 walks and leads the conference with her .639 on base-percentage.  She also has a RMAC-leading 34 RBIs.
 
On a national scale, Torres is fifth in Division II with her on-base percentage and ninth for batting average.  She is also 11^th for RBIs per game (1.31) and slugging percentage (.918).
 
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 20 of their 26 games thus far this season, has scored a RMAC-leading 33 runs thus far, three more than Kellie Mrofcza, who has hit in the No. 2 spot of the Mavs' lineup 23 times.
 
AnnMarie Torres, the No. 3 hitter in 23 games, is tied for third in the RMAC with 28 runs scored.
 
Doumer ranks fifth for the NCAA Division II statistics for runs per game (1.27).
 
They have done a tremendous job of getting out to early leads and have outscored their opponents 34-5 in the first inning.
 
Streaking
 
Mrofcza has an 11-game hitting streak, the longest of any Maverick this season while Torres has recorded a hit in each of the last eight games.  Mrofcza led the Mavericks in the MSU Denver series, hitting .462 (6-13).  She also had four doubles and a triple in the series and drove in eight runs.
 
Torrres hit two home runs against the Roadrunners and hit at a .417 clip (5-12).  She was also walked five times.
 
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.
 
The streak continues for No. 18 Mavs
 
Despite recording a series sweep, the Mavericks slipped one spot to 18^th in this week's NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, which was released on Wednesday (Mar. 20).  The Mavericks did receive 13 more points (144) 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. 6, West Texas A&M, No. 11 Texas A&M-Kingsville and No. 14 Texas A&M-Commerce, who all moved up in this week's poll.
 
Defending regional champion Angelo State also re-entered the poll in a tie for 24^th while Tarleton State continues to receive votes.
 
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 29 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 Grizzlies
 
The Grizzlies got off to a rough start going 0-16 to begin the year but have played .500 ball over the last three weekends of conference play.  Currently 6-22 overall and 6-10 in the RMAC, the Grizzlies defeated Chadron State, 5-4 in nine innings to record their lone win of a 4-game pod last weekend after splitting a 4-game home series with Black Hills State and taking three of four games at home to Fort Lewis over the previous two weeks.
 
Sophomore pitcher and first baseman Brittany Phillips leads the Grizzly regulars with a .364 batting average.  She is also one of three Grizzlies with three home runs (Shelby Haskins, Kenzie Lange) and is tied for second on the squad with 11 RBIs.  Zoe Munn leads the team with 12 RBIs and has hit a team-high seven doubles while hitting .348.
 
Inside the circle, the Grizzly pitching staff has a team ERA of 8.08, second highest in the RMAC.  Phillips is 2-6 with a 7.00 ERA while Jade Garbiso is a 2-12 with an 8.33 ERA.  She has struck out 31 batters and has started 14 of the Grizzlies' 28 games.  Phillips and Taylor Sandoval (2-4, 8.96 ERA) have each made seven starts.
 
The Last Time We Met
 
The Mavericks swept last year's series between the teams in Alamosa outscoring the Grizzlies, 57-9.  The Mavericks have won each of the last 11 games between the teams and have won 14 of the last 15 dating back to 2015. 
 
In last year's series, the Mavericks hit .466 as a team cranking out 24 extra-base and 62 overall hits.  Kimbri Herring two wins and allowed just one run in a pair of complete game victories while holding Grizzly hitters to a .125 batting average.
 
Up Next
 
After this weekend's series, the Mavericks will remain at home to host Black Hills State on Mar. 30-31.  They then go to Chadron State for four games before returning home for their next eight in April.