GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After claiming a 3-game weekend sweep without conceding a run last week, the nation's 15th-ranked Colorado Mesa University Maverick softball team will remain at home for another Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference series with Black Hills State University this weekend.
 
Doubleheaders against the Yellow Jackets are slated to begin at noon on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
Live statistics and streaming of all four games can be found at the link above.
 
The Mavericks hold the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's best overall record at 23-6 and have the most conference wins with their 16-3 league record.  In the official standings, the Mavericks trail only Colorado Christian (14-2 RMAC) on a percentage basis.  The Cougars have played three fewer conference games than the Mavericks due to weather related issues.
 
Black Hills State will enter the weekend with 9-12 overall and 6-7 RMAC records.  The Yellow Jackets had their entire series with New Mexico Highlands last weekend wiped out due to weather.
 
Party Time
 
The Mavericks will hold their grand opening and a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Party Deck, which overlooks the playing field from a center field vantage point at the CMU Softball Stadium.  A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Saturday at 10 a.m.  The first 25 fans to arrive to the ceremony will receive a free hot dog or cheeseburger and a beer or soda. 
 
Beginning Sunday and at all future home games, the deck will open one hour before first pitch and food and beverages will be available for purchase.
 
Player of the Week honors
 
Two Mavericks were honored with player of the week honors on Tuesday morning.  Sophomore Alexa Samuels was named as the Fastpitch News (FPN) NCAA Division II National Player of the Week while senior Kimbri Herring was named as the RMAC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season and third time in her career. L

Triple shutout
 
The Mavericks recorded three straight win over Adams State last weekend.  All three were by 9-0 scores and came via the mercy rule in five innings.  The Mavericks now have a RMAC-high 10 shutouts to their credit this year, twice as many as any other RMAC squad (Dixie State, 5) and have won 11 games via the mercy rule this season, ten of which have been 5-inning games.  The Mavericks also had an impressive 24 mercy-rule victories last season.
 
In 2019, the Mavericks have outscored their opponents by more than a 3:1 ratio (226-70) and are scoring 7.79 runs per game to rank eighth nationally.  In conference play, the Mavericks have outscored their opponents by more than 100 combined runs (142-41).
 
Being stingy
 
The Mavericks have allowed just 12 total runs in their current and season-long 8-game winning streak giving up just two runs in four of those games and posting three shutouts.  In the process, the Mavericks have lowered their season-long team ERA to 2.41, which is the best in the RMAC.  They have a 2.19 ERA in conference play.
 
Into the top 5
 
Maverick senior pitcher McKenzie Surface moved up another spot into fifth on the RMAC all-time career strikeouts chart on Saturday when she recorded five in a 3-hit shutout of Adams State.  She now has 520 career strikeouts, moving past Nebraska-Kearney's Katie Anderson (519, 2002-04). 
 
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 111 shy of that total.  Surface 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.
 
UCCS' Amber Colton (2002-05) sits fourth in RMAC history with 547 career strikeouts.  Surface is now 27 away from tying that mark.
 
Surface has also completed 65 of her 89 career starts and already ranks seventh in RMAC history for career complete games.  She is just 13 shy of the Maverick record of 78, set by Heather Hatzenbeller from 1997-2000 and one 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 and became the RMAC's winningest pitcher of all time on Mar. 17 against MSU Denver.  She now has 80 career wins.
 
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, twice as many as any other RMAC squad.  Colorado Christian and the Colorado School of Mines have three each.  That Mavs' 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 eighth nationally in saves.
 
1-run game troubles
 
Five of the Mavericks' six losses this season, have come by a single run this season.  Conversely, the Mavericks are 15-1 in games decided by five or more runs this season.  They are also 3-0 in 2-run games.
 
Balance of Power
 
Ten different Mavericks have combined to hit a RMAC-leading 38 home runs so far this season, an average of 1.31 per game that ranks CMU eighth nationally.  The Mavericks hit five home runs in last week's series against Adams State.  Kaila Jacobi and Alexa Samuels both hit two against the Grizzlies while AnnMarie Torres hit her team-leading ninth of the season, tied for second most in the conference.
 
Jacobi is right behind with seven, to stand in a sixth place tie in the RMAC, while Kellie Mrofcza has five.
 
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).

Walk-fest helps Torres take national lead
 
AnnMarie Torres only had three hits in last weekend's series against Adams State but also drew four walks as she reached base in seven of her nine plate appearances against the Grizzlies, good for a .778 on-base percentage in the series.  She was walked all three times in Sunday's game.
 
Already the RMAC's leading hitter with her .526 batting average, Torres raised her on-base percentage to .651, which also leads the NCAA Division II statistics.
 
She has now drawn a RMAC-leading 24 walks and has 41 hits in 78 official at-bats.  She also stands second in the RMAC with 36 RBIs, one more than teammate Kellie Mrofcza.
 
On a national scale, Torres is sixth in Division II for batting average.  She is also 12^th for RBIs, 14^th for walks and sixth for slugging percentage (.949).
 
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 21 of their 29 games thus far this season, has scored 36 runs thus far in 2019, tied for the RMAC with lead Kellie Mrofcza, the Mavericks' No. 2 hitter in 24 of the Mavs' 29 games.
 
AnnMarie Torres, the No. 3 hitter in 26 games, is third in the RMAC with 33 runs scored.
 
Doumer and Mrofcza are tied for sixth in NCAA Division II statistics for runs per game (1.24).
 
Thanks to this combination, the Mavericks have done a tremendous job of getting out to early leads and have outscored their opponents 40-5 in the first inning.
 
The Mavericks did tinker with their batting order in the series against Adams State as Doumer hit in the No. 2 spot in both games of Saturday's doubleheader behind freshman Lauren Wedman and senior Alexandria Dufour.  Mrofcza was in the cleanup spot in both of those games.  On Sunday, the Mavericks returned to the aforementioned 1-2-3 combination.
 
Extra-base hits allows streak to grow
 
Kellie Mrofcza had another solid weekend against Adams State as she went 5-for-8 (.625) at the plate, recording five extra-base hits.  She had three doubles and two triples in the 3-game set with Adams State and finished the weekend with a 1.500 slugging percentage.
 
She also extended her what is now a 14-game hitting streak, the longest of any Maverick this season and is third in the RMAC with 35 RBIs.  She had four against the Grizzlies.
Mrofcza has already matched her career-high with 12 doubles this season and has registered 20 extra-base hits (3 triples, 5 home runs) this year, which is a career-high.  She has 61 extra-base hits and 171 total hits in her career thus far.
 
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.
 
No. 15 means 30
 
The Mavericks moved up three spots to 15th in this week's NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, which was released on Wednesday (Mar. 27) and have now been nationally-ranked in 30 consecutive polls dating back more than two years to Mar. 22, 2017.  The Mavericks received 167 points, 23 more than a week ago, 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 still the fourth highest ranked team in the South Central region behind only No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville, No. 9 West Texas A&M and No. 12 Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
Defending regional champion Angelo State also remained in the No. 24 spot of poll while Tarleton State continues to receive votes.  Two of CMU's early-season opponents in Hawa'i-Hilo and Central Washington are also receiving 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.
 
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 19 errors in their first 29 games this year and are fielding at a .974 clip so far this season, the best mark in the RMAC, and the 14^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 Yellow Jackets
 
With nine overall wins, the Yellow Jackets have already matched their 2018 season win total (9-31) and could surpass their program-record of 12 (2015) with a series sweep.  They currently sit in the eighth and final RMAC Tournament spot with a 6-7 conference record and .462 conference winning percentage.
 
The Yellow Jackets will enter this weekend's series hitting .305 as a team, the fourth best batting average in the RMAC.  However, they have just 32 doubles and 40 total extra-base hits, including a league-low four home runs and are just 11th in the RMAC for slugging percentage at .392.
 
Alex Wiliey leads the BHSU regulars at the plate with a .407 batting average to rank 14th in the conference.  Kindall Bethke is right behind with a .400 average.  Bethke also leads the team with 15 runs scored and has seven extra-bases hits.  Brittany Henricksen and Maddi Fidler lead the team with 13 RBIs.  Henricksen has three of the Jackets' home runs.
 
Fifth-year Coach Lane Leedy has used five pitchers this season, including Crystal Amaral and Wiley.  Amaral has a solid 6-2 record and has a 3.59 ERA.  She has completed seven of her nine starts and has thrown 62 1/3 innings over 12 total appearances.  She has struck out 67 hitters and has surrendered 70 hits, including five home runs, and 29 walks.  Wiley is 3-5 in eight appearances and has thrown 39 2/3 innings.  She has a 5.65 ERA.
 
Like Wiley, Darian Gottfried has made eight appearances.  She has made five starts and is 0-2 with a team-best 3.55 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. 
 
The Yellow Jackets are seventh in the RMAC with their 5.05 team ERA but have struggled a bit defensively, committing 33 errors and stand tenth in the conference with their .946 fielding percentage.
 
The Last Time We Met
 
The Mavericks did not play Black Hills State in 2018 as last year's scheduled series (Apr. 7-8) in Spearfish, South Dakota was cancelled due to weather an unplayable field conditions, a common occurrence for the Yellow Jackets who amazingly have not played a game in Spearfish since Apr. 30, 2017. 
 
The Mavericks are 18-3 all-time against the Yellow Jackets since they joined the RMAC in 2012 and have won 12 straight games against them.  In 2017, the Mavericks swept the 4-game series in Grand Junction, outscoring them, 43-2.
 
BHSU's last victory in the series came on Mar. 3, 2013 in Grand Junction, when they won the last of a 4-game set, 4-3.
 
Up Next
 
After this weekend's series, the Mavericks will travel to Chadron, Nebraska for a 4-game series against Chadron State on Apr. 6 and 7.  They then return home for their final eight homes of the regular season, including RMAC pod series with CSU-Pueblo and Regis on Apr. 13 and 14.