No. 2 Colorado Mesa will open up a four-game series with the Adams State Grizzlies this weekend at Suplizio Field. The Mavericks are coming off a series split with the CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves while the Grizzlies dropped three of four games with UCCS. Colorado Mesa is 24-2 against Adams State since they brought the program back prior to the 2013 season.

Adams State is in a rebuild phase with their program after qualifying for the RMAC Tournament during the 2016 season (4-team tournament). They swept Texas Permian Basin on the road in Odessa earlier this season and took three of four games from Colorado Christian.

Jared Gay leads the Grizzlies in nearly every offensive category with a .359 average and a team-high six home runs. He has a pair of two home run games on his resume this season with one coming against Dixie State and the other against MSU Denver.

Troy Gutbub leads the Adams State pitching staff with a 7.50 ERA and a 2-4 record. Don't let the ERA and record fool you, he has 47 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched and has a one-hit, 10 strikeout shutout this season on the road against Texas Permian Basin.

WEEKEND RECAP
Colorado Mesa split the four game series with their rival the Csu-Pueblo ThunderWolves last weekend on the road. The Mavericks batted .319 on the weekend with one more extra base-hit than the Pack. Each team had 44 hits with CMU earning eight more free passes at the plate. The pitching staff had an uncharacteristic 7.50 ERA but struck out 26 batters on the weekend.

THE GOOD
The lineup seems to be firming up with Dominic DeMarco getting hot with seven hits and six RBIs in the CSU-Pueblo series and Caleb Farmer returning to his 2018 form with a .412 average with a double to stay out in front of the conference lead in doubles with 15. Seven of the nine regulars in the lineup batted over .350 against the ThunderWolves.

THE BAD
The Mavericks committed six errors in the four games against CSU-Pueblo with four coming in the series opening game last Friday night. The last time the Mavericks committed four errors in a game was during the 2017 NCAA National Championships in Grand Prairie, Texas against St. Thomas Aquinas, a 3-2 extra inning loss in a quarterfinal matchup.

THE UGLY
Colorado Mesa allowed 15 runs in the series opening game against CSU-Pueblo last weekend. It was the most runs the Mavericks had allowed since February 19, 2015 in a 17-3 loss to No. 25 Cal Baptist at Suplizio Field.

YOU'RE LOOKING AT A WINNER
Colorado Mesa is the lone team in the conference that has two pitchers in the top five in wins. Garrett Hutson is tied for the RMAC lead with seven while JR McDermott has six wins.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
Andrew Morris and Haydn McGeary are this week's youth movement note. Morris allowed three runs on just two hits with seven strikeouts in five and a third innings of relief work on Sunday. McGeary moved his season batting average to the .400 mark after a weekend batting .500 for the second straight week. He didnt record any extra base hits but drove in two runs and scored a pair of runs. 

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
The Mavericks moved up to No. 2 in the Perfect Game poll up one spot while they maintained their No. 2 ranking in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper coach's poll. Colorado Mesa moved down to No. 8 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association poll. 

THE SKIPPER
Head coach Chris Hanks enters his 21st season guiding the Mavericks and has an impressive 858-351 record, the most wins from a coach in program history. The Carbondale, Colo. native won his 850th game as the Maverick skipper on March 16, 2019 in an 11-0 win over No. 9 Colorado School of Mines. 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
Colorado Mesa will be home for the second straight weekend when they host New Mexico Highlands heading into the Easter weekend. The Mavericks and Cowboys will open the series at 6:05pm on Thursday evening at Suplizio Field with Friday's doubleheader beginning at 1pm in the afternoon and the two teams will close out the series on Saturday at noon. The Cowboys are on the road this weekend at Colorado Christian for four games.