GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Riding a RMAC and season-long 16-game winning streak and up to twelfth in the national poll, the Colorado Mesa University Softball team will return home this weekend to a host a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Pod against Colorado State University-Pueblo and Regis University at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
The Mavericks will play at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, beginning and ending the weekend against Regis while playing CSU-Pueblo in their two middle games of the weekend.  The Rangers and ThunderWolves will play each other at noon each day.
 
Live statistics and streaming of all six games can be found at the link above.
 
The Mavericks have a 31-6 overall record and are 24-3 in RMAC play, good for a 2 ½-game lead over Colorado Christian (27-10, 20-4 RMAC) for first place in the conference standings.
 
Regis is currently seventh in the RMAC with a 9-14 conference record and is 12-17 overall.  CSU-Pueblo currently sits ninth in the conference standings, just outside of the RMAC Tournament qualification window, and holds 9-21 overall and 8-18 RMAC records.
 
Batting Around
 
The Mavericks scored 13 runs as every hitter in the lineup came to the plate twice in the third inning of the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, a game the Mavericks won 16-4 in five innings.  The inning was CMU's third double-digit run inning in the last two weeks after the Mavericks scored 14 runs in the fourth inning of the series-opener against Black Hills State on Mar. 29.  They then scored 14 runs in the third inning of the second game of that doubleheader.
 
Into the RMAC's top 10
 
Maverick junior AnnMarie Torres had a team-high nine RBIs in the 4-game series sweep at Chadron State and leads the RMAC with 50 this season.  Additionally, Torres moved past former teammate Zoe Pakes and two others into the top 10 of RMAC history for career RBIs.  She now has 176 career RBIs and sits ninth in RMAC history.  Torres is also fourth in Maverick history with that total.
 
2018 Maverick senior Brooke Hodgson holds the RMAC and CMU record of 291.
 
Torres is now just three shy of the No. 8 spot, currently occupied by Katie Kocman of Colorado School of Mines (2006-09) and just five shy of the No. 7 spot, a position held by CMU's Kacey Henden, who drove in 181 runs in her 1997-2000 Maverick career.  Henden is third on CMU's all-time charts behind Hodgson, and RMAC No. 2 Makalyla Kovac (244, 2013-16).
 
Mercy, Mercy, Me
 
The Mavericks put up yet another mercy-rule win on Sunday against Chadron State as they used the aforementioned 13-run inning to post a 16-4, 5-inning victory over the Eagles.  The Mavericks have needed just five innings to win half (8) of their games in their current winning streak and have recorded 16 mercy-rule wins this season, 15 of which have come in just five innings.  They had won seven straight games using this rule before the Chadron State series.
 
In 2018, the Mavericks posted 24 mercy-rule victories.
 
Scoring bonanza
 
The Mavericks scored 40 more runs in the Chadron State series and have been in double figures in six of their last eight victories.  The Mavericks have now scored 320 runs this season, an average of 8.65 per game.  They sit second in the NCAA Division II statistics for both the total number and average runs per game.  Alabama-Huntsville (339) is the only team to have scored more but has also played five more games than the Mavericks.  Winston Salem State (8.67/game) is the only other Division II team to have averaged more.
 
A Dozen Bagels Please
 
The Mavericks have recorded 12 shutouts this season, the most in the RMAC by three (Dixie State, 9).  The last came on Saturday as Kimbri Herring allowed just three hits while blanking the Chadron State College Eagles.  It was her RMAC-leading seventh individual shutout of the year, two more than Dixie State's Cambrie Hazel.  Herring has also been involved in two other combined shutouts this season.
 
The Maverick senior now has 18 career shutouts trailing only teammate McKenzie Surface (23) for the most in Maverick history.
 
Shut-Down Surface
 
McKenzie Surface retired each of the final 14 Eagles she faced in Sunday's 6-5 come-from-behind win over Chadron State in the series finale.  She allowed just one base runner on a third-inning walk in her 5-inning relief stint while picking up her 13^th win.  Surface, who is an undefeated 13-0 this year, struck out six Eagles in the process raising her career total to 539.  She ranks fifth in RMAC history with that total and is now just eight shy of matching Amber Colton (547, 2002-05) for the fourth position on that chart.
 
Surface also became the RMAC's winningest pitcher of all-time last month and now has 83 career victories to her credit.
 
Balance of Power
 
Ten different Mavericks have combined to hit a RMAC-leading 51 home runs so far this season, an average of 1.38 per game that ranks CMU fifth nationally.  The Mavericks hit five more home runs in the series against Chadron State.
 
AnnMarie Torres hit her team-leading 11^th homer of the season against the Eagles and is tied for second in the RMAC in that category.  Kaila Jacobi is also in double figures with 10 and is tied for fourth in the RMAC.  Alexa Samuels has eight to stand third in the RMAC.  She hit two against the Eagles.
 
National Leader
 
AnnMarie Torres went 6-for-15 with a pair of walks in last weekend's series against Chadron State.  She now has a season-long .635 on-base percentage, a mark that continues to lead the nation.  She also leads the RMAC by more than 100 points.
 
Torres also leads the RMAC with her .505 batting average and is second behind Alexa Samuels with her .947 slugging percentage.  Torres also paces the RMAC with 32 walks, eight more than any other RMAC player.
 
On a national scale, Torres is 10th in Division II for batting average, seventh for walks per game (0.86), eighth for slugging percentage (.931) and third for RBIs (50).
 
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.  Kellie Mrofcza leads the conference with 50 runs after scoring seven against both Black Hills State and Chadron State.  Meanwhile, Brooke Doumer is second with 47 while AnnMarie Torres is third with 44.
 
Mrofcza is now ranked second nationally in runs scored per game (1.35) while Doumer (1.27) and Torres (1.19) rank sixth and 12^th in the country for that category.
 
Thanks to this combination, the Mavericks have done a tremendous job of getting out to early leads and have outscored their opponents by an impressive 55-13 in the first inning.
 
Reaching safely
 
Torres and Mrofcza have both reached base safely in 22 consecutive games. 
 
Back to 12, 32 and counting
 
The Mavericks moved up two spots to 12th in this week's NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, which was released on Wednesday (Apr. 10) and have now been nationally-ranked in 33 consecutive polls dating back more than two years to Mar. 22, 2017.  The Mavericks received 209 points, 24 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 No. 12 ranking is equal to the highest of the season for the Mavericks, who also occupied that spot in the Mar. 6 poll after taking three of four games against then No. 22 Dixie State to surge five spots.
 
The Mavericks are still the RMAC's only nationally-ranked team and are still the fourth highest ranked team in the South Central region behind three other teams in the top 10.  That group is led by No. 5 Texas A&M-Kingsville, No. 7 West Texas A&M and No. 8 Texas A&M-Commerce.  Like the Mavs, West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Commerce both moved up two spots.
 
Tarleton State also moved up two spots to 23^rd.
 
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.
 
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 25 errors in their first 37 games this year and are fielding at a .972 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.
 
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.
 
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 in 2017 and 2018.
 
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.
 
The Mavericks will need to go 9-3 or better down the stretch to reach that total before the end of the regular season this year but have already clinched a spot in the RMAC Tournament.
 
Scouting the Rangers
 
The Rangers snapped an 8-game losing streak on Sunday when they defeated the Colorado School of Mines in what was their final home game of the season on Sunday.  That 4-2 victory allowed the Rangers to avoid a series sweep for the second straight weekend after being swept at Dixie State on Mar. 30 and 31 and losing the first three games of last weekend's series.
 
The Rangers are just 1-6 in away games and 3-3 on neutral fields this season and hold a 12-17 overall record.  They are 9-14 in RMAC play.
 
Carly Beard leads the Ranger offense with her .403 batting and .506 on-base percentages.  She also has four home runs and is tied for third on the team in that category.  Analece Apodaca leads the Rangers in that category with six and has driven in 24 runs while hitting .293.  Tori Brown has 10 doubles and 18 RBIs and is hitting .282.
 
The Rangers have used five pitchers in total this season although Taylor Armitage has done a lion's share of the work.  She has thrown 110 1/3 of the 175 2/3 total innings and holds a 9-11 record and 4.89 ERA.  She has made 21 appearances, including 19 starts and has completed 11 of those.  She has surrendered 140 hits and 34 walks and has struck out 64 opponents.
 
Maisie Mortimer is another regular hurler and holds a 3-6 record and 8.18 ERA.  She has made nine starts for Head Coach Daven Bond, who played both basketball and baseball from 1983-86 for CMU.
 
Scouting the ThunderWolves
 
The ThunderWolves are 9-21 overall and 8-18 in RMAC play but have won four of their last six games.  They took three out of four last weekend at home against Adams State after splitting a Monday, Apr. 1 doubleheader against Colorado Christian, which allowed the Mavericks to move into first place.
 
Sophomore catcher Michaela Burpee is the current RMAC Player of the Week after becoming the first RMAC player in two years to hit three home runs in the same game.  She finished the Adams State series with four home runs and was 6-for-11 (.545 batting average).  She now has 10 home runs and 29 RBIs this season, leading the squad in both categories.  She also leads the Pack with her .756 slugging percentage and is second on the team with her .367 batting average.
 
Marissa Piatt leads the team and four .300+ hitters with her .393 batting average.  She also has drawn 15 walks and is second on the team with seven home runs and 22 RBIs.
 
Taylor Strupp leads the CSU-Pueblo pitching staff with her 4.55 ERA and holds an 5-11 record.   She has thrown 84 2/3 innings and has made 22 appearances, including 14 starts, five of which she has completed.  Hannah Anderson (1-3, 4.89 ERA) and Samantha Riesen (3-6, 6.21) have also made 15 appearances each and have combined for 15 other starts.  Reisen has started 11 times and has thrown 56 1/3 innings.
 
As a team, the ThunderWolves are hitting .284 as a team but are watching opponents hit .326 as a team.  They have also struck out 155 times, 89 more than their opponents.
 
The Last Time We Met
 
The Mavericks swept last year's regular-season ending series at CSU-Pueblo and have won each of the last 12 regular seasons games against the ThunderWolves, who last defeated CMU on Apr. 30, 2016 in an RMAC Tournament game.  In CSU-Pueblo's last visit to Grand Junction in 2017, the Mavericks outscored the ThunderWolves 40-8 posting a pair of 8-0 shutout wins.
 
The Mavericks won three out of four games against the Rangers last season in a mid-April (Apr. 14-15) series in Grand Junction.  The Rangers took the last game of the series, 4-1 snapping CMU's RMAC-record 37-game winning streak.  The Mavericks have won the series in each of the last three years sweeping the 2016 set in Grand Junction before winning the last three of a 4-game series in Denver in 2017.  CMU has a 10-2 record against the Rangers in the last three years.
 
Up Next
 
After this weekend's series, the Mavericks will remain at home for their final home series of the regular season.  They will host the UCCS Mountain Lions in doubleheaders on Friday, Apr. 19 and Saturday, Apr. 20.