The No. 1 Colorado Mesa Mavericks will head out on their road trip of the regular season when they travel to Denver for a four-game series with the upstart MSU Denver Roadrunners at the Regency Athletic Complex. The series begins Friday at 6pm with a single nine-inning game.

The Roadrunners are currently in third place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings, three games behind Colorado Mesa for first place and one game behind Colorado School of Mines for second place. They own an improtant series split with Lubbock Christian who is currently third in the NCAA South Central Region Rankings.

MSU Denver has one of the most potent power hitters in all of NCAA Division II in Matt Malkin. Malkin leads the RMAC in home runs with 21 and has driven in 60 this season. He has four multi home run games and hit seven home runs in a six-game stretch earlier this season.

They also have one of the best two-way players in the game in Logan Soole. The junior is hitting .333 with 11 home runs at the plate and is 5-2 with a 2.27 ERA on the mound.

WEEKEND RECAP
Colorado Mesa took three of four games from the visiting New Mexico Highlands Cowboys last weekend. The pitching staff had a 3.38 team ERA and struck out 43 batters in 32 innings during the four games. They limited the Cowboys to a .225 team batting average and had just seven extra base hits. CMU had a .336 team batting avergage and struck out just 13 times in the four games.

NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
The NCAA Regional Advisory Committee released their first set of South Central Region Rankings this week. These rankings help determine who makes the NCAA Tournament. Colorado Mesa checked in at No. 2 in the rankings behind Angelo State. Lubbock Christian was No. 3 followed by West Texas A&M and a tie for fifth between Oklahoma Christian and Colorado School of Mines. The top-six teams make the regional tournament field with two three team sites followed by a super regional for the first time ever. The winner of the super regional will qualify for the NCAA National Championships in Cary, N.C.

RMAC STANDINGS
The Mavericks own a two-game lead in the RMAC standings with eight games to play. Colorado School of Mines is second in the standings and play at UCCS this week and home against MSU Denver next week. The Roadrunners are in third place in the standings and are three games behind CMU and one game behind Mines. Five of the six spots in the Conference Tournament have been claimed.

MO
Freshman right hander Andrew Morris nearly pulled off something that hasnt happened for the Mavericks since 2006. Morris was just two outs away from no-hitting the Cowboys on Saturday before he gave up his first hit of the game. In 2006, then senior Luke Cheever tossed a no-hitter against the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers which ws the last time the Mavericks accomplished the feat.

MIGHTY BULLPEN
The Colorado Mesa bullpen did its job last weekend. Seven pitchers combined to not allow a single run in nine innings of work. They allowed eight hits and struck out 11 while walking just one.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
Conrad Villafuerte made his first career start in the series finale against New Mexico Highlands and didnt disappoint. Villafuerte went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three runs driven in. He also hit his first collegiate home run in the fourth inning, a three-run shot to left field.

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 were the top team once again in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Coaches Poll. It is the third time in the program's history they were the No. 1 ranked team in the poll. They fell one spot to No. 3 in the Perfect Game poll with Tampa the new No. 1 team and North Greenville No. 2. South Central region foe Angelo State is the new No. 1 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's poll with Colorado Mesa checking in at No. 6.

THE SKIPPER
Head coach Chris Hanks enters his 21st season guiding the Mavericks and has an impressive 865-352 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 host the Dixie State Trailblazers next week at Suplizio Field in the regular season finale for both teams. Friday will be the annual Fireworks game with the game slated to begin at 6:05pm. Dixie State is taking on Colorado Christian this week in their final home series of the season.