GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The No. 3 Colorado Mesa (2-1) baseball team will have their home opener this weekend at Suplizio Field when they host No. 9 Southern New Hampshire (0-0) for three games beginning on Friday at 2:30pm. For the second straight weekend, the Mavericks will be taking on an opponent for the first time in program history.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Colorado Mesa opened the season winning two of three games from No. 16 Nova Southeastern down in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It was the seventh straight season the Mavericks had won their season opener dating back to the 2013 season when they lost to then No. 2 UC San Diego 6-2 in La Jolla, Calif.
 
The Mavericks batted .324 as a team and had a team ERA of 4.85 while they limited the Sharks to a .275 average and a 6.67 team ERA.
 
GOOD START
One individual who had a good start was sophomore outfielder Tanner Garner. The Broomfield, Colo. native batted .500 (6-for-12) during the series with Nova Southeastern to open the season. He had two doubles, stole a team-high four bases (4-for-4) and had a 1.205 OPS for the series.
 
Garner was a spot starter a year ago, finishing his freshman season with a .344 average in 64 at-bats. He saw action in three of the Mavericks five games at the NCAA National Championships.
 
BIG MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Sophomore Haydn McGeary will look to cement himself in the middle of the order all year and last weekend he did everything to stay in that position. McGeary hit .308 with two home runs and six runs driven in while posting a .769 slugging percentage.
 
McGeary belted 11 home runs a year ago despite limited action in the super regional and NCAA Championships due to an injury.
 
THICK AS THIEVES
If the opening weekend is any indication, the Mavericks are going to be stealing some bases this year. They were 7-for-7 stealing bases something that they did just three times in a series last season. For the season, they stole 65 bases a year ago, a mark that they look to eclipse this season.
 
BULLPEN ACE
Sophomore Josh Danyliw is making a case to be one of the best bullpen arms in not only the conference but the possibly the region and country. Danyliw relieved Andrew Morris in game one of the series and was nothing short of spectacular. The Valor Christian product allowed two runs on five hits, walked one and struck out five to earn the win on day one. It was the first extended relief appearance in his brief Maverick career and his first win.
 
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Over the past 15 years, Colorado Mesa has been nearly unstoppable at home in Suplizio Field. They have won over 81 percent of their games (392-88) and in that time, they have not been shutout, a span of 480 games.
 
SCOUTING THE PENMEN
Southern New Hampshire has been a juggernaut in the East Region for quite a while now and were on the verge of the East Region title a year ago before being knocked off by NYIT, the Mavericks first opponent in the National Championships a year ago.
 
The Penmen were unanimously picked to finish first in the Northeast 10 Conference ahead of second place Franklin Pierce. This is the fourth straight year they have been picked to win the NE10.
 
Junior Jeff Praml was named a preseason First Team all-American as a closer by the NCBWA after an outstanding sophomore campaign. Praml was 5-1 with a miniscule 0.98 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched. He had 10 saves and had 10.8 K/9 innings.
 
FUN FACT: Southern New Hampshire's TV commercials have now been seen in millions of households but sports fans might not know this about the University. During the 1975-76 men's basketball season, future NBA head coach PJ Carlesimo led the Penmen to a 14-13 record and the Mayflower Conference Championship. Carlesimo later led Seton Hall for 12 seasons that included a NCAA National Runner-up. Later, he would spend nine seasons in the NBA as a head coach with stops at Portland, Golden State, Seattle, Oklahoma City, and Brooklyn.
 
PRESEASON RMAC POLL
Colorado Mesa was picked to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after receiving all eight possible first-place votes. The Mavericks have won the past eight regular season conference titles and have reached won six straight conference tournament titles.
 
Dixie State was second followed by Colorado School of Mines, UCCS and MSU Denver to round out the top five.
 
Spencer Bramwell, Caleb Farmer and Andrew Morris were all selected as 'Players to Watch' in the conference. All were named to the All-RMAC team a year ago with Morris earning Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors.
 
PRESEASON NATIONAL POLL / TEAMS
Colorado Mesa begins the 2020 season as the No. 3 team in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Coaches Poll behind defending National Champion Tampa and longtime West Region foe UC San Diego. In the National Collegiate Baseball Wristers Association (NCBWA) poll, the Mavericks check in at No. 2 behind Tampa while in the Perfect Game Rankings they will begin at No. 9.
 
The NCBWA released their preseason all-American teams and Colorado Mesa first baseman Jordan Stubbings was named to the third-team. Stubbings finished his sophomore campaign with a .345 average with 20 doubles and 13 home runs.
 
WINNINGEST TEAM OF THE DECADE
The Mavericks will have their names etched in the record book after boasting 440 wins from 2010-2019 and will go down as the Winningest Team of the Decade. The Mavs' .753 winning percentage was fifth best during the time frame.
 
During the decade, they were one of just two schools to qualify for the NCAA Division II tournament all ten years, making three appearances in the Championships. That included a pair of runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2019. The Mavericks had a 29-22 record in the NCAA Tournament during the decade.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Colorado Mesa will continue their long early season home stand next weekend when they host Northwest Nazarene for four games beginning on Thursday February 20 at 2:30pm. The Mavericks played two games against the Nighthawks a year ago in St. George and took both games (8-3, 3-2).