GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After two desert climate tournaments in St. George, Utah and Tucson, Arizona to start the season, the Colorado Mesa University softball team will return home for their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and home-opening series this weekend against Chadron State College.
 
The 6-4 Mavericks and 5-6 Eagles will play doubleheaders beginning at noon on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
For fans unable to attend in person, live streaming and live statistics can be accessed at the links above.
 
RMAC Pitching honor

Maverick sophomore Shea Mauser was named as the RMAC Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday after she led the Mavericks during last weekend's Cactus Classic in Tucson.  In four appearances, which included three complete game starts, the Arvada West High School graduate posted a 2-1 record and a stellar 0.59 ERA as she allowed just two earned runs and 14 hits in 23 2/3 innings of work.  She also allowed opposing hitters to a combined .169 batting average.
 
After throwing 1 2/3 innings of 1-hit, shutout relief against West Texas A&M, Mauser came back to record a career-high six strikeouts in a 4-hit complete game win over Western New Mexico last Thursday evening.  She then gave up just one more run on six hits in a Friday win over St. Mary's before closing out her weekend by allowing just three hits and three unearned runs in eight innings against then second-ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday.
 
Mauser's 22 2/3 innings last week were one more than she threw (22 1/3) throughout her entire freshman season in 2019.
 
Mauser is 4-1 with a 1.20 ERA this year and has struck out 22 hitters in 35 innings.  She also has a stellar 0.94 WHIP (Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched) and is holding opposing hitters to a .200 batting average.  She ranks second in the RMAC for both that statistic and her ERA.
 
Tie-break Haters
 
Three of the Mavericks' four losses this season have come in extra innings played with the international tie-breaker procedure where the last batter of the previous inning is placed on second base to begin the ensuing extra frame.
 
The Mavericks dropped games to Cal State-Dominguez Hills, Eastern New Mexico and Texas A&M-Kingsville in that time-saving procedure, used at both of the early season tournaments.
 
Luckily, at least from a Maverick perspective, that rule will not apply in RMAC play nor in the post-season.
 
Putting on a Hometown Show
 
Maverick sophomore outfielder Lauren Wedman had a strong performance in her return to her hometown of Tucson, Arizona.  The 2018 Sahuaro High School graduate led the Mavericks at the plate, going 8-for-17 (.471) throughout their five games at the Cactus Classic.  Wedman also scored a team-high seven runs and banged out two triples.  She went a career-best 3-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt in Saturday's tournament finale against Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
Consistent throughout the young season, Wedman has tallied at least one hit in nine of CMU's ten games thus far and is hitting at a .441 clip (15-34), the second best mark amongst the Maverick regulars.
 
In 2019 as a freshman, Wedman hit .349 en-route to Honorable Mention All-RMAC plaudits.
 
A new walk leader
 
Maverick senior AnnMarie Torres was walked three more times last week at the Cactus Classic as she became CMU's new Division II era (1993-Present) career walk record holder.  Torres has now been giving a free pass 105 times during her illustrious career breaking the former mark of 102, set by Danielle Vallie.
 
Torres has already been walked seven times this year after leading the RMAC with 45 last season, a CMU single-season record.
 
200 for the Second Straight Week
 
Torres also surpassed an impressive career milestone for the second straight week last week.  After recording her 200^th career hit on Feb. 8 in an 8-5 come-from-behind win over Hawai'i-Hilo, Torres surpassed the 200 career RBI mark on Valentine's Day, in CMU's 9-1 win over St. Mary's.  She entered the Cactus Classic just three RBIs shy of that 200 milestone and finished the weekend with six.
 
Torres now has 205 career hits and 203 career RBIs.   She, Brooke Hodgson and Makayla Kovac are the only other Mavericks to reach both of those impressive milestones.  Torres moved past Danielle Vallie (203) and now assistant coach Kellie Mrofcza (202) to move into sixth place on the career hits charts last weekend.
 
Wins No. 50 & 51
 
Maverick Head Coach Erik Kozel, just starting his second year at the helm of the program, recorded his 50^th and 51^st career wins last week at the Cactus Classic.
 
Named as the permanent head coach after a nation-wide search in July, 2019 after serving as the program's interim head coach during the 2019 season, Kozel already has amassed a 51-15 career record as a head coach, good for an impressive .772 winning percentage.
 
His 50^th win came last Thursday against Western New Mexico.
 
A Maverick assistant coach for six seasons from 2013-18, Kozel led the Mavericks to a 45-11 record and their fourth consecutive RMAC Championship with a 35-4 conference mark last season.  They also qualified for their fourth consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
A former CMU baseball standout, Kozel is no stranger to the Maverick softball program.  He was a critical part of the Maverick's back-to-back RMAC Regular Season and Championship winning teams in 2017 and 2018 in his two years as the program's top assistant.  In those two years, the Mavericks posted a combined 96-13 (.881) record.  The Mavericks also won RMAC titles in 2014 and 2016 when Kozel was on the staff.

In 2020, Kozel will again be assisted by Mercedes Lovato, the team's pitching coach, and P.J. Gonzalez.  Kellie Mrofcza, a 3-time All-RMAC selection who finished her playing career in 2019, has also joined the coaching staff this season.
 
Back-to-Back Scoring Winners
 
The Mavericks won their second straight NCAA Division II national statistical title for scoring offense in 2019 putting up nearly eight runs (7.98) per game last season after scoring 508 runs in 2018 to average 9.58 per game.  The 2018 mark was a RMAC record and was the most runs scored by a collegiate softball team in the country (all divisions).
 
In 2019, the Mavericks also finished second in the country for slugging percentage (.582) and third for on-base percentage (.442). 
 
In 2018, the Mavericks also won Division II team statistical titles for batting average (.398) and doubles per game (2.55) while setting RMAC records for those categories as well as RBIs (442) and total hits (609).
 
2020 Start
 
This year's team has out-scored their opponents by a combined 64-33 margin and is averaging 6.40 runs per game.  The Mavs are hitting .318 as a team thus far, a mark that is second best in the RMAC.
 
The team ERA of 2.36 also ranks second in the conference.
 
Make it A Dozen
 
The Mavericks went 35-4 in conference play last year to win the RMAC's Regular Season Championship for the fourth straight year and fifth time in the last five years.  They have now won 12 official RMAC Championships, five more than any other institution in conference history.  They are the first program to win four 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.
 
Four straight 40s
 
Winning 45 games a year ago, the Mavericks have now reached the 40-win mark in each of the last four years and have seven such seasons in the NCAA Division II portion of their history, which dates back to 1992. The 2016 Mavericks went 40-13 before the team posted back-to-back 48-win seasons in 2018 and 2019.
 
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 Eagles
 
The Eagles, under the direction of head coach Kaley Ness, now in her third year in charge, are off to a 5-6 start having played in tournaments in Lubbock, Texas and Edmond, Oklahoma over the past two weekends.
 
They have a team batting average of .292 and have outscored their 11 opponents by a combined 56-47 margin despite losing more than they have won.
 
Sophomore shortstop Bailey Marvel leads the team with her .405 batting average.  She has also drawn a team-high six walks to help her to a .500 on-base percentage and has stolen five bases.
 
Senior utility player Angelica Maples has hit four of the team's ten home runs thus far and has driven in 11 runs.  She is also hitting .394 and has three doubles and an impressive .848 slugging percentage.  Freshman Mackenzie Kroll is hitting .355 and has three home runs and ten RBIs thus far.  However, she has struck out 11 times in just 31 official at bats.
 
Addison Spears has six doubles and 13 RBIs and is hitting .316 as well.
 
DeAnna Barrera is 3-3 from inside the circle and holds a solid 1.48 ERA to rank fourth in the RMAC.  She has recorded 35 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings and has completed five of her six starts.  Tia Kohl has been the other regular Eagle starter.  She is 2-3 with a 7.08 ERA and has made five starts.  Peyton Popp has made two relief apperances and has given up four hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings of work thus far.
 
In 2019, the Eagles went 14-35 overall and 11-28 in the RMAC to finish 11th in the conference standings.  They were picked ninth in this year's Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll.
 
Series History
 
The Mavericks have won each of the last ten games against the Eagles and have opened up a 32-11 series lead since 2007, when Chadron State restarted its' program.  The Mavericks are an eve more impressive 18-2 at home against the Eagles, who have not defeated the Mavericks in Grand Junction since 2008.
 
The Mavericks swept a 4-game series in Chadron last year and defeated them five times in 2018, including a RMAC Tournament first round game. 
 
The Mavericks have shutout the Eagles five times in the current 10-game winning streak.
 
Up Next
 
After this weekend's series, the Mavericks will head back out on the road for a 4-game set at CSU-Pueblo on Feb. 29 and Mar. 1.