GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University Softball team will put their undefeated, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record and now No. 20 national ranking on the line when they head to Denver to face Regis University, which sits third in the RMAC standings.
 
The 4-game series at the Regis Softball Field will include doubleheaders on Sunday at noon and Monday at 1 p.m. after the series was pushed back a day.  Fans are not permitted to attend but can catch the series on the RMAC Network or via live statistics.
 
The Mavericks enter the series with a 12-0 overall and RMAC mark and lead the conference standings.  Regis, 9-3 overall, is 8-2 in conference play and sits third in the conference standings, just a game behind second place Colorado Christian (9-1 RMAC).
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks claimed their third 4-game sweep in as many weekend tries last week as the Mavericks won all four games of a home series with Adams State via the mercy-rule.  The Mavericks put up 12-4 and 14-6 victories in five and six innings, respectively last Saturday.  CMU then claimed 13-2 and 8-0 wins, both in five innings, on Saturday. 
 
The Mavericks out-scored the Grizzlies 47-12 throughout the weekend and put up 49 hits while hitting at a .467 team clip.  Thirty-one of CMU's hits were for singles although the Mavericks also hit nine home runs, six doubles and a triple aided by 15 Grizzly errors throughout the weekend.
 
Nicole Christensen, who quadrupled her season and career total for home runs to four and Lauren Wedman each went 7-for-12 (.583) at the plate as eight different Maverick hitters hit .500 or higher throughout the weekend.  Christensen had three home runs in three different games throughout the weekend and drove in ten runs.  Wedman hit two home runs and drove in six.  She also matched a CMU record for hits in a game going 5-for-5 in the 14-6 win over Saturday, completing her record-tying effort with a walk-off home run, her second of that game and RMAC co-leading sixth of the season.
 
Expect some offense
 
When looking at the national and statistical rankings, fans should expect some hefty run totals to be put up this weekend as both teams can truly swing the bat.  Hitting .467 last weekend, the Mavericks have taken over the RMAC lead in batting average as well as many other offensive categories.  CMU is now hitting .405 on the season to rank fifth nationally.  Regis is right behind at .398 to stand second in the RMAC and sixth nationally.
 
The Mavs also place the RMAC in scoring average (10.00) to rank second nationally while Regis has scored the most total runs (136) in the RMAC, having played two more games.  The Rangers also rank third in scoring average at 9.71.
 
The Mavericks have also moved up to second in the national statistics for slugging percentage at .679 while the Rangers rank third at .655.
 
In terms of the long ball, the Mavericks now stand third in the country for home runs per game (1.67) having hit 20 thus far.  Regis has hit 21 and is tied for fifth nationally with a per game average of 1.50.
 
No. 1 pitching staff
 
Although the Mavericks have put up some strong numbers offensively, CMU also boasts the top pitching staff in the conference as Paige Adair, Ellie Smith and Shea Mauser have combined to post a RMAC-best 2.43 ERA, more than 1.4 points lower than second-ranked CSU Pueblo (3.85).  Regis ranks fifth in the RMAC for ERA at 4.26.
 
Smith has the RMAC's top individual ERA at 1.36 having allowed just four earned runs in 20 2/3 innings of work.  She is 4-0 on the season.  Adair is third in the RMAC for ERA at 1.81 and has allowed opposing hitters to hit just .217 against her, the stingiest mark in the conference.  Adair has also recorded a league-high three shutouts and is the only RMAC pitcher with six wins (6-0).
 
Defending Champions
 
The Mavericks are the 4-time defending RMAC Regular Season Champions having won the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 titles.  They were also 10-2 and tied for the lead with Colorado Christian and MSU Denver in the 2020 RMAC standings when the remainder of last year's season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The Mavericks, who went 16-6 overall in 2020, have won 11 RMAC Championships in their program history, including in five of the last six years.
 
National Poll
 
The Mavericks moved up two spots to a season-high 20^th in this week's NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, released Wednesday (Mar. 24).  They had also been ranked 22^nd in the previous two polls.
 
The Mavericks received 75 points in the polling of 16 coaches from around the country, 17 more points than on Mar. 17, and are the only Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference team in the poll.  The Mavericks were in the "others receiving votes" category three weeks ago after sweeping their season-opening series against MSU Denver, which had been in that category in the preseason and early season polls.
 
Polling Third

Despite the Mavs' recent success, they were picked third in what was the tightest RMAC Preseason Coaches' Polls in conference history.  MSU Denver was picked first in the poll with 113 points while Colorado Christian was tabbed second with 110 points.  The Mavericks, fired up by the poll received 108 total points but proceeded to sweep last weekend's series at MSU Denver.  All three teams split the 12 first place votes evenly, garnering four a piece after each finished 2020 with 10-2 RMAC records.
 
Poll procedures called for each of the league's 12 head coaches to rank their opposition 1-11 without voting for their own squad.  Eleven points were awarded for a first place vote with ten going for a second place vote and so on.
 
Regis was picked seventh.
 
Home Sweet Home but still quite strong anywhere
 
With last weekend's home sweep, the Mavericks are now 101-16 at home since the start of 2016, good for an .863 winning percentage. 
 
They are nearly as strong when playing anywhere winning 82.9 percent of their games, going 209-43 since their current RMAC title winning streak began in 2016.
 
Base-Stealers
 
The series against the Rangers will also featured the fastest two teams in the RMAC, based on stolen bases.  The Mavericks have stolen 27 bases and have been nabbed just four times.  Regis is 48-for-53 on stolen bases as a team.
 
CMU redshirt freshman Drew Sims has swiped ten bases without being caught while Regis' Jessi Case has nabbed a RMAC-leading 16 stolen bases while being caught just once.
 
However, the Mavericks will counter with a talented freshman catcher in Ally Distler, who has gunned down seven would-be base stealers while giving up just six swipes, an incredible defensive statistic.
 
About the Rangers
 
The Rangers did not play last week as weather prevented them from playing their series at Chadron State.  They were also only able to play twice against UCCS due to weather.
 
However, they have enjoyed a strong season posting a 11-3 record, including a 8-2 RMAC mark.  Their 11 total wins are second most in the conference to CMU and their 8-2 conference records puts them third in the conference standings.
 
The Rangers are hitting .398 as a team and have four of the top nine players in the individual batting statistic category.  Jessi Case leads the bunch with her .537 batting average and has swiped a conference-high 16 stolen bases on just 17 attempts.
 
Katherine Raper and Victoria McMains have combined to make 15 starts and are each hitting .500.  Raper also has four doubles and 17 RBIs.
 
Meanwhile, graduate student and utility player Jade Loe has been the Rangers in the power numbers.  She is hitting .489 on the season to rank second in the RMAC.  She also is tied for the RMAC lead in home runs and tied for second with 20 RBIs.
 
The pitching staff is paced by Taylor Armitage, who is 5-0 with a 2.42 ERA that ranks her fourth in the RMAC.  She has a pair of shutouts in her last two starts allowing just seven combined hits in 6-inning wins at New Mexico Highlands and at home to UCCS.  She also struck out seven Mountain Lions in that Mar. 11 game and has 20 strikeouts on the year.
 
Abby Covington also has a 1.24 ERA in her 5 2/3 innings of work over four appearances.  She also has eight strikeouts.  Megan Loveland is also 4-1 and has made a team-high six starts.  She has a 6.27 ERA.
 
Series History
 
The Mavericks have dominated the series in recent years winning seven of the last eight and 12 of the last 14 games with the Rangers.  The last six of those games have been played in Grand Junction in 2018 and 2019 and the teams did not play in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
 
In 2017, the Mavericks won three of four games in an away series in Denver.
 
Up Next
 
After this weekend's series, the Mavericks will return home for a quick turn-around facing New Mexico Highlands in an Easter weekend series on Friday, Apr. 2 and Saturday, Apr. 3.