GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University softball team, ranked 16^th in the country, will attempt to clinch their fifth consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season title when they head to Chadron, Nebraska for a 4-game series at Chadron State College.
 
The Mavericks, who moved up a spot to a season-high 16^th in this week's NFCA Division II Coaches' Poll, will enter the Friday and Saturday series with a 30-2 overall and conference lead, significantly ahead of second place MSU Denver (23-7) and third place Colorado Christian (22-7 RMAC), a team the Mavericks swept at home last Saturday and Sunday.
 
This weekend's series will begin with a Friday afternoon doubleheader at noon and will continue with another twin-bill at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
 
A live stream for the series against the Eagles (12-20, 12-16 RMAC) can be accessed through the RMAC Network and live statistics can also be found on the link above.
 
Clinching Scenarios
 
Although the RMAC regular season title and the right to host next month's (May 13-15) RMAC Tournament is determined on winning percentage, the picture became much clearer after the Mavericks swept Colorado Christian last weekend.
 
With their 30-2 RMAC record, the Mavericks, who also play at Fort Lewis next Friday and Saturday, can clinch at least a share of the RMAC tile and the right to host the conference simply by winning three more games.  In that scenario, the Mavericks could finish no worse than 33-7, which is the best MSU Denver could do if the Roadrunners are able to play and win the ten potential remaining games on their schedule.  However, even if the Roadrunners did that, the Mavericks would earn the No. 1 seed for and the right to host the RMAC Tournament thanks to their 4-game sweep of the Roadrunners back on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1.
 
A series sweep of Chadron State would guarantee CMU would win an outright RMAC title, regardless of how many games and victories MSU Denver and Colorado Christian could potentially pick up throughout the rest of the regular season.
 
The Roadrunners are slated to play at Adams State this Saturday and Sunday and have a doubleheader slated at Colorado Christian next Wednesday (May 5), which continues to be pushed back for various reasons.  Potential make-up dates for a 4-game series against CSU Pueblo have yet to be determined.
 
Meanwhile, Colorado Christian postponed a Wednesday doubleheader against Regis and a weekend series with New Mexico Highlands, which has now been rescheduled for next weekend.  Any potential make-up dates against Regis have yet to be determined and at this point appear unlikely.
 
Even if the Cougars were to play and win ten games, they could get no higher than an .820 winning percentage.  With three wins, the Mavericks would finish no lower than .825.
 
Defending Champions
 
On the verge of another, the Mavericks are already 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.­  No championship was awarded.
 
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 completed seasons.
 
Last Time Out
 
As mentioned above, the Mavericks are coming off a 4-game series sweep of Colorado Christian.  The Mavericks won Saturday's doubleheader by 9-2 and 2-0 scores and then came back to post 8-6 and 6-1 wins on Sunday, which featured Senior Day festivities honoring Brooke Doumer and Sarah Staudle in between.
 
Although the Mavericks as a team were slightly off their scoring bonanza pace by a quality Cougar team, they still recorded a team batting average of .352 while hitting six home runs and 13 extra-base hits.  Ellie Smith hit four of those home runs and hit .600.   More on her later.

Meanwhile, Smith and Paige Adair both went 2-0 from inside the circle as the Maverick pitching staff held the Cougars, ranked third in the country for scoring coming in, to just nine total runs on 23 hits.  The Cougars were hitting .377 as a team coming in, but were held to just a .223 clip by the Mavs.
 
The series sweep was CMU's sixth in eight weekends this season.  The Mavericks have won all eight series.
 
National Player of the Week
 
Ellie Smith earned the Louisville Slugger/NFCA NCAA Division II Player of the Week honor after she hit .600 (9-15) with four home runs and 11 RBIs in last weekend's sweep.  The national player of the week announcement was made on Wednesday.  Smith also had a double in each doubleheader and finished the weekend with a 1.533 slugging percentage.
 
The Riverside, California native also pitched 7 1/3 innings of scoreless softball while allowing just five total hits.
 
On Saturday, Smith had two home runs and a double in the first game of the series, a 9-2 Maverick win.  She then pitched four innings of a combined shutout with Shea Mauser in the 2-0 victory.
 
On Sunday, Smith hit a home run in both games of the doubleheader and picked up another win as she pitched 3 1/3 innings of run-less relief as the Mavericks came from 6-0 down to win the third game of the series thanks a 7-run fourth-inning, that featured a 2-run homer.
 
Smith had also been named as the RMAC's Player of the Week for the second time this season on Tuesday.
 
A new leader

Smith's 11-RBI weekend allowed her to pass CMU teammate Lauren Wedman for the national lead.  Smith now has 62 RBIs, two more than Wedman, who still ranks second in the country through Wednesday's games.
 
Smith also continues to lead the country in doubles and now has 20.
 
With her four home runs, Smith also took over the RMAC lead in that category and now ranks ninth nationally with 14.
 
Meanwhile, she is slugging at a RMAC-leading 1.046 clip, the fifth best mark in Division II.  Wedman is second in the conference and eighth nationally at 1.010.
 
Both are ahead of the CMU single-season school record pace of 1.000, set by Mekayla Kovac in 2014.
 
Speaking of record pace
 
Despite going 5-for-13 (.385), which would be a solid weekend for anyone, Lauren Wedman did see her season-long batting average dip slightly to .553.  However, before anyone sees a problem, realize that mark still leads the RMAC by 26 points and ranks her second nationally.  It is also is well ahead of the .503 single-season CMU record pace set by Brooke Hodgson in 2018.
 
Wedman also has an on-base percentage of .605, the best in the RMAC by points and the fourth best mark nationally.  AnnMarie Torres holds the Maverick record of .587, set in 2019.
 
Runs & More Runs
 
The Mavs continue to lead the country in scoring and have now tallied 310 runs in their 32 games, good for a 9.69 per game average, that also leads the country.  Valdosta State is second in the country for total runs (301) and scoring average (8.60).  The Blazers have played 35 games, three more than the Mavericks.
 
Regis (7.58) and Colorado Christian (7.48) from the RMAC also rank sixth and seventh nationally in scoring average.
 
1 & 2
 
The Mavericks No. 1 & 2 hitters in the lineup are tied for the national lead in run scoring.  Brooke Doumer, CMU's lead off hitter and centerfielder, scored four runs last weekend while going 4-for-10 with four walks against the Cougars.  She also had a double and home run and drove in four runs.
 
Meanwhile, Wedman scored a team-high five runs last weekend.
 
Both Mavericks have now scored 52 runs this season and co-lead the country in runs scored per game (1.62), something seven entire NCAA Division II teams have not managed this year.
 
Top Hitters
 
The Mavericks are now hitting .389 as a team this season, a mark that leads the country by 11 points over Savannah State, which is hitting .378 thus far.
 
All nine regular Maverick starters and four additional reserves are hitting .313 or higher.  Seven of those, including three reserves, are hitting .400 or higher, including the aforementioned Wedman.  Brandi Haller is also hitting .556 (5-9) in limited at bats.
 
Top record
 
The Mavericks' 30-2 record and .938 winning percentage is currently the best in Division II this year.  Valdosta State (32-3) is second in winning percentage at .914.
 
The Mavericks are one of just 12 teams nationally to have reached the 30-win mark this season and have played the fewest games of the dozen.
 
Mercy, Mercy Me
 
Impressively, the Mavericks have now ended 16 games prematurely this season via the mercy rule.  CMU has recorded at least one mercy-rule victory over seven different opponents they have faced this year.  The only team that the Mavericks have not mercy-ruled has been Colorado Christian.
 
Doubling up
 
As mentioned above, Ellie Smith hit two more doubles against Colorado Christian and now has 20 this season to lead the country by four over three other players.
 
Her total of 20 is already tied for ninth in CMU single-season history with Makayla Kovac, who accomplished that feat for first of her two times in 2014.  One more double would lift Smith into a tie for fourth on CMU's single-season charts as five different players have had 21-double seasons.
 
Brooke Hodgson holds the Maverick record of 27, set in her 2018 RMAC Player of the Year and First Team All-America year.  Kovac (2016) and Charity Richards (1997) hit 23.
 
How about some triples
 
Lauren Wedman is also tied for the national lead with seven triples this season, a mark that is already tied for second in CMU's single-season charts.  Current assistant coach Kelly Reese (Adams) holds the school record of nine from the 2000 season and is tied with Wedman and Alexandria Dufour for second as well.  Reese also had seven triples in 2001 and is CMU's career record holder with 16.
 
Wedman now has ten career triples, seventh most in Maverick history.
 
Top staff
 
With all of the offensive prowess that the Mavericks have shown, it would be easy to forget about the pitching staff.  However, the Mavericks have also the top pitching staff in the conference.
 
The Mavericks lowered their team ERA to .273 last weekend, a mark that continues to lead the conference ahead of MSU Denver's 2.94 mark.  The Mavericks have also combined for six shutouts, one more than MSU Denver and have held opponents to a league-low .254 batting average.
 
Individually, Ellie Smith now leads the RMAC with her 1.68 ERA while Paige Adair is third at 2.19.  Former leader Samaria Roope of Colorado Christian is now fourth at 2.42 after being touched up a bit by the Maverick attack.
 
Adair also stands second in the RMAC for opposing batting average (.231) and leads the conference with four shutouts while co-leading the league with 14 wins and has been defeated just once.
 
Smith is 11-0 and is the RMAC's only undefeated pitcher this season that qualifies for the conference's statistical rankings.  She, Adair and MSU Denver's Darby McGhee (14-3) and Destinee Lopez (10-3) are the only pitchers in the RMAC with 10 or more wins.
 
Shea Mauser is 5-1 with a 5.21 ERA to rank amongst the RMAC's top 20 pitchers as well.
 
National Poll
 
After the sweep of Colorado Christian, the Mavericks moved up one spot to a season-high 16^th in the NFCA Division II Coaches Poll.
 
The Mavericks received 173 points in a polling of 16 head coaches from around the country this week.
 
The Mavs are the fourth of six NCAA Division II South Central Regional teams in the poll.  Oklahoma Christian is ranked sixth while Texas A&M-Commerce, which has been selected as the pre-determined host of the May 19-22 NCAA Division II South Central Regional, is ranked ninth, one spot ahead of West Texas A&M.  Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville, who are also part of the Lone Star Conference are ranked 23^rd and tied for 25^th as well.
 
Home Sweet Home but still quite strong anywhere
 
With a 19-1 home record this year, the Mavericks are now 112-17 at home since the start of 2016, good for an .868 winning percentage over that time.
 
They are nearly as strong when playing anywhere winning 83.2 percent of their games, going 227-45 (.835) since their current RMAC title winning streak began in 2016.
 
30-Streak
 
The Mavericks have now reached 30 wins for the sixth consecutive full season.  That stretch started in 2015, when they won 33 times in 56 games.  The Mavs then had four consecutive 40 or more wins seasons from 2016-19.  Last year's team went 16-6 through just 22 games when the rest of the season was canceled.
 
It is worth noting that the Mavericks are slated to play just 40 regular season games this year, far fewer than normal as the Mavs did not schedule any games out of conference and would have been limited to just four by NCAA Division II game-reduction limits for this season due to the pandemic.  This year's limit is 44 total regular season games, down from 52 in a normal season.
 
About the Eagles
 
The Eagles are 12-20 overall and 12-16 in the RMAC, but have the conference's second longest winning streak of five games (CMU the longest of six) after sweeping a make-up doubleheader against Black Hills State on Wednesday, taking the second game in ten innings.  A series at the Colorado School of Mines last weekend was postponed.  The Eagles also swept an Apr. 18 doubleheader against Black Hills State and won the last game at Adams State in a 4-game set there on Apr. 11.
 
They currently sit ninth in the conference standings but are just four wins and two total games behind Fort Lewis (16-16) and CSU Pueblo (15-15) for the sixth and final RMAC Tournament spot, making this weekend's series critical to the Eagles' post-season hopes.  They sit ninth in the RMAC for both team batting (.294) and team ERA (6.74).
 
Individually, three Eagles are hitting .300 or higher, including Bailey Marvel, who has a .398 average.  She also leads the team with six doubles and ten stolen bases and has two triples and two home runs.

Sloane Quijas is third on the team in batting average at .323 and leads the team with 22 RBIs.  Mackenzi Kroll paces the team with five home runs and also has five doubles and 17 RBIs.  However, she is hitting just .275 and has been struck out a team-high 21 times.
 
Peyton Propp is the Eagles' top pitcher with a 4.74 ERA and has a 5-9 record as their top-used of three regular circles bosses.  She has thrown 75 1/3 innings and has completed seven of her 18 starts.  She also has an impressive 74 strikeouts. 
 
Gabby Russell is 4-2 with a 5.51 ERA but has started just two of 18 total appearances.  However, she has made several long relief stints and has thrown 61 innings.  Tia Kohl has also started ten games and is 3-7 with a 7.45 ERA in 57 1/3 innings over 13 appearances.
 
Series History
 
The Mavericks are 36-11 against Chadron State since the Eagles resumed their program in 2007.  The Mavericks have won 14 straight games between the teams, including all four in 2020, which were played in Grand Junction.  The Mavericks also won all four of an away set in 2019.
 
However, Chadron State has posted eight wins in 21 games in Chadron, taking two one-run decision in a Feb. 27, 2017 tripleheader, the Eagles' last and only two wins in the series since the start of the 2016 campaign.
 
Up Next
 
After this weekend's series, the Mavericks will be back on the road next Friday and Saturday (May 7-8) playing a pair of evening doubleheaders at Fort Lewis in Durango.  That 4-game series is a make-up from the original March series postponed due to COVID issues within the Skyhawk program at the time.
 
The May 7 doubleheader at the Skyhawks' Aspen Field will begin at 6:30 p.m. while the Saturday, May. 8 twin-bill is slated for a 6 p.m. start.