**NOTE: Fans are urged to buy their tickets ahead of time on CMUMavericks.com/tickets for the Fireworks Game on Friday Night as lines could be long if you wait.**

The Colorado Mesa baseball team is back at home this weekend for a monster showdown with No. 19 MSU Denver at Suplizio Field. The Mavericks will also have their Fireworks game on Friday night at 6:05pm as a part of Homecoming weekend on campus.
 
HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
The Colorado Mesa Mavericks are back to their high-octane offensive ways that fans were accustomed to in the late 90s and early 2000s. They are the national leaders in batting average at an astounding .407 and are the national leaders in doubles (73) and doubles per game (3.65). In terms of the power numbers, they are the national leader in home runs per game at 2.50 and the top slugging percentage team with a .720 mark.
 
With all those numbers, the Mavericks are the top scoring team in Division II as they are averaging 15 runs per game. The 15 runs per game is an average of three more a game compared to the No. 2 team Wilmington (DE) who has only played four games and is 3.7 more than No. 3 Regis.
 
OFF THE INJURED LIST
The Mavericks are anticipating the return of Matthew Turner to the lineup and likely a return to his No. 2 spot in the lineup. Turner was injured during the UCCS series in mid-March and hasn't played in the past three weeks.
 
Turner was batting .523 with two doubles, nine home runs and 25 runs batted in when his injury occurred.
 
POWER PITCHING
The pitching staff have been producing strikeouts at a high rate this season. In fact, of the 15 pitchers that have seen action this year, 13 of them have more strikeouts than innings pitched, a sign that they are averaging at least one strikeout every inning.
 
The Mavericks are averaging 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings, the top mark in Division II. Andrew Morris leads that group of Maverick pitchers at 15.73 strikeouts per nine innings a mark that is tops in the conference and the eighth best mark in NCAA Division II.
 
DAY GAMES AT HOME
Lefty Ryan Day has enjoyed a solid first half of the season as a member of the Maverick rotation. He has been extra special in his starts at home. Day is 3-0 in as many starts with a 1.12 ERA and an opponent's batting average of just .207. He has pitched 24 innings and allowed just four runs (three earned) on 18 hits, walked four and struck out 30 in those innings.
 
In his first start of the season, the Prosper, Texas native pitched a complete game shutout of now nationally ranked Northwest Nazarene. Day allowed just five hits, walked three and struck out eight in dealing the Nighthawks one of just three losses on the year.
 
THERE'S A NEW NUMBER ONE
The Mavericks ascended to the No. 1 spot in two of the three polls this week. They moved into the top spot in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper coach's poll this week after previous No. 1 Tampa dropped a game to Nova Southeastern last weekend. It is the first time this season they have been in the top spot in the CBN poll.
 
They also moved up to No. 1 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll ascending ahead of still unbeaten Lindenwood. The Mavericks picked up seven of the 19 first place votes available while Lindenwood had eight first place votes they trailed in total points by eight.
 
Colorado Mesa remained at No. 2 in the Perfect Game poll behind South Central Region foe Angelo State.
 
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
MSU Denver is enjoying one of the best starts in school history after opening the season with a 21-3 record with two of their three losses coming to CSU Pueblo. They opened the season with sweeps over former RMAC foe Fort Hays State and Colorado School of Mines.
 
Starting pitcher Cade Crader receives most of the headlines for Roadrunner pitching staff but the group has a respectable 4.10 team ERA. Crader is the conference leader in strikeouts with 56 and threw a perfect game during the RMAC pod weekend. He was named NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week after his 27-up, 27-down performance against CSU Pueblo.
 
The Roadrunner lineup has a collective batting average of .350 on the season and has three regulars that are hitting above .400. Chase Anderson leads the team with a .453 batting average with nine doubles, a triple, and six home runs. Anderson was on a 20-game hitting streak to begin the season but had two 0fers during the series with UCCS.
 
Niko Piazza has 15 doubles on the season which leads all of NCAA Division II.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH MSU DENVER:
Colorado Mesa has a 93-31 all-time mark against MSU Denver that includes a 55-9 mark at Suplizio Field. The Mavericks are currently riding a 10-game winning streak against the Roadrunners that dates back to the 2018 season.
 
FUN FACT:
MSU Denver assistant coach Joe Strain is a former scout for the San Francisco Giants. During his time as a scout, he came upon a certain Maverick that helped the Giants win three World Series rings in the early 2010s. Strain is credited with discovering Sergio Romo who ended up being a 23^rd round draft pick in the 2005 MLB Draft.
 
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Mavericks have an impressive mark at home winning over 81 percent of their games in Suplizio Field since 2005. They also have not been shutout at home in 507 consecutive games dating back to February 14, 2004 in a 3-0 loss to Western Oregon in which the Mavericks were no-hit by the Wolves.
 
30 SKIPPER
Colorado Mesa head coach Chris Hanks is in the dugout for his 23^rd season as the skipper of the Mavericks. Hanks has an 906-362 record as the head coach and is the all-time wins leader in Colorado Mesa history as well as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
He has led the Mavericks to 17 NCAA Regional Tournaments, four NCAA National Championship Tournament appearances and twice a National Runner-up. He has won the RMAC regular season championship 15 times and nine RMAC Tournament Championships.
 
900-WIN CLUB
On February 26, 2021, head baseball coach Chris Hanks won his 900^th game as the skipper of the Colorado Mesa Mavericks. He is the tenth NCAA Division II coach to reach the milestone and his .713 winning is second among those with 900 wins only trailing Mike Kennison of Delta State who has a .758 winning percentage.
 
Coach Hanks is the all-time winningest baseball coach in program history and the all-time winningest baseball coach in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference history.
 
PRESEASON RMAC POLL
Colorado Mesa was picked to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after receiving all eight possible first-place votes. The Mavericks are seeking their ninth straight regular season title and their seventh straight RMAC Tournament Championship later this season.
 
Colorado School of Mines was picked to finish second followed by UCCS, MSU Denver and CSU Pueblo.
 
The Mavericks were 14-4 when the season was halted last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
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 head back out on the road for a four-game series with the Regis Rangers in Denver. The Rangers have been on a 10-day pause in competition after a mini-COVID outbreak on campus. Stay tuned to CMUMavericks.com for updates to the schedule.