GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After having an unexpected weekend off, the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks will enter the post-season this week, hosting the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Softball Tournament for the fifth consecutive time, beginning this Thursday at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
The Mavericks are the top seed in the 6-team, double-elimination tournament that runs through Saturday and will have a first round bye before taking on the winner of Game No. 1 between fourth-seeded Colorado School of Mines and fifth-seeded Regis University in Game No. 3 at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
 
Four games will be played on both Thursday and Friday at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. each day, which will reduce the field to three for Saturday's portion of the tournament, which will feature games at 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and the if necessary game at 6 p.m. that evening.
 
A complete bracket can be seen here.
 
A limited number of tickets (400 per day) are now on sale through the RMAC Championship Webpage.  A live stream for all games of the tournament can also be accessed through the RMAC Network and live statistics will also be available at the links above.
 
The Mavericks will enter the RMAC Tournament with a 34-2 overall and RMAC record, the best mark of any team in the country by winning percentage (.944).  They were ranked 16^th in last week's NFCA Division II Coaches' Poll.  A new poll will be released on Wednesday.
 
We are the Champions… Again
 
The Mavericks clinched this year's RMAC regular season title, their fifth consecutive, by sweeping their last series at Chadron State on Apr. 30 and May 1.  The Mavericks also won the RMAC title in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and were tied for the RMAC lead at 10-2 in 2020, when the season ended abruptly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  No championship was awarded.
 
The Mavs have now won 12 RMAC titles in their program history, including six in the last seven completed seasons.
 
What's at Stake
 
The winner of this week's RMAC Tournament will receive the conference's automatic qualifying spot into the South Central regional portion of the NCAA Division II Tournament.  That tournament begins next Wednesday (May 19) in Commerce, Texas and will include six total teams from the RMAC and Lone Star Conference, which is also holding their post-season tournament this weekend.
 
The tournament winners will receive automatic qualifying spots, while four other teams will receive at-large spots based upon the final regional rankings, which will be updated on Wednesday and again on selection Sunday.
 
The Mavericks sat fifth in last week's regional rankings and were the only RMAC team in the top eight and thus could possibly be in position to receive one of those at-large spots even if they were unable to win the conference tournament.  However, that would certainly put the Mavericks in an "on pins and needles" situation.
 
The final selections and seeding for each of the eight regional tournaments will be announced on the NCAA selection show, which will be streamed on www.ncaa.com at 8 a.m. Mountain Time on Monday morning.
 
The winners of each regional tournament will gather for the NCAA Division II National Championships, which will be played May 27-31 in Denver at MSU Denver's Regency Athletic Complex.
 
RMAC Tournament History
 
The Mavericks will be hosting the RMAC Tournament for the fifth consecutive time this week after hosting it in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 as well.  Last year's tournament and a majority of the season was canceled by the COVID pandemic.
 
The Mavericks won the RMAC Tournament crown in 2017 and 2018 and advanced to the championship game in 2019. 
 
The Mavericks also won the RMAC Tournament title in 2000 and earlier in 1982, 1983 and 1992.  In 1982, 1983 and 2000, the tournament winner was declared as the official RMAC Champion.
 
Nation's Top Team
 
By winning percentage, the Mavericks are the top team in Division II this year.  The Mavericks also lead the country in scoring.  The Mavs' 34-2 record, good for a winning percentage of .944, has the Mavericks 35 points above Augustana, the top team in the NFCA Division II Coaches' Poll, who is 40-4. 
 
The Mavericks' 34 wins are tied for ninth most in Division II.  Teams are limited to 44 regular season games this year before any conference tournaments.
 
In terms of scoring, the Mavs continue to pace the country have now tallied 353 runs in their 36 games, good for a 9.81 per game average.  UIndy is second in the country for total runs with 338, but has played in 49 games.  Savannah State is second in the country in runs per game at 8.06 but has played just 17 games. 
 
Colorado Christian (7.81) from the RMAC is fourth in the RMAC while MSU Denver (7.34) and Regis (7.03) sit just outside the nation's top 10 at 11^th and 13^th, respectively.
 
National Finalist
 
Maverick redshirt sophomore Ellie Smith was named as a finalist for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II Pitcher and Player of the Year awards this season.  She was the only player from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference on the list of 30 finalists, from which the awards will be selected following the season. 
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks last played on Apr. 30 and May 1 at Chadron State and had their final regular season series at Fort Lewis canceled due to conflicts with FLC graduation ceremonies.
 
In the series at Chadron State, which the Mavericks swept to clinch the RMAC Regular Season title, the Mavs out-scored the Eagles, 43-12 throughout the Friday and Saturday series posting two shutouts and two mercy-rule wins.
 
The Mavs hit nine home runs and hit at a .393 clip while racking up 48 hits and 29 free passes (24 walks, 5 hit by pitch).
 
Ally Distler hit three home runs in Friday's doubleheader sweep as the Mavs posted a 15-2 first game win before coming back from 8-4 and 10-6 down to win the second game, 11-10 in eight innings.
 
The Mavericks' pitching staff was then dominant on Saturday as all three CMU pitchers combined to hold the Eagles to just four total hits in 7-0 and 10-0 wins in the final two games of the series.  The final game was ended in five innings.
 
Near No-No & a historic shutout
 
Maverick redshirt sophomore Ellie Smith came up just one out short of a no-hitter in the first game of the Saturday (May 1) doubleheader at Chadron State, taking her bid into the seventh inning of CMU's eventual 7-0 win.  An error then allowed the Eagles another opportunity to break up the no-hitter, which they did with a 2-hit single.  However, Smith, who had given up two free passes by hitting Eagles earlier in the game, then got the next out to record a 1-hit shutout, the first individual shutout of her 2-year Maverick career.
 
Speaking of Shutouts
 
After Smith tossed hers in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, Paige Adair and Shea Mauser combined to toss a 5-inning shutout in the second game.  Adair allowed just three hits in the first three innings before Mauser allowed just one walk in the remaining two of the Mavs' 10-0 victory.
 
Mauser has now been involved in all three of CMU's combined shutouts this season.  The Maverick defense has recorded a RMAC-leading eight in total.  Adair leads the conference with four individual shutouts.
 
3-Timer
 
Adair went 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA throughout the series against Chadron State, while recording 19 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings while giving up just three earned runs and three walks.  She was named as the RMAC Pitcher of the Week on May 4, her league-leading third honor of the campaign.
 
She had 10 strikeouts in a complete game (6-inning) 15-2 victory on Friday to get the series off to a strong start before tossing 5 1/3 innings of relief while allowing just two runs helping the Mavericks come from four runs behind to win 11-10, in eighth innings.  Her final win came in the combined shutout with Mauser.
 
Three trips around the bases
 
Maverick freshman catcher Ally Distler hit three home runs in the Apr. 30 doubleheader at Chadron State while snapping a 12-game streak without a round-tripper.  Distler, who had last homered on Apr. 3 against New Mexico Highlands, now has seven home runs this season.
 
Her first home run of Friday's twin-bill was a 3-run go-ahead shot in the top of the fourth inning of Game 1, which broke open what was a 1-1 tie.  In the second game, Distler hit two home runs, belting a second inning solo shot before notching a game-tying 2-run shot in the seventh inning as the Mavericks completed their comeback from 8-4 and 10-6 down to send the game to extra innings.
 
Homer-Fest
 
As a team, the Mavericks have now hit 56 home runs to lead the RMAC.  That total is also the sixth highest in Division II and has the Mavericks ranked third in the nation for home runs per game at 1.56.
 
Individually, Ellie Smith is tied for sixth in the country with 16 home runs and ranks fourth with her 0.46 per game average.  Her home run total already puts her ninth on CMU's single-season home run chart.  Current assistant coach Kelly Reese (Adams) holds the record of 21, set in 2001.
 
Smith and Nicole Christensen joined Distler as multiple home-run hitters in the Chadron State series.  They both had two.  Christensen has now reached double figures for the season with ten and is tied for eighth in the RMAC. 
 
The Mavericks hit nine home runs in the series.  Ashley Bradford and Camryn Mullen also had one each. Mullen's shot was the first home run of her season and made her the tenth different Maverick to have a home run this season.
 
1 & 2
 
The Mavericks No. 1 & 2 hitters in the lineup continue to stand first and second in the country for runs scoring.  Brooke Doumer, CMU's lead-off hitter and center fielder, scored eight more runs in the series at Chadron State raising her total to 60, good for a 1.67 per game average.  Meanwhile, Lauren Wedman crossed the plate seven times against Chadron State and now has 59 runs scored, the second highest total in the country.  She also ranks second in per game average at 1.64.  Both are well ahead of the nation's third place average of 1.38, currently held by West Texas A&M's Shanna McBroom, who also ranks third the country with 58 total runs scored in 42 games, six more than the Maverick duo have played in.
 
1 & 2, Part Two…
 
The Mavericks also have the No. 1 and 2 ranked players in the entire country in the RBIs category.  Ellie Smith leads the country with 70 RBIs while Lauren Wedman is tied for second with 64.  Smith also leads the country with her 2.00 RBI per game average while Wedman sits third in that category with 1.78 per game.  Jefferson's Emily Akelaits is averaging 1.93 per game having driven in 52 runs in her 27 game.
 
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 .319 or higher.  Seven of those, including three reserves, are hitting .400 or higher.  Lauren Wedman is hitting .534 and is on pace to break CMU's single-season batting average record of .508, set by Brooke Hodgson in 2018.
 
Mercy, Mercy Me
 
Impressively, the Mavericks have now ended 18 games prematurely this season via the mercy rule.  CMU has recorded at least one mercy-rule victory over eighth different opponents they have faced this year.  The only team that the Mavericks have not mercy-ruled has been Colorado Christian.
 
Double Black Jack
 
Ellie Smith hit the go-ahead RBI double in the Friday (Apr. 30) 11-10 extra-inning win at Chadron State, which was the 21^st double of her season.  She leads the country with that total, which also has her in a tie for fourth on CMU's single-season charts.
 
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 tied for second in the nation with seven triples this season, a mark that is already tied for second on 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 2.69 last weekend, a mark that continues to lead the conference ahead of MSU Denver's 3.01 mark.  The Mavericks have also combined for eight shutouts, three more than MSU Denver and have held opponents to a league-low .253 batting average.
 
Individually, Ellie Smith is second in the RMAC with her 1.96 ERA while Paige Adair is third at 2.09. 
 
Adair also stands second in the RMAC for opposing batting average (.237) and leads the conference with four shutouts and 17 wins.
 
Smith is 12-0 and is the RMAC's only undefeated pitcher this season that qualifies for the conference's statistical rankings.
 
Shea Mauser is 5-1 with a 5.14 ERA to rank amongst the RMAC's top 20 pitchers 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 83.7 percent of their games, going 231-45 (.837) since their current RMAC title winning streak began in 2016.
 
Against the Field
 
The Mavericks are a combined 15-1 against the rest of the RMAC Tournament field this weekend, having swept series with No. 2 seed MSU Denver, No. 3 seed Colorado Christian and No. 4 seed Colorado School of Mines.  The Mavericks also won three of four games against fifth-seeded Regis but did not play against No. 6 seed Fort Lewis after last weekend's series was canceled.
 
Batting Title, and possible record at stake
 
Three players from three different RMAC Tournament teams have players in contention for the RMAC statistical title for batting average, which will be an interesting sub-plot to follow throughout the conference tournament and potentially in to the NCAA tournament.
 
The RMAC single-season record of .549, set way back in 1993 by Adams State's Amy Tjaarda is also within reach if one of the three get hot this weekend.
 
MSU Denver's Shelby Robb is hitting .535 this season, having recorded 61 hits in 114 at bats.  CMU's Lauren Wedman is right behind at .534 and has a conference-high 62 hits, but in two more official at bats (116) than Robb.
 
Regis' Jessi Case is hitting .529 with 54 hits in 102 at bats.  She and the Rangers have played in just 28 games this year, eight fewer than the Mavericks and ten fewer than MSU Denver.
 
CMU's Ellie Smith is a dark-horse contender for the RMAC batting title and enters the post-season at .468, the fourth best average in the conference.  If she could somehow come out on top of the other contenders, she could also win the RMAC's triple crown as she has hit 16 home runs to lead the conference by two while driving in 70 runs, six more than Wedman.  Smith also leads the RMAC with her 1.016 slugging percentage, on pace to break CMU's single-season record of 1.000, set by Makayla Kovac in 2014.