GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University softball team will close out the regular season while attempting to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title for the sixth straight time when they host Chadron State College in a 4-game series on Friday and Saturday at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
The Mavericks will also recognize four of their student-athletes during Senior Day festivities in between games on Saturday.  Friday's doubleheader will begin at noon while Saturday's will commence at 11 a.m.
 
The Mavericks (39-7) have won 15 of their last 17 and 38 of their last 41 games and enter the weekend in a tie for first place in the RMAC standings at 31-3 alongside Colorado Christian.
 
The Cougars, 43-7 overall, be playing a 4-game series of their own on Friday and Saturday at last place New Mexico Highlands.
 
Chadron State sits in ninth place of the RMAC standings at 10-22 and has an 11-33 overall record.  The Eagles have been eliminated from RMAC Tournament contention but will be playing for pride and as the potential spoilers this weekend.
 
Tickets are available for both doubleheaders at www.cmumavericks.com/tickets.  The RMAC Network live stream and live statistics for all four games can also be found at the links above.

Parking Info

Due to the ongoing construction projects on campus adjacent to the CMU Softball Stadium, parking is limited.  Fans are encouraged to use lots, CP1, CP3, CP8, CP12 and CP15 found on this parking map.  Parking enforcement in those lots only will be relaxed on both Friday and Saturday during the series.  Parking in any other lot is at your own risk for ticketing.

Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks and Colorado Christian battled to a topsy-turvy weekend series split last Saturday and Sunday in Lakewood in what easily could have been the RMAC title deciding series.  However, with the split, the title has now come down to the final weekend of the regular season. 

More on that later.
 
On Saturday, the Cougars came out firing taking both games of that doubleheader by scores of 11-3 and 6-2.  However, the Mavericks came fighting back and swept Sunday's doubleheader by 3-1 and 11-0 margins. 
 
Each team run-ruled the other in six innings to book-end the series while claiming narrower wins in the two middle games.
 
CMU's Paige Adair threw a no-hitter in the final game of the series, her second of the season, while Ashley Bradford hit the go-ahead and eventual game-winning 3-run home run in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader before adding a grand slam in the 11-0 series finale.  Sarah Jorrisen also hit two home runs in the series finale while Nicole Christensen hit two bombs in Saturday's doubleheader.
 
Ally Distler also recorded her RMAC-leading 16^th home run of the season during the series finale.
 
Meanwhile, Ellie Smith also tossed a complete game victory on Sunday morning, allowing just three hits in it.
 
Bradford hit .538 and slugged at a 1.231 clip while driving in nine runs throughout the series.  She also posted a 1.831 OPS, recording three doubles, two walks, two stolen bases and four runs scored throughout the weekend.  Jorrisen hit .444 while Smith was 5-for-12 (.417) at the plate while going 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in three appearances.  She also allowed just six hits and held the RMAC's top hitting team to just six hits and a .146 batting average.
 
The Mavs out-hit the Cougars, 30-16 overall and had a 7-4 advantage in home runs between the two ball clubs, who sit first and second in the country for home runs this season.
 
Title Scenarios
 
Both CMU and CCU will be doing a bit of scoreboard watching throughout this upcoming weekend but also know that they can claim at least a share of the RMAC title purely on their own actions.

CMU has won 12 RMAC titles, including each of the last five. 
 
The Cougars have never won the RMAC title.
 
In most simplistic terms, the team that wins more games this weekend will win the crown.  If they each win the same number, they would share the title although all of this should be prefaced with the caveat that if either series is not completed, the title will come down to conference winning percentage.
 
Thus, series sweeps would guarantee either at least a share of the RMAC title and would be enough to win the title outright if the other drops or is unable to complete a contest.
 
Tournament Hosting Rights
 
The No. 1 seed and hosting rights for next week's RMAC Tournament are a quite a bit more complicated.  Again if either team finishes ahead of the other in the standings, they would be the No. 1 seed and host the 6-team, double-elimination tournament next Thursday through Saturday (May 5-7).
 
The other would then be the No. 2 seed and will also receive a first-round bye.
 
If the Mavericks and Cougars end up tied, the No. 1 and 2 seeds would then be determined by the conference's tie-breaking procedures.  The first tie-breaker is head-to-head results, but due to last weekend's series split, nothing was settled.  The second tie-breaker is the RMAC's Performance Indicator chart, outlined on Page 69-70 of the RMAC Manual.
 
Teams are awarded points, between 0-23 for each conference game they play, based on the result, the location (home or away) and one of four levels of their opponent, based on their opponents' final conference winning percentage.  Thus, the exact number of points awarded for each game can fluctuate as other teams move above or below the .250, .500 and .750 winning percentage thresholds.  Finally, the points are then averaged and the team with the highest average wins the tie-breaker.
 
Calculations made by the CMU Sports Information Office and confirmed by the RMAC earlier in the week, currently have the Mavericks ahead of the Cougars by 14 total points, with the chance to extend the lead to 18 points by the end of the weekend.
 
The lead largely comes from the following factors.

1. The Mavericks received 68 total points for their two wins (46) and two losses (22) last weekend while the Cougars received 60 for the same results, simply because CMU was the road team in the series.
2. The Mavericks swept an away series at UCCS, which is guaranteed of finishing above .500 and is in the second tier of difficulty level.  The Mavs received 20 points for each of those victories and 80 in total.  CCU did not play the Mountain Lions in a conference series, instead playing CSU Pueblo at home, a team the Mavs did not face.  Because CSU Pueblo is currently under .500 (16-20), the Cougars have tentatively received 60 points for their series sweep of the ThunderWolves, with the chance of that total raising to 72.
3. Other smaller differences come from the fact that CMU played just two away games at the Colorado School of Mines, currently below .500, due to weather in March.  CCU also had two away games wiped out due to weather at MSU Denver, guaranteed to be above .500 on the same weekend.

 However, CCU can pick up a net gain of 12 points if CSU Pueblo is able to sweep their series against UCCS this weekend.  The Cougars can also gain another net six points if Mines (15-17) finishes at or above .500 by winning a series against Black Hills State this week.
 
Thus, there is a scenario that the Cougars and Mavericks could still finish even on points, which then throw the tie-breaking procedures into the next level, which would be the best overall record.  CCU would win that tie-breaker as the Cougars have played and won four more non-conference games than the Mavericks did.
 
In summary for the simplest scenario, four Maverick wins combined with at least one UCCS victory over CSU Pueblo or two Mines losses to Black Hills State would be enough to get the Mavs over the finish line to host the RMAC Tournament for the sixth straight time even if CCU were to sweep New Mexico Highlands.
 
Senior Day
 
The Mavericks will recognize a quartet of fourth-year Mavericks in between games of Saturday's doubleheader with Chadron State during Senior Day festivities.  Redshirt senior Paige Adair and redshirt juniors Nicole Christensen, Shea Mauser and Lauren Wedman will be recognized before their final regular season home game.  Christensen, Mauser and Wedman all do have a season of eligibility remaining thanks to the NCAA's blanket COVID eligibility relief waiver for the 2020 season but will be graduating in May and moving on with their other academic and personal endeavors following this season.
 
The Mavs have gone an impressive 139-29 (.827) in their 4-year careers winning two RMAC regular season and last year's RMAC Tournament title during their time as Mavericks thus far.    The Mavs were also tied for the RMAC lead in 2020 when the rest of the season was canceled and have gone an even more impressive 110-11 (.909) in RMAC play during the senior class' time as Mavericks.
 
All four have helped the Mavs to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and have put together impressive individual resumes, highlighted by Wedman's consensus first team All-America honors and Adair's RMAC Pitcher of the Year accolades last season.  Christensen, an honorable mention All-RMAC selection, and Mauser have also been named to the RMAC All-Academic teams all three times they have been eligible.
 
Streaking lead-off hitter
 
Maverick short stop and lead-off hitter Ashley Bradford extended her hitting streak to 13 consecutive games with her performances last weekend, the longest hitting streak of an Maverick this season.  Ellie Smith had a 12-game streak from Feb. 27-Mar. 16 while freshman Myah Arrieta turned in another double-figure streak of ten straight games from Mar. 16-Apr. 2.
 
Bradford has also reached base safely in 27 consecutive games, also by far the longest streak of a Maverick this season.  Ally Distler had the second longest streak of 16 from Mar. 19 through Apr. 15.
 
Bradford now leads the Maverick lineup with her .384 batting average and .472 on-base percentage, the seventh highest mark in the RMAC.
 
Catching some Honors
 
Maverick sophomore catcher Ally Distler was named as the RMAC's Academic Player of the Year last week.  Maverick student-athletes have now claimed that honor in five of the last six years.    Distler has a 4.000 GPA and is majoring in psychology.  She also leads the RMAC with 16 home runs.
 
Her baseball "brother" Spencer Bramwell received the RMAC Academic Player of the Year.  He is also the Mavericks' starting catcher.
 
Distler was one of three Mavs on the First Team RMAC All-Academic squad, selected by sports information directors from around the conference based on a combination of academic and athletic accomplishments.  Ellie Smith and Shea Mauser were also picked for the first team while Kaley Barker, Nicole Christensen, Ava Fugate and Aislyn Sharp were all named to the honor roll.
 
Home Run Derby
 
The Mavericks hit seven more home runs in last week's series at Colorado Christian to add to their lead over the Cougars and the rest of the country in the NCAA Division II statistics.  The Mavericks have now hit 85 home runs to lead the Cougars by more.  CCU hit four homers against the Mavs.  Augustana (S.D.) is third in the country with 79 homeruns.
 
The total is now the second largest in program history, trailing on the 2001 team's mark of 98, which was a NCAA Division II record at the time.  The current national record is 114, set by Humboldt State in 2013.  MSU Denver hit 112 home runs in 2010 to set the RMAC record.  That total is also the second highest in Division II history. 
 
With five more home runs, the Mavericks would join the top 20 single-season marks in Division II history.
 
The Mavs also lead the country with their 1.85 home run-per-game average.  Augustana, which has played 45 games, is second at 1.76 while Valdosta State is third at 1.74.  Colorado Christian is fourth at 1.62.
 
The Mavs' home run power has been fueled by a balanced attack that has seen five different players reach double figures.  Thirteen different Mavs have hit at least one.
 
Ally Distler leads the group and the RMAC with 16, which puts her in a tie for seventh in the national home run chase.  She is also tied for tenth in CMU's single-season history.
 
Ashley Bradford is second on the current squad and part of a 5-way tie for third in the RMAC with 13.  Brandi Haller has a dozen to rank eighth in the conference while Ellie Smith and Nicole Christensen have ten apiece, tied for tenth most in the RMAC.  Smith hit 19 last year, tied for second most in program history and just two shy of the Mavs' single-season record of 21, set by Kelly Adams during the impressive 2001 season.
 
Sluggers
 
The Mavericks also sit second in the nation and the conference with an impressive .637 team slugging percentage.  Colorado Christian leads the way at .656.
 
The CMU school record .653, set in 2001.  The 2018 team, which got off to a 37-0 start, is second in Maverick history at .643. 
 
The Mavericks have three of the top five slugging percentages in the conference.  Brandi Haller is at .870 while Ashley Bradford has slugged at a .819 clip.  Ally Distler is fifth at .793.  Haller (1.329) and Bradford (1.291) are also second and third in the RMAC in the recent sabermetric fad OPS (On Base + Slugging Percentage).
 
Un-hittable
 
Paige Adair recorded her second no-hitter of the season on Sunday against Colorado Christian, an impressive feat considering the Cougars' talents.  Adair is now the first Maverick to throw two no-hitters in the same season since McKenzie Surface in 2019.
 
Adair continues to lead the country in hits allowed per seven innings, giving up just 34 in her 86 innings, a 2.77 per seven inning average.  Minnesota State's Mackenzie Ward is second in the country at a distant 3.57.  Adair also sits second in the country with her 0.71 WHIP (Walks + Hits Allowed/Innings Pitched).  Rogers State's Andrea Morales leads Division II at 0.67.
 
Adair also leads the RMAC with her 1.22 ERA and .118 opponents batting average.  He ERA mark has her well on pace to smash the single-season CMU record of 1.62, set by Stacy Dennis in 2013.
 
Stingy Staff
 
Due to an injury that kept her out for nearly a month, Adair has thrown the fewest innings on the Mavs' impressive 3-pitcher staff, which is well on pace to shatter the Maverick program-record for team ERA.  This year's Mavs have a team ERA of 1.61, tenth best in Division II.  The current record is 2.08, set 20 years ago in 2002.

Ellie Smith ranks second behind Adair in the RMAC with her 1.53 ERA while Shea Mauser is fourth in the RMAC at 2.06.
 
In the Rankings
 
The weekend road split with Colorado Christian was good enough for the Mavericks to move up two spots into seventh in this week's NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings, released on Wednesday  The Mavericks had been ninth in the initial set, released last Wednesday.
 
Colorado Christian remained in the No. 10 spot.
 
Those rankings will be updated one more time next Wednesday leading into the official NCAA tournament selection announcement, which will include just eight teams from the region, including the conference tournament champions from both conferences, who will receive automatic bids.
 
The Cougars have the most wins (43) in the region while the Mavs and No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville both have 39, the second most.  The Mavs and Cougars also have fewer losses (7) than every other team except for top-ranked UT Tyler (36-4), which continues to hold down the top spot in the region and in the NFCA Division II Coaches' Poll.
 
Six other Lone Star Conference teams are in the top nine of the regional rankings as well.
 
Despite their impressive records, the Cougars and Mavericks are being somewhat hampered by the RMAC's lower relative strength  and thus in the strength of schedule and RPI categories.
 
The Mavericks have an region RPI of .586 to rank sixth in the region.  CCU's is .581 and eighth best.   Both teams benefited in those numbers by playing each other last week.
 
CMU has a 2-0 record against Lone Star Conference teams in Eastern and Western New Mexico and sports a 38-7 "in-region" record.  The Cougars went 6-2 against LSC foes during the early portion of the season but lost their only game against a regionally-ranked squad West Texas A&M.  They are 43-6 in "in-region" play.
 
Defending & Dominant Champions
 
The Mavericks entered the 2022 RMAC season as the 5-time defending regular season conference champions having won the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and 2021 titles.  They were also 10-2 and tied for the RMAC standings lead with Colorado Christian and MSU Denver in the 2020 RMAC standings when the remainder that season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The Mavericks also won the RMAC Tournament title in 2017, 2018 and 2021 and advanced to their fifth straight NCAA Division II tournament last spring.
 
The Mavericks also hold a share of the RMAC lead with their 31-3 conference record this year.
 
Since beginning their RMAC title winning streak in 2016, the Mavericks have posted a 273-55 overall record, good for an .832 winning percentage in their 328 games.
 
The Mavs have been even more impressive in conference play, going a 213-21 in their 234 RMAC games since 2016, good for an .910 winning percentage.  The Mavs have not lost more than four RMAC games in a single season during that 6-year stretch.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
After sweeping Black Hills State in their last home series, the Mavericks improved their home-field record to 17-1 this season.
 
The home success is nothing new for the Mavericks, who have been tough to beat at the CMU Softball Stadium.  The Mavericks went 23-2 at home last season and are now 151-21 at home since the start of the 2015 season, good for a .878 winning percentage over the seven seasons.  They were a perfect 24-0 at home back in 2017 and have also recorded 20 or more home wins in each of their last four full seasons. Three more wins this weekend would allow the Mavericks to extend that streak to five consecutive full seasons.
 
Here's a look at the Mavericks' home-field records over the last eight seasons.
 
2015- 18-2
2016- 17-5
2017- 24-0
2018- 22-5
2019-24-4
2020*- 6-2
2021-23-2
2022- 17-1 (current)
 
*Pandemic abbreviated season.
 
Smoothing sailing at the helm
 
Second-year Maverick Head Coach Mercedes Bohte, a member of the Maverick coaching staff since 2013, now has a 78-12 (.867) career winning percentage as the leader of the program.  The Mavericks have won 92.9 percent (65-5) of their RMAC games under her tutelage.
 
In 2021, while serving as the program's interim coach, Bohte, led the Mavericks to a 39-5 overall record, good for an .886 winning percentage, which was the best in Division II softball.  She was named as the RMAC Coach of the Year for her efforts and then had the interim tag removed over the summer.
 
Under her direction, the Mavericks went 34-2 in RMAC play to win the RMAC's regular season title last spring.  They also claimed the RMAC Tournament crown and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
In her time on the coaching staff, which goes back to 2013, the Mavericks have won six RMAC Championships and have qualified for five NCAA Tournaments.  As the team's pitching coach, her staffs have led the RMAC in ERA during each of the last six seasons, including in 2021, when she guided RMAC Pitcher of the Year Paige Adair and RMAC Player of the Year Ellie Smith, who had the league's top two individual ERAs.
 
Smith, who also had a monster offensive season as the team's designated player, and outfielder Lauren Wedman were also named as consensus first team all-Americans as leaders of the Maverick attack, which led the country in scoring (8.95 runs per game) and the RMAC in a multitude of statistical categories.
 
In her time as the Mavs' pitching coach, Bohte has guided 11 All-RMAC pitchers, eight of whom have also earned all-region honors, a group led by McKenzie Surface, the RMAC's all-time winningest pitcher and 2017 RMAC Co-Pitcher of the Year, 2019 RMAC Pitcher of the Year Kimbri Herring and Adair, who also picked up Second Team All-South Central Region accolades from both the NFCA and D2CCA.
 
The Mavericks also had seven overall and four First Team All-RMAC honorees in 2021 under Bohte.
 
Scouting the Eagles
 
The Eagles are 11-33 overall and 10-22 in RMAC play.  They will finish either ninth or tenth in the RMAC standings.  They have won five of their last six, sweeping Black Hills State in a 4-game road series on Apr. 14 and 15 before splitting a Monday doubleheader against the Colorado School of Mines at home.  The other two games of that scheduled 4-game set were unable to be played.
 
Fifth-year Head Coach Kaley Ness' squad ranks 11^th in the RMAC for team batting average (.261) but has five players hitting above .300, including Paige Propp, who is hitting .373 in 19 games played.  Aliyah Rothstein is hitting .310 as a more regular in Ness' lineup and has stolen 22 bases to stand third in the RMAC.  Only four of her 35 hits have been for extra bases.
 
Jessie Henchenski and Mackenzi Kroll provide more of the power.  Both are hitting .307.  Henchenski is slugging at a .535 pace.  She has eight doubles and five home runs and has driven in 18 runs.  Kroll leads the Eagles with seven home runs and has driven in 21.  She  is slugging .625.
 
Sloane Quijas has also been solid, drawing 21 walks while recording 32 hits, second only to Rothstein's 35.
 
Addison Spears has 12 extra-base hits, including six home runs and has driven in a Eagle-leading 28 runs but is hitting just .248 with 21 strikeouts.  J'lyssa Martinez also has ten stolen bases but has struck out a team-high 25 times.
 
Tia Kohl has been the work-horse in the circle and enters the weekend with a 6-14 record and 5.37 ERA.  She has started nearly half (21) of the Eagles' 44 games and has made 30 appearances while tossing eight complete games including one shutout.  She has thrown 118 2/3 innings to rank seventh in the RMAC and has struck out 99, the eighth largest tally in the RMAC.
 
Kenzi Garner (3-8, 4.83 ERA) and Gabby Russell (2-7, 5.31) have also seen extensive pitching time combining for eight more complete games. 
 
The Eagle pitching staff has an ERA of 5.74 to rank eighth in the RMAC and has allowed opponents to hit a combined .335 against them, also the eighth best mark in the conference.
 
Series History
 
The Mavs have won 18 straight games over the Eagles and have a commanding 40-11 in the all-time series since 1994.  The Mavs have been even more impressive at home, going 22-2 against the Eagles in that time.  The Mavericks won all four games of last year's series in Chadron, Nebraska, but had to go to eight innings before pulling out an 11-10 win in the second game of what ended up being CMU's final regular season series.  The Mavs also posted two shutouts and two run-rule wins in that series.
 
In 2020, the Mavericks opened up RMAC play by sweeping a 4-game home stand from the Eagles, although the first game of that series was decided by a single run (3-2).
 
Chadron State's last win over the Mavericks came on Feb. 27, 2017 by a 4-3 margin in Chadron as the Eagles won two of three games in a tripleheader.  CSC's last win in Grand Junction came back in 2008 (Mar. 15).
 
Up Next
 
After this weekend's series, the Mavericks will enter the May 5-7 tournament as either the first or second seed, which will either be at the CMU Softball Stadium or All Star Park in Lakewood dependent on results from this weekend as laid out earlier in this preview. 
 
The Mavericks will have a first round bye in the 6-team, double-elimination affair and will play one time on Thursday, May 5 in either Game 3 or Game 4 of the tournament.
 
The RMAC Tournament Champion will receive the conference's automatic qualification spot into the South Central Regional portion of the NCAA Tournament.