GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After winning a sixth straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title during a strong 45-9 overall season in 2022, the Colorado Mesa University softball team will travel to Irvine, California to open their 2023 season this weekend at the Concordia Kickoff Classic at Great Park.
 
The tournament will pit the Mavericks against five California schools from the California Collegiate Athletic Association and Pacific West Conference over three days, starting Friday morning.
 
CMU's third game of the tournament on Saturday afternoon will be against the tournament hosts, ranked 19^th in the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
The Mavs will play Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay of the CCAA on Friday before taking on a pair of PacWest foes in CUI and Dominican on Saturday.  The Mavs then wrap up the weekend against another CCAA foe in San Francisco State in their lone Sunday game.
 
Fans are encouraged to make use of the tournament website for complete details on the tournament, which includes 20 total teams, playing 50 total games on five fields at the complex throughout the weekend.
 
The Mavericks and RMAC rival Colorado Christian are the only two teams in the tournament from the South Central Region.  The other 18 squads are from the West Region's three conferences (CCAA, GNAC, PacWest).
 
Digital tickets must also be purchased online in advance through that site and are $15 for a one-day pass or $43 for a tournament pass.  Prices for seniors and youth (5-10) are $10 for a single day or $28 for a tournament pass.
 
Live Coverage

There will be live streams (natural sound only) for all five of the Mavericks' games this weekend.  Four of those can be found via the RMAC Network at www.cmumavericks.com/tv.  The game against tournament host CUI can be accessed here.

Live statistics for all five games can also be accessed at the following links.

Friday, Feb. 3
vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (9:30 a.m. MST)
vs. Cal State East Bay (2:30 p.m. MST)

Saturday, Feb. 4
vs. #19 CUI (2:30 p.m. MST)
vs. Dominican (8 p.m. MST)

Sunday, Feb. 5
vs. San Francisco State (10:30 a.m. MST)
 
A look back to '22
 
The Mavericks finished the 2022 season with a 45-9 overall record and won a sixth consecutive RMAC title with a 35-3 conference record but were left out of the NCAA Tournament after finishing third in the RMAC Tournament.  Seven Lone Star Conference teams were selected in the NCAA South Central Region while Colorado Christian was the only RMAC representative after winning the conference tournament.  The Cougars finished second behind the Mavs in the conference regular season.
 
The Mavericks, who had the nation's fourth-best winning percentage (.833) had an impressive year and ended up atop all of Division II softball with 100 home runs and their .646 team slugging percentage.  The Mavs also combined for a school-record smashing 1.63 team ERA and allowed just 234 hits in 339 defensive innings, ranking fifth in the country for WHIP (Walks + Hits/Innings Pitched) and sixth for ERA.
 
They also out-hit their opponents .348 to .190 (batting average) throughout the season and went on a 23-game winning streak from Feb. 18-Mar. 26.
 
The Mavs placed six players on the First Team All-RMAC squad, four of whom are on the 2023 roster, and also had two second team selections. 
 
Shortstop Ashley Bradford, who is back for her fifth year in 2023, was named as the RMAC Player of the Year and was later named a Second Team D2CCA All-American.  Paige Adair, who graduated, was named as the RMAC Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season and was later named as the D2CCA Pitcher of the Year.
 
Honored Mavs Back
 
Although the Mavericks have nine new faces on the 2023 roster, they do return ten total players, including four First Team All-RMAC selections in Bradford, catcher Ally Distler, infielder Myah Arrieta and outfielder Brandi Haller.  Braford, Distler, expected to miss the 2023 season due to injury, and Haller also earned D2CCA All-South Central region honors in 2022 with Bradford being named to the first team.  She and Distler were also named to the Second Team NFCA All-South Central Region team.
 
Transfers
 
The Mavericks have added three transfers to this year's roster, including two from NCAA schools. 
 
Miranda Pruitt is a graduate transfer from Division I Tarleton State and will have two seasons of eligibility with the Mavericks.  She hit 19 career home runs with the Texans, including eight last year while hitting .250 (18-72) in 32 games and 21 starts.  The Joshua, Texas native had seven home runs in 44 games and 42 starts in 2021.
 
The Mavs also have two transfer pitchers in junior Hannah Sattler, who comes to the Mavericks via Division II Southern Nazarene and Stella Turner, who was the Santiago Canyon College workhorse at the junior college level last season.  Both originally hail from southern California.
 
Sattler, a Simi Valley native, made 22 appearances, including a pair of starts, and threw 46 innings as a sophomore for the Southern Nazarene Red Storm, members of the Great Athletic Conference.  She posted a 5-3 record and 4.26 ERA while striking out 31 hitters.
 
Turner, a native of Tustin, went 27-11 with a 2.44 ERA in 44 appearances and 41 starts for the Santiago Canyon Hawks and completed 31 games while throwing 261 1/3 innings.  She allowed just 11 home runs and 32 walks while recording 81 strikeouts for her team, which went to the CCCAA State Tournament after winning SoCal Regional and super regional playoff series.
 
Freshman Pitchers

The Mavs also have two freshman, who are expected to contribute early on a brand-new pitching staff.  Both are local products in Central High School's Kennedy Vis and Fruita Monument graduate Marisa Nehm. 
 
Vis was a 2-time first team all-conference and honorable mention all-state honoree for the perennially strong Warriors and was named as the 2021 Southwestern League Player of the Year.
 
Local Five
 
Vis and Nehm are two of five Grand Junction natives on the Mavs' 2023 roster, who are all playing their college ball at home.  The Mavs have also added early enrollee Olivia Litzen, who completed her Central High School career as a 2-time All-SWL pick in the fall of 2022.  She is a catcher.
 
Two of the Mavs' four returning First Team All-RMAC picks are also graduates of District 51 high schools in fifth-year senior Brandi Haller, formerly of Fruita Monument, and sophomore Myah Arrietta, formerly of Central.
 
Other Newcomers
 
Including, the aforementioned players, the Mavericks have six freshman on the 2023 roster.  Also joining the Mavs this year is third baseman Makayla Westmoreland of Murrieta, California and outfielders Bella Aragon of Denver and Dakota DiPaola of Littleton, Colorado.
 
Veteran In and Out
 
Although the Mavs are the youngest, they have been in recent memory, the Mavericks will have a veteran outfield core with Haller and returning starter Iliana Mendoza anchoring the group.  Rylee Crouch and Mallory Warner also saw time as reserves last year and are back to help tutor Aragon and DiPaola.
 
The Mavs are also very experienced in the infield as Ava Fugate and Sarah Jorrisen returns for their true and redshirt junior seasons after platooning starts at first base.  Myah Arrietta will likely hold down the second base spot again in 2023 while Ashley Bradford returns at short.  Aislyn Sharp, who made 35 starts at second base as a redshirt freshman in 2021 and four more last year during an injury-shortened 2022 season, will likely move to third base after the graduation of Second Team All-RMAC pick Nicole Christensen.
 
All-Tourney Repeat?
 
Maverick shortstop Ashley Bradford was named to the Concordia Kickoff Classic All-Tournament team last year after leading the Mavericks with her .385 (5-13) batting average during the 2022 season-opening weekend, which she used to propel her to an eventual RMAC Player of the Year honor and D2CCA Second Team All-America honor.
 
In the Polls
 
The Mavericks were recently picked second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Preseason Poll, which was released on Jan. 18.   The Mavs received 107 points in the polling of the league's head coaches, who ranked their opposition 1-11 without voting for their own squad.  They also received one first place vote.
 
Colorado Christian, which finished 49-10 overall and 34-4 in RMAC play to finish second in the regular season standings, was picked first in the poll with 119 points and ten first place votes.  The Cougars won the RMAC Tournament in 2022.
 
MSU Denver, 38-22 (23-15 RMAC) in 2022 was picked third with 100 points and received the other first place vote.  Regis (95), UCCS (73) and Fort Lewis (69) rounded out the top half of the poll after each qualified for the 6-team RMAC Tournament field last year.
 
Click here to see the whole poll.
 
The polls, continued…
 
No RMAC teams were picked in the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, voted on by a member of 16 head coaches, with two representing each of the NCAA's eight regions.  CMU Head Coach Mercedes Bohte is a member of that committee this year.
 
Although, the RMAC did not have any teams picked, the Mavericks are slated to play a pair of nationally-ranked teams in the opening two weekends of the year, including a match-up with No. 19 Concordia Irvine this Saturday.  The Mavs will also play No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville twice during the Feb. 10-12 West Texas Invitational in Canyon, Texas.  The Javelinas are one of four Lone Star Conference and NCAA South Central Region teams in the national top 25.  UT Tyler is third in the poll while Angelo State and Lubbock Christian are ranked 18^th and 21^st, respectively.  Another LSC team in Oklahoma Christian is receiving votes but just outside the top 25.
 
Preseason Top 100
 
The Mavericks had a RMAC-leading three players named to the "Extra Elite 100", which was released Monday by Extra Inning Softball, a new sport-specific website. 
 
The list of the top 100 ranked players in Division II softball included the Mavericks' Ashley Bradford (#31), Ally Distler (#56) and Brandi Haller (#72). 
 
Two other RMAC players were also picked.
 
The complete list can be viewed on the site (subscription required).
 
Full and Favorable slate
 
The Mavericks are due to play a full 54-game schedule this season, playing ten non-conference games over the next two weeks in this weekend's Concordia Kickoff Classic and next week's West Texas Invitational.  All ten of those contests will be considered "in-region" contests for NCAA Tournament selection purposes with the second set of five coming against Lone Star Conference foes, who along with the 12 RMAC squads make up the NCAA South Central Region, which will send eight teams to the post-season.
 
This week's five games are against West Region foes but will count on the Mavs' "in-region" record due to the contiguous state principles of the NCAA Division II regionalization model.
 
After the non-conference slate, the Mavs will then begin Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, which has been expanded a week and to a 44-game conference schedule this year.  In the new RMAC scheduling philosophy, all 12 teams will face each of their 11 opponents in a full 4-game series, a change from previous years when teams missed out on an opponent or only faced some teams twice during 3-team "pod" weekends.
 
The Mavs will play six of those 11 opponents and 24 of their conference games at home this season and drew a favorable home draw.  They are due to play each of the five other 2022 RMAC Tournament qualifying teams at home and will also host Black Hills State in their other home series. 
 
The Mavs will play 20 RMAC road games, with the toughest challenge, at least according to the RMAC Preseason Poll, coming on the final weekend (Apr. 28-29) at the Colorado School of Mines, picked seventh in the poll.

The Mavs have a pair of 8-game home-stands on the schedule, including the opening stretch, and will be on the road for eight straight RMAC games just once, playing at Adams State and New Mexico Highlands on back-to-back weekends over the first two weeks of March.
 
Powerhouse Program
 
As mentioned above, the Mavericks led Division II in home runs (100) and slugging percentage (.646) last season.  The Mavs were also ranked 11^th in the country for batting average (.348) a year ago.
 
The CMU pitching staff was also quite impressive and finished fifth in the country for WHIP (Walks + Hits/Innings Pitched) at 0.96 and sixth for ERA (1.63) last year.
 
The Mavs also ranked seventh in the country for shutouts (17) and had the fourth best winning percentage (.833) in the entire country last season.
 
Dominant Champions

The Mavericks were able to six-peat as RMAC Champions last year.  The Mavericks had also won the 2016, 2017, 2018, 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.
 
Since beginning their RMAC title winning streak in 2016, the Mavericks have posted a 279-57 overall record, good for an .830 winning percentage in their 336 games during the stretch.
 
The Mavs have been even more impressive in conference play, going an incredible 217-21 in their 238 RMAC games since 2016, good for an .912 winning percentage.  The Mavs have not lost more than four RMAC games in a single season during that 6-year stretch and lost just three out of 38 last year.
 
The Mavs have reached the 40-win mark in five of their last six full seasons (excluding the 2020 COVID canceled season) and won 39 games in 2021, a year in which the Mavs only played RMAC regular season games due to continued COVID ramifications.
 
Back for a Third
 
Third-year Maverick Head Coach Mercedes Bohte, a member of the Maverick coaching staff since 2013, now has an 84-14 (.857) career winning percentage as the leader of the program.  The Mavericks have won 93.2 percent (69-5) 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 of 2021.  Under her direction in that year, the Mavericks went 34-2 in RMAC play to win the RMAC's regular season title.  They also claimed the RMAC Tournament crown and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
In 2022, the Mavericks were just as successful going 45-9 overall and 35-3 in RMAC play, clinching a sixth consecutive RMAC Regular Season title on the final day.
 
That year's team had eight overall All-RMAC picks, including six first team selections.  The Mavericks also laid claim to the RMAC Player of the Year in Ashley Bradford, later named as a Second Team D2CCA All-American, and the RMAC Pitcher of the Year in repeat selection Paige Adair. 
 
The Mavs also won the NCAA statistical titles for home runs (100) and slugging percentage (.646) and set a school-record for team ERA (1.63), the sixth best mark in all of Division II softball.
 
In Bohte's first season (2021), the Mavericks also had seven overall and four First Team All-RMAC honorees.  The Mavs led the country in scoring (8.95 runs per game) that year and had a pair of consensus first team all-Americans in Ellie Smith and Lauren Wedman.
 
In her time on the coaching staff, which goes back to 2013, the Mavericks have won seven 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 seven seasons, including in 2021 and 2022, when she guided 2-time RMAC Pitcher of the Year Paige Adair, who set a new single-season record for individual ERA (1.30).  Adair also became the first Maverick to earn D2CCA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year.

In her time as the Mavs' pitching coach, Bohte has guided pitchers to 14 All-RMAC and 11 all-region honors, a group led by Adair, 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.
 
Providing the Assistance
 
Bohte also returns all three of her assistant coaches to the Maverick staff in 2023.  Former Maverick standout baseball player Willie Hinojosa is back for his second year as Bohte's primary and full-time assistant.
 
Eddie Mort and volunteer assistant Jamie Walpole are also returning.

Defending Champions
 
The Mavericks will enter the 2023 season as the 6-time defending RMAC Regular Season Champions having won the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, 2021 and 2022 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.
 
CMU also won the RMAC Tournament title in 2017, 2018 and 2021 and advanced to their fifth straight NCAA Division II tournament last spring.
 
Since beginning their RMAC title winning streak in 2016, the Mavericks have posted a 236-48 overall record, good for an .831 winning percentage.
 
About the Opponents
 
As mentioned above, the Mavericks will play five California opponents this weekend.  A summary of each team along with the time and field of this weekend's game can be found below.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay (Friday, Feb. 3- 9:30 a.m. MST/8:30 a.m. PST)- Field #2
 
The Otters went 37-23 overall and 18-18 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play last season.  They fell in the CCAA Tournament title game to Sonoma State but were still selected for the NCAA Tournament, where they went 0-2.
 
They have been picked fifth out of ten teams in the CCAA Preseason Poll with 67 points and bring back seven regulars in their lineup.  Highlight the list are Alcayaga twins, Ally (.363, 9 HR, 35 RBI) and Abby (.308, 11 XBH, .390 OB%).  They will have to replace first team all-conference pitcher Jensen Main, who was 24-11 with a 1.76 ERA last year.  Cassie Gaspar (7-8, 2.02 ERA) and Kassidy Stetler (6-4, 4.16 ERA) are the most likely candidates to do so.
 
Regular starters Haylee Clay (.350) and Ivana Perez (.336) also return to the offensive lineup for Head Coach Andrea Kenney, who has won more than 500 games while leading the Otters to eight NCAA Tournament appearances and five CCAA Championships in her previous 16 seasons at the helm.
 
Cal State East Bay (Friday, Feb. 3- 2:30 p.m. MST/1:30 p.m. PST)- Field #4
 
The Pioneers secured the sixth and final spot in last season's CCAA Tournament and went 24-28 overall (15-21 CCAA) in 2022.  The tournament appearance was the Pioneers' first since joining the conference in 2010.  Sarah Duran (.350, 14 XBH, .430 OB%) is the only returning All-CCAA selection for the Pioneers, under the direction of eighth-year head coach Claire Sua-Amundson.
 
Annelise Garcia also returns after hitting .340 a year ago.
 
Senior Anamaria Beard is the team's top returning pitcher from last year.  She went 10-12 with a 4.03 ERA and 1.31 WHIP last season.
 
The Pioneers were tied with San Francisco State for sixth in the CCAA Preseason Poll with 41 points.
 
#19 Concordia Irvine (Sat., Feb. 4- 2:30 p.m. MST/1:30 p.m. PST)- Stadium Field
 
The Golden Eagles dominated the Preseason Pacific West Conference poll, receiving unanimous top-billing.  They also have the conference's Preseason Pitcher (Katlin Entrup) and Player (Megan Massa) of the Year.
 
Coach Crystal Rosenthal returns 23 of 27 players from last year's roster that was good enough to win the PacWest title by four full games.  They then hosted and advanced to the NCAA West Regional title game before ending 46-10 (29-3 PacWest) season with a defeat at the hands of eventual national runner-up Cal State Dominguez Hills.
 
Entrup was last year's PacWest Newcomer of the Year and went 17-5 with a 1.32 ERA en-route to NFCA First Team All-West Region honors in her first year with CUI after transferring from Division I San Diego. 
 
Meanwhile, Massa hit .408 with 19 doubles and ten stolen bases while scoring 41 runs and earning first team all-region and PacWest Player of the Year honors last season.
 
Rosenthal, who eclipsed the 600 career-win mark late last season, also returns three other Preseason All-PacWest picks in first baseman Missy Nemeth, third baseman Sydney Sprinkle and pitcher Cortney Koelmans.  Sprinkle led the conference with 53 RBIs last season and hit .369 with eight home runs.  Koelmans was 9-0 with a 1.05 ERA inside the circle while Nemeth hit .290 with nine homers last year.
 
Dominican (Sat, Feb. 4- 8 p.m. MST/7 p.m. PST)- Field #3
 
The Penguins are coming off a 18-32 2022 season, which saw them go 12-20 in Pacific West Conference play, good for seventh place. 
 
Senior Pitcher Shelby Keltner and senior infielder Lauren Lapinid lead the returning cast of 11 after earning All-Pac West honors.  Keltner, a second team pick, set a new Dominican single-season record with 147 strikeouts and went 9-19 with a 1.92 ERA last year.  Lapinid was a third team pick and hit .329 with eight doubles, 17 RBI and a .347 on-base percentage last season while starting all 50 games at shortstop.
 
The Penguins, guided by seventh-year head coach Juliana Santos, have been picked sixth out of nine teams in the PacWest Preseason Poll with 34 points.
 
San Francisco State (Sun., Feb. 4- 10:30 a.m. MST/9:30 a.m. PST)- Field #4
 
The Gators went 23-30 overall and 14-22 in CCAA play last season, missing out on the CCAA Tournament by a single game as the seventh-place finishers.
 
The Gators had one of the top offenses in the conference last season but will have a new look in its lineup as it will need to replace CCAA Player of the Year Brylynn Vallejos (.408, 64 runs, 37 SB). Shortstop Kai Deleon is back at shortstop after hitting .368 as a freshman.
 
Sixth-year Head Coach Alicia Reid does return all four of her pitches from last year's staff that posted a 3.94 ERA.  That list includes Taylor Kelly (6-8, 3.20 ERA) and Kailtyn Maddux (8-16, 4.27 ERA), who started 39 combined games a year.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavericks have never played Cal State Monterey Bay nor Dominican and won their only previous game against Cal State East Bay by a 14-1 margin in five innings back on Feb. 7, 2019 in St. George, Utah.
 
The Mavs are 1-3 all-time against CUI and will look to avenge a 5-3 defeat during last year's Concordia Kickoff Classic on Feb. 5.  The three previous meetings were in 2003, 2017 and 2018 in neutral-site tournaments in Las Vegas, Nevada and St. George, Utah.

The Mavs are 1-0 against San Francisco State after defeating the Gators, 9-1 in their season-opener last year on Feb. 4.  That win was CMU's only victory in five games at last year's Concordia Kickoff Classic.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will travel again next weekend (Feb. 10-12), heading to Canyon, Texas to play five combined key regional games against three Lone Star Conference foes in Texas A&M-Kingsville, West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico.
 
The Mavs then open up RMAC play with eight straight home games, beginning on Feb. 18 against Fort Lewis.