GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University softball team will continue an early season 8-game homestand this weekend hosting Black Hills State University in a weekend series at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
The Mavericks (5-7, 3-1 RMAC) will look to get back above .500 on their overall slate, taking on the Yellow Jackets (0-4, 0-4 RMAC), who were swept at the Colorado School of Mines in their season-opening series after not playing any non-conference games.
 
Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon while Sunday's is slated for an 11 a.m. start.
 
All four games will be streamed live on the RMAC Network and live statistics will be available here.
 
Tickets can also be purchased at www.cmumavericks.com/tickets or at the gate.

Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks won three out of four games in their first RMAC series of the season last Sunday and Monday at home against Fort Lewis.  The Mavericks hit six home runs and claimed 11-4 and 10-2 wins in the first doubleheader and then won the third game of the series, 4-3.  They were then one strike away from another 4-3 victory in the final game of the series before the Skyhawks rallied for a 6-4 win.
 
The Mavs ended the series with nine home runs as Rylee Crouch, Brandi Haller, Miranda Pruitt and Anslyn Sharp all hit two.  Sarah Jorisssen also homered as the Mavs finished the series with 11 doubles and 20 extra-base hits while hitting .318 overall.
 
Haller, Bella Aragon and Ava Fugate all hit .500 while Crouch hit .455.  Haller also had two doubles and a slugging percentage of 1.300.
 
Pitcher Hannah Sattler recorded a pair of complete game wins and a 2.88 weekend ERA to lead the Maverick pitching staff.

Recaps for both doubleheaders can be found here: SUNDAY | MONDAY 
 
Fast Start
 
Maverick sophomore outfielder Rylee Crouch has put together a strong start to her 2023 campaign, hitting six home runs while slugging 1.088 and driving in 13 runs.  Crouch is tied for the RMAC lead in home runs and leads the conference with her slugging percentage and OPS (1.588).  She is also tied for fifth in the RMAC for RBIs, tied for eighth in runs scored (11) and on-base percentage (.500) and tenth for batting average (.441).
 
Aragon has played in ten of the Mavs' 12 games thus, making four starts as an outfielder and designated player.  She has also been used as a pinch-runner and is tied for the team lead with three stolen bases.
 
Speaking of Fast
 
Maverick freshman Bella Aragon has also gotten out to a fast start, both figuratively and literally.  She has a team-leading .500 batting average to sit in a tie for third in the RMAC statistics and has the fourth-best on-base percentage (.583) and tenth best slugging percentage (.700) thus far.
 
Aragon hit two doubles in her first start against Eastern New Mexico and had a hit, two walks and two stolen bases in Monday' 4-3 win over Fort Lewis.
 
Grand Slam Time
 
Aislyn Sharp hit her first career grand slam against Fort Lewis on Sunday knocking a 3-2 pitch over the left field fence in the bottom of the first inning in CMU's 10-2 run-rule win over the Skyhawks on Monday.
 
The Mavericks hit four grand slams out of their 100 total home runs last season, two of which came against the Skyhawks.
 
Welcome to the Club
 
Maverick catcher Miranda Pruitt joined the CMU home run club hitting her first two home runs in a Maverick uniform on Sunday and Monday against Fort Lewis.  Pruitt is a graduate transfer from Division I Tarleton State, where she had 16 home runs in three seasons with the Texans, eight of which came last year.
 
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.
 
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 284-64 overall record, good for an .816 winning percentage in their 348 games during the stretch.
 
The Mavs have been even more impressive in conference play, going an incredible 220-22 in their 242 RMAC games since 2016, good for an .909 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.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
The CMU Softball Stadium has proven to be a fortress for the Mavericks and a house of horrors for opposing squads in recent years.
 
The Mavericks have been tough to beat at home and went 23-3 at home last year, raising their home record to 157-23 at home since the start of the 2015 season, good for a .872 winning percentage over those eight seasons. 
 
With their 3-1 home start, the Mavs are now 160-24 (.870) in the last nine seasons at home.
 
They were a perfect 24-0 at home back in 2017 and have now recorded 20 or more home wins in each of their last six full seasons.
 
They Mavs are slated to play 24 home games during the regular season this year, including this upcoming series with Black Hills Sate, which Is just 3-21 against the Mavericks in Grand Junction.
 
Here's a look at the Mavericks' home-field records over the last eight years.
 
2015- 18-2
2016- 17-5
2017- 24-0
2018- 22-5
2019-24-4
2020*- 6-2
2021-23-2
2022- 23-3
 
*Pandemic abbreviated season.
 
Smoothing sailing at the helm
 
Third-year Maverick Head Coach Mercedes Bohte, a member of the Maverick coaching staff since 2013, now has an 89-21 (.809) career winning percentage as the leader of the program.  The Mavericks have won 92.3 percent (72-6) 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.
 
Know Your Foe
 
Black Hills State was swept in their season-opening series against the Colorado School of Mines on Sunday and Monday.  The Yellow Jackets did not play any non-conference games.
 
They were out-scored 30-13 throughout the opening series against Mines although Shayla Tuschen put up a solid offensive weekend, going 6-for-12 with two doubles, three runs scored and six RBIs.  She also pitched a team-most 10 1/3 innings, posting a 3.39 ERA after giving up just five earned runs in a pair of relief efforts.  She struck out seven Orediggers.
 
In 2022, Tuschen hit .357 with five homers, a team-high 11 doubles and drove in 30 runs.  She also drew 17 walks, equal to the most on the team, but was fanned a team-leading 27 times.
 
Now sophomore Tyler Whitlock and senior Gianna Haley also return in 2023 after hitting over .300 last season although the Jackets did lose four of their seven .300+ hitters from a year ago, including Crystal Amaral, who had 11 of the team's 29 home runs.   Amaral also hit .392 last season and was the team's most-used pitcher with 117 1/3 innings.

Tuschen, who went 6-10 with a 5.72 ERA, tossed 100 1/3 innings last season over 21 appearances and completed six of her 18 starts.
 
BHSU went 13-29 overall and 11-29 in RMAC play last year in their first year under head coach Aubrey Honeycutt.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavericks have dominated the all-time series with the Yellow Jackets winning the last 25 games and 30 out of 33 in the series overall.  They are 21-3 against them at home.
 
The Mavs swept last year's home series, outscoring the 'Jackets 38-2 while posting three 5-inning run-rule wins after a 5-1 win in the opener.  They also run-ruled the Jackets in all four games of a 2019 home series, outscoring them 54-6.
 
In 2021, CMU won the final three games of the series in five innings after battling for 13 innings in the series opener, going on to win an 8-3 decision.
 
The two teams did not play in 2020 due to the COVID related cancelations.
 
BHSU's last win in the rivalry was on Mar. 3, 2013 by a 4-3 margin in Grand Junction.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will head out on the road for the next two weekends playing weekend series at Adams State (Mar. 4-5) and New Mexico Highlands (Mar. 11-12).  The 8-game road swing will be CMU's longest of the RMAC season for the Mavs.