GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University softball team will travel to Canyon, Texas for five key South Central Regional games against three different Lone Star Conference foes, beginning Friday.
 
The Mavs will take on national poll No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville in the West Texas Invitational tournament opener at 9 a.m. CST (8 a.m. Mountain) and will take on the Javelinas again at the same time on Sunday in their last game of the conference crossover style tournament at Schaeffer Park.  In between, the Mavs will take on host West Texas A&M at 1:30 p.m. CST (12:30 p.m. Mountain) on Friday and 3:45 p.m. CST (2:45 p.m. Mountain) on Saturday.   They will also face Eastern New Mexico in their middle game of the weekend at 11:15 a.m. CST (10:15 a.m. Mountain) on Saturday.
 
Fort Lewis and New Mexico Highlands will also be at the tournament, playing the same three LSC foes.
 
Tournament information, including the ability to purchase tickets, can be found on the tournament website.  Links to live statistics and pay-per-view web streams of the games can also be accessed there.

Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks got their 2023 season underway last week at the Concordia Kickoff Classic in Irvine, California.  The Mavs won their first two games of the season last Friday (Feb. 3), knocking off Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay by 2-1 and 4-3 margins.  They then dropped 2-0 decisions to the 19^th-ranked and host Golden Eagles and Dominican on Saturday (Feb. 4) before a late-rally on Sunday morning (Feb. 5) against San Francisco State came up a run short.  The Mavs dropped that game, 7-6, and finished the weekend 2-3.
 
Rylee Crouch led the Maverick offensive attack, going 5-for-13 (.385) at the plate with a 3-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Mavs' the win over Cal State East Bay.  She also tripled and scored the winning run in the game against Cal State East Bay before sealing that victory with catch and throw double play from right field.
 
The new Maverick pitching staff was also solid, holding opponents to a .218 batting average while posting a 2.12 ERA throughout the weekend.
 
More detailed recaps from all three days of the tournament can be found below:
 
Day 1 (Friday) vs. Cal State Monterey Bay & Cal State East Bay
Day 2 (Saturday) vs. Concordia & Dominican
Day 3 (Sunday) vs. San Francisco State
 
All-Tourney Honor
 
For her efforts, Maverick sophomore Rylee Crouch was named to the Concordia Kickoff Classic All-Tournament Team.  She finished the weekend with a .769 slugging percentage and 1.169 OPS while driving in a team-high four RBIs.  She also scored two runs and drew a hit by pitch while delivering a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the win over Cal State Monterey Bay before her walk-off blast gave the Mavs the win against Cal State East Bay later on Thursday.
 
Top-ranked staff
 
Despite being completely new, the Maverick pitching staff got off to a great start at the Concordia Kickoff Classic.  The crew of junior transfer Hannah Sattler, freshman Kennedy Vis and redshirt junior Sarah Jorissen, who saw her first collegiate time in the circle last weekend, surrendered just ten earned runs in 33 innings last weekend.  The Mavs also gave up just one home run and held opponents to a .218 batting average.
 
The 2.12 ERA figure leads the RMAC thus far and should not be a surprise considering the Mavs have led the RMAC in ERA during each of the past seven seasons under the direction of now third-year head coach Mercedes Bohte, the Mavs' long-time pitching coach.
 
Individually, Sattler is second in the early-season RMAC statistics with her 1.98 ERA while Vis ranks third in the conference at 2.05.  Vis is also the RMAC leader in opponent batting average (.158).
 
Sattler is a transfer from fellow NCAA Division II institution Southern Nazarene while Vis was a highly-regarded local recruit out of Grand Junction and Central High School.
 
Jorissen, the Mavs' co-first baseman last year, made her first two collegiate pitching appearances last weekend, including a start against San Francisco State and picked up the win in relief against Cal State East Bay.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 281-60 overall record, good for an .824 winning percentage in their 341 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.
 
Smoothing sailing at the helm
 
Third-year Maverick Head Coach Mercedes Bohte, a member of the Maverick coaching staff since 2013, now has an 86-17 (.835) 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.
 
About the Opponents
 
This weekend's slate of games will be the Mavs' lone head-to-head match-ups inside the South Central Region but outside the RMAC schedule.  Thus, they will be very critical to the NCAA regional rankings later in the year.  Here's a capsule on each of the Mavs' opponents this week.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville
 
The Javelinas are ranked sixth in the NFCA poll and are coming off a 50-12 season that saw them advance to the NCAA South Central Super Regional, where they were downed 6-4 in the final game of the best-of-3 series at UT-Tyler.
 
However, TAMUK went just 2-4 in last weekend's Mardi Gras Invitational in Lafayette, Louisiana, their season-opening tournament.  Their victories came over Union (Tenn.) and Harding on Saturday while their losses came to Oklahoma Baptist, Mississippi College, Harding, Southern Arkansas and Southeastern Oklahoma State.
 
Jory Cervantes hit .421 (8-19) throughout the weekend while Yaya Kaaaialli (.368), Kayla Gonzales (.333) and Aaliyah Ortiz (.313) all hit over .300.  They also combined for seven of the Javelinas' nine extra-base hits throughout the weekend.
 
Beth Montes led the pitching staff, posting a 2-0 record with a 4.08 ERA while completing two of her three starts.  She also struck out 20 hitters in 17 2/3 innings of work last weekend.
 
Although he is new to the program, head coach Doug Eastman does return three all-Americans from the stellar 2022 squad in Cervantes, Ortiz and Matisen Onofrei, who went 0-for-7 in three games last weekend.
 
West Texas A&M
 
The Lady Buffs got out to a fast 4-0 start at last weekend's South Central Regional Challenge in Los Lunas, New Mexico.  They out-scored four RMAC foes (Adams State, New Mexico Highlands, Fort Lewis, CSU Pueblo) by a combined 41-8 margin, blanking the middle two foes 7-0 and 9-0, respectively.

They hit an impressive .388 as a team and hit 13 home runs without allowing any.  Ruby Salzman hit .667 (10-15) and slugged at 1.600 clip as she had four homers and six RBIs.  She was named as the LSC Hitter of the Week.

Emilee Boyer also hit four home runs and drove in ten runs while hitting .500 (6-12) and slugging at a 1.583 clip.  Julie Guzman and Diana Murtha also hit two home runs each while hitting above .400.

Meanwhile, five Lady Buff pitchers combined for a 0.88 ERA as Emilee Wilson allowed just one hit in five innings of work while Boyer gave up just seven hits in nine innings while earning two wins.

Last year's squad finished 29-16 overall and 17-13 in the LSC.  They Lady Buffs were picked sixth in the LSC Preseason Poll.

Eastern New Mexico
 
The Greyhounds will enter the weekend with a 4-3 record.  They went 3-2 on the weekend at the Lubbock Sports College Softball Classic before splitting a Wednesday afternoon doubleheader against Chadron State, also played in Lubbock, Texas.
 
Through seven games, Alondra Vasquez is hitting .450 (9-20).  She also has two home runs and a team-leading ten RBI.  Taighen Whitzel, hitting .417, also has two homers and five RBI.  She has also been walked eight times in just six starts.  The Greyhounds are hitting .330 as a team and have put up 50 runs, more than seven per game, thus far.
 
Their pitching has also been solid, combining for a 4.20 team ERA thus far.  Brook Leger is the ace and has completed three of her four starts while posting a 1.15 ERA and 1.07 WHIP while earning the win in all four of her appearances.    She has also fanned 24 hitters in 24 1/3 innings.
 
Leger was 11-14 with a 3.10 ERA as the team's workhorse in 2022, a season in which the squad went 18-10 overall and 9-21 in the LSC standings.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavericks are 1-2 all-time against Texas A&M-Kingsville.  Like this weekend's encounters, all three games have been played on neutral-fields.  The Mavs' lone win over the Javelinas came on Feb. 16, 2014 in Canyon, Texas.  The Javelinas claimed a 3-2 extra-inning decision in the last meeting on Feb. 15, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona.
 
The Mavs are 1-8 all-time against West Texas A&M, which has taken the last four wins in the series.  CMU's lone victory came in the 2016 NCAA South Central Regional in Canyon on May 6 by a 2-1 score.  The Lady Buffs then came back to defeat the Mavs twice on the following day to win the regional.  The two teams last met on Feb. 13, 2020 in Tucson, a game WT won, 3-0.
 
CMU is 1-4 against the Lady Buffs in Canyon.
 
The Mavs are 4-4 in the series against Eastern New Mexico, taking the last decision by a 2-1 score last season (Feb. 20) in Tucson.  The Greyhounds had won the previous three games, including two extra-inning affairs in 2014 and 2020.  All eight previous meetings have been in various neutral locations.
 
Up Next
 
Following this week's games, the Mavericks' last non-conference contests of the season, CMU will open up Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with an 8-game home-stand.  The Mavs will host Fort Lewis in their home-opening series on Feb. 18-19 and will take on Black Hills State a week later on Feb. 25-26. 
 
The Saturday doubleheaders will begin at noon while the Sunday twin-bills will get underway at 11 a.m.
 
Tickets are available through the CMU website at www.cmumavericks.com/tickets.