GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University softball team will close out the regular season while jockeying for a high seed in next week's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament this Friday and Saturday when they travel to Golden to face the Colorado School of Mines in an important 4-game set.

Doubleheaders at the Orediggers' Joe Coors., Jr. Softball Field are slated for noon on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday. 
 
A live stream for all four games can be found on the RMAC Network.  Live statistics will also be accessible here.
 
The Mavericks, 27-20 overall, come into the weekend in third place in the very tight RMAC standings while the Orediggers (24-23) are in fifth place just 1 ½ games behind the Mavs.   More on that later.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks went 1-3 in last weekend's series against nationally-ranked (No. 9) Colorado Christian, which had already clinched the RMAC's regular season title.  The Mavs dropped the first game of the series 2-1 after a late seventh-inning rally fell just short.
 
However, the Mavericks would go on to score seven runs in the bottom of the seventh of Game 2 last Saturday, winning 9-7 while becoming just the second RMAC team to knock off the Cougars this season.  Brandi Haller and Miranda Pruitt both hit 3-run home runs in that rally, where the Mavs were down to their final strike on multiple occasions.  Pruitt's was a pinch-hit walk off bomb.
 
The Mavericks were unable to take the momentum in Sunday's Senior Day doubleheader, falling 12-0 and 7-1 as CCU's Kali Crandall pitched a 5-inning perfect game in the third game of the series.
 
The Mavs' Aislyn Sharp and Iliana Mendoza both hit .333 to lead the Mavs throughout the weekend.  Sharp also had a double and was one of five Mavs to hit a home run throughout the weekend.  They, along with Ashley Bradford, Brandi Haller and Sarah Jorissen were honored in Senior Day festivities held between Sunday's games.
 
What it Means
 
This weekend's series will be pivotal for both the Mavericks and Orediggers, both of whom are in good position to qualify for, but not yet mathematically guaranteed of qualifying for, next week's 6-team RMAC Tournament. 
 
Depending on the results of this and other final-weekend series from around the conference, the Mavericks and Orediggers could finish anywhere between second and seventh place in the final standings.
 
Colorado Christian, 38-2 in RMAC play, will host that tournament at All-Star Park in Lakewood and is guaranteed of the No. 1 seed. 

However, the fight for the No. 2 seed and the other first round bye is still very much on and currently sees MSU Denver with the current advantage.  The Roadrunners are 26-12 and in second place in the RMAC standings after sweeping Regis last week.
 
The Mavericks, 25-14 in RMAC games, are just 1 ½ games behind the Roadrunners and in third place, but are just a half-game up on Regis (25-15), currently in fourth place.  Meanwhile, Mines is 1 ½ games behind the Mavs and in fifth place at 23-15.  The Orediggers would pass the Mavericks if they were able to win at least three games in this weekend's series.
 
Meanwhile, the Orediggers will be looking over their shoulder as well, as Fort Lewis enters the weekend and a series at Colorado Christian in the sixth and final qualification spot at 21-17.  However, the Skyhawks are just mere percentage points ahead of Chadron State (22-18), which hosts eighth place CSU Pueblo.
 
The final standings and seeding for next week's RMAC Tournament will be decided on winning percentage as teams have not had the same number of games due to various weather issues earlier in the season. 
 
All of this weekend's series were originally scheduled for Friday/Saturday formats to allow for an extra day of recovery before the RMAC Tournament next Thursday although the Chadron State/CSU Pueblo series was moved up to Thursday/Friday by mutual consent while the UCCS/Black Hills State series has already been moved back to Saturday/Sunday due to weather forecast in Spearfish, South Dakota.
 
To view the standings, which will be updated as games wrap up, please click here.

Scenarios
 
For the Mavericks, scenarios are somewhat simple, assuming all of this weekend's games are played.  This is especially true if the Mavericks are able to at least split their series.  Things do get more complex if the Mavericks were to drop the series.
 
To earn the No. 2 seed and a first round bye, the Mavs need to do three things:

1. Split or win the series against Mines.
2. Win two more games than MSU Denver does at home against New Mexico Highlands, currently in ninth place in the RMAC
3. Win at least the same number of games as Regis does at Adams State, 11^th in the RMAC standings.

To claim the No. 3 seed, they would again need to split or win the series against Mines and accomplish one of the other two requirements.
 
The Mavericks would end up as the No. 4 seed and have "home team" status for their first round RMAC Tournament game if they can win or split the series at Mines, but not accomplish either of the other two things.  The Mavs could also end up as the No. 4 seed with one win against Mines combined with three losses by Regis.
 
One win (again assuming all other games are played) does guarantee the Mavs a spot in the RMAC Tournament.  The Mavs would also clinch a spot should either Fort Lewis or Chadron State lose once.
 
Power Numbers
 
The Mavericks hit five more home runs last weekend, raising their total to a RMAC-leading 84.  That number also puts the Mavs third in Division II for total home runs and second for home runs per game (1.79).
 
The Mavs, who hit a school-record 100 home runs last season, also sit second in the country for slugging percentage at .625, 13^th for total hits (443), 14^th for batting average (.342) and 15^th for total runs (320) this season.
 
The Mavs' 84 home runs this season are now the third most in program history.  They hit 98 en-route to the national statistical title and former NCAA Division II record in 2001 before posting last year's statistical title-winning total.
 
Depth in Numbers
 
Ten different Mavericks have hit home runs this season, four of whom are in double-figures.
 
Rylee Crouch leads the team and the conference with 19, tied for second most in all of Division II while Brandi Haller added her 14^th home run of the campaign in CMU's 7-run rally against Colorado Christian on Saturday.  She ranks third in the RMAC for that category.
 
Ashley Bradford also hit her 12^th home run last weekend and is tied for fourth in the RMAC while Miranda Pruitt is just behind with 11, tied for eighth in the RMAC.  Pruitt's last home run was a pinch-hit walk-off home run, capping the Mavs' rally over the Cougars.
 
Walk-it-Off
 
Pruitt's heroic home run on Saturday marked the fifth time this season that the Mavericks have won a game via a walk-off home-run and the eighth that the Mavericks have won a game in walk-off fashion, including two mercy-rule wins.
 
Sarah Jorissen and Brandi Haller both hit walk-off home runs in a Apr. 1 doubleheader sweep of MSU Denver after Rylee Crouch hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Mavs to a 4-3 win over Cal State East Bay on Feb. 3.

Crouch then added a fifth-inning home run in a 10-2 mercy-rule win over Fort Lewis on Feb. 19, clinching the Mavs' victory on that day.  A day later, Pruitt was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh in a 4-3 win over the Skyhawks.
 
The Mavs also walked-off with a Apr. 15 win over Regis on an Iliana Mendoza RBI infield single that plated Rylee Crouch, who alertly scored the winning run from second base when Mendoza beat out the single.
 
The Mavs also clinched a mercy-rule win with a walk-off wild pitch back on Feb. 26 in a 10-2 win over Black Hills State.
 
Historic Run-Scorer
 
With her home run against CCU last Saturday, Maverick super-senior Ashley Bradford became just the ninth player in CMU history to score 150 career runs.  She is tied for the team lead this year with 42 after crossing the plate a team-high 51 times last season en-route to All-America honors.
 
Former teammates AnnMarie Torres (166), Lauren Wedman (157) and Brooke Doumer (154) sit ahead of Bradford on the Mavs' all-time runs scored leader chart.  Brooke Hodgson holds the record of 235.
 
Century Coach
 
Third-year Maverick Head Coach Mercedes Bohte, a member of the Maverick coaching staff since 2013, recorded her 100^th career victory in the opening game of the Mavs' home series against UCCS on Mar. 18.  She will enter this weekend with a 111-34 record and .766 career winning percentage as the leader of the program.
 
The Mavericks have won 83.2 percent (94-19) of their RMAC games under her tutelage.
 
Bohte is one of just three Maverick coaches to have won more than 100 games and was the fastest to reach the milestone, needing just 122 games to do so.
 
Her former boss Ben Garcia won 169 games in his four seasons with the Mavericks, who went 169-49 (.775) in those years.  He also surpassed the 100-win mark in his third year (2017) but needed 140 total games to reach the milestone.
 
Kris Mort holds the CMU Coaching Record, having won 537 in her 19 years from 1994-2012 but did not reach the 100-win mark until early in her fifth year (1997).
 
More about Bohte
 
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
 
The Orediggers split their 4-game set at New Mexico Highlands last week after winning seven of their previous eight against MSU Denver and Adams State.  They won three of four at home against the Roadrunners and then swept the road series at Adams State.
 
They are hovering just above .500 at 24-23 and have gone 10-8 at home this season.
 
They rank fifth out of 12 teams in the RMAC for team batting average but have hit just five home runs all season, the fewest in the conference.
 
Kendall Aragon leads the team in hitting with a .379 batting average and is one of four Orediggers with double-digit stolen bases to her credit this season.  She has ten and also places the Orediggers with 19 walks but has just four extra-base hits.
 
Sidney Wilson and Kayleigh Krueger have put up better power numbers.  Wilson is hitting .353 with 11 doubles and 25 RBIs while Krueger is hitting .327 but has a .453 slugging percentage.  She has 13 doubles, two triples and a home run to her credit and paces the squad with 35 RBIs.
 
Renata Boyd (.313) and Lauren Decker (.300) are also hitting at .300 or higher and have combined to steal 40 bases.
 
The Orediggers have a solid pitching staff, led by Sadriena Rodriguez.  The senior has a 13-2 record and a 2.00 ERA, t best in the RMAC.  She has completed 13 of her 21 starts and has posed four shutouts while striking out 130 hitters in 129 1/3 innings.  She has a solid WHIP (walks + hits/innings pitched) of just 1.05 and is holding opposing hitters to a .202 batting average, the second best mark in the conference.
 
Allison Westbrook has also been solid and holds a 5-2 record and 2.96 ERA in 15 appearances totaling 47 1/3 innings.  She has made just six starts.
 
Taylor Wayne (3-6, 5.70 ERA) and Cassidy Chvtal (1-9, 5.72 ERA) are the other two primary starters this season.
 
Series History
 
The Mavs have dominated the all-time series against Mines, winning 94 of the 108 games played between the teams since 1994.  The Mavs have also won nine straight games since Mar. 8, 2020 after dropping both games of a doubleheader the day before.

Two of those nine wins have come by a single run while four others have come via the mercy-rule.
 
The Mavs won both games of a Mar. 4 doubleheader last year but were unable to play two other games due weather on the following day.  The Mavs also swept a 2021 home series and knocked off the Orediggers in the RMAC Tournament as well.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavs will likely qualify for next week's RMAC Tournament, which will begin next Thursday (May 4) at All-Star Park in Lakewood.  Final seedings and brackets for the 6-team double-elimination affair will be released by the RMAC following the completion of this weekend's games.
 
To purchase tickets or to view the tournament schedule, please visit the championship webpage at https://rmacsports.org/tournaments/?id=226.