SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
Colorado Mesa is 6-2 all-time against the Hilltoppers after going 2-1 against them in the NCAA South Central Region #2 Tournament a season ago.
St. Edward's relies heavily on their 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation in Luke Short and Wesley Gafford. Short is 11-1 this season with a 2.53 ERA with 124 strikeouts in 92 and a third innings while Gafford is 8-3 with 99 strikeouts in 89 and two thirds innings.
They have received big production out of JUCO transfer Lance Little over at first base. The Western Texas College product is batting .402 with 10 doubles and 15 home runs with a 1.202 OPS.
SCOUTING THE CHAPS
The Mavericks and Chaps have met up just twice before this weekend. LCU claimed an 8-6 win in Grand Junction in 2016 while the Mavericks picked up a win in 2017 3-2 down in San Angelo, Texas with both coming in Regional Tournament play.
The Chaps have gotten an All-American type season out of Eduardo Acosta. The Puerto Rico native is batting .439 with 15 doubles, nine home runs and 68 runs batted in during his senior season.
Aydan Alger is having an outstanding year on the mound. He is 8-1 with a 5.29 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 80 innings pitched. Alger combined for a shutout in the LSC Tournament last weekend.
HOME SWEET HOME
For the second straight season, top-ranked Colorado Mesa is hosting a section of the NCAA South Central Region Tournament in Grand Junction. It is the 14th straight season the Mavericks have qualified for the NCAA postseason and have an overall record of 45-45 in the NCAA Tournament.
Colorado Mesa is hosting the tournament for the eighth time and the second time they are hosting the tournament at The Diamond. The other six instances were played at Suplizio Field.
STILL CHASING HISTORY
This year's version of the Colorado Mesa baseball team is out to do something no other team has done before. The 2023 team is looking to become the first team to hit 100 home runs and steal 100 bases in a single season.
Currently, Colorado Mesa has hit 98 home runs and stole 100 bases on the season. They will have, at minimum, two opportunities to accomplish that with the NCAA South Central Region Tournament this weekend at The Diamond.
The Mavericks went over the century mark in home runs during the 2022 (129), 1997 (115), 2021 (109), and 2004 (101) seasons. They also stole 100 bases in the 2013 (143), 2009 (113), 2014 (108), 2012 (108), and 1984 (104).
DYNAMIC DUO
The Dynamic Duo of Julian Boyd and Harrison Rodgers have pestered opponents all season long and last week they were awarded for their efforts by being named RMAC Co-Players of the Year.
Boyd batted .446 with 23 doubles, 10 home runs and tied a school record with 36 stolen bases while Rodgers finished with a .371 batting average with 17 doubles, 14 home runs, and 20 stolen bases.
The two have combined for a .405 batting average, 40 doubles, 24 home runs, and 56 stolen bases.
THE RISE
Colorado Mesa rose to the No. 1 ranking in this week's Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll for the second straight week this season. In last week's poll, it was the first time since May 17, 2021 when the Mavericks entered the NCAA South Central Regional as the top-ranked team in the country.
It was the fourth time in program history the Mavericks ascended to the top of the rankings but have been featured as the No. 1 team in 18 polls which includes yesterday's release.
THESE GUYS ARE A HIT
For a team that was maybe supposed to struggle to hit and have to replace the law firm of McGeary, Farmer and Bramwell, I think we would all say they have done all of that and possibly more.
All this team has done is lead the country in batting average at .376, lead the country with 701 hits, and lead the country in slugging percentage at .640. They are second in doubles with 155 and are second in runs with 612.
PRO MAVS
The Mavericks had three players drafted last season with Andrew Morris, Haydn McGeary and Spencer Bramwell all getting selected in the MLB Amateur Draft. Since 2003, Colorado Mesa leads all Colorado state colleges with 18 MLB Draft picks in that time.
1. Colorado Mesa 18
2. Air Force 10
3. Lamar CC 9
4. Regis 8
5. Northern Colorado 7
6. CSU Pueblo 5
7. MSU Denver 5
8. Trinidad State 4
9. Northeastern JC 4
10. Mines 3
Andrew Morris was the highest selection during that time as he went in the fourth round to the Minnesota Twins this past June while Bligh Madris was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth round in 2017 as the only top ten round selections. Madris was recently dealt to the Houston Astros after making his MLB debut last June.
Probably the most famous Maverick that is included in the list is Sergio Romo who was selected in the 28th round of the 2005 draft by the San Francisco Giants. Romo went on to win three World Series rings with the Giants.
NOT ONLY TEAM OF THE DECADE
The Mavericks were deemed the team of the decade after finishing the decade with the best record in all of NCAA Division II Baseball. But they have also been the best in DII over the last five years. Colorado Mesa has a .792 winning percentage (243-64) in the last five seasons which tops 2022 National Champion North Greenville (.784), South Central Region rival Angelo State (.773), Central Missouri (.763) and Tampa (.762).
Since 2017:
Colorado Mesa 243-64 (.792)
North Greenville 236-64-1 (.784)
Angelo State 235-69 (.773)
Central Missouri 229-71 (.763)
Tampa 208-65 (.762)
Minnesota State 202-65 (.757)
Illinois-Springfield 213-68-1 (.755)
Southern New Hampshire 210-68 (.755)
Augustana 224-77-1 (.742)
Azusa Pacific 204-77 (.726)
RMAC DOMINATION
Colorado Mesa has won its 11th straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title. Since 2009, Colorado Mesa has won nearly 82 percent of their games against RMAC competition as they have a 419-94 record in that span prior to the season.
DID YOU KNOW / TRIVIA
Colorado Mesa enters the NCAA South Central Region winners of 36 of the their last 39 games including 17 wins in a row.
