GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University softball team will look to continue its 9-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the RMAC, when the Mavericks take on Black Hills State University in a revised weekend series that has been moved up a day and to Riverdale Ridge High School in Thornton, Colorado.
The Mavericks, 19-7 overall, are currently tied for second place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings at 17-3 alongside national poll No. 10 Colorado Chrisitan. MSU Denver leads the conference standings by just one game at 18-2.
Meanwhile, the BHSU Yellow Jackets will enter the weekend with a 10-13 overall record and a 9-9 conference record, good for fifth place in the RMAC standings ahead of 9-11 Colorado School of Mines and CSU Pueblo.
Location Change/Coverage
The series was moved up a day a Friday/Saturday format and then later in the week was moved by mutual agreement to the metropolitan area due to the threat of snowfall and cold temperatures in South Dakota. It will now be played Riverdale Ridge High School, located at 13380 Yosemite Street; Thornton, Colorado).
Friday's doubleheader will begin at Noon while Saturday's will commence with an 11 a.m. doubleheader. Due to the nature of the neutral site location, will not be a live stream. However,
live statistics will be available here,
Daily recaps of the Mavs' efforts can be found on www.cmumavericks.com.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks had to battle but were able to sweep visiting Adams State University in a weekend series at home in the CMU Softball Stadium. The Mavericks trailed in all four games but were able use big innings in 8-2 and 9-3 wins on Saturday before rallying in the bottom of the seventh to claim a 5-4 win in Game 3 of the series on Sunday.
The Mavs then trailed 3-2 early in the fourth game before putting up ten runs in the bottom of the second inning as they went on to record a 13-3 victory in five innings of the series finale.
Ava Fugate led the Maverick offensive attack throughout the weekend, going 9-for-13 (.692) at the plate, while hitting three doubles and scoring eight runs. She also drew two walks and three free passes finishing the weekend with a .750 on-base percentage and 1.673 OPS. She also stole three bases.
The Mavericks hit .333 as a team as
Iliana Mendoza went 4-for-8 with a .636 on-base percentage.
The Mavs were uncharacteristically held to just two home runs and ten extra-base hits but instead relied on timely singles as they out-scored the Grizzlies, 35-12.
Three different Maverick pitchers picked up wins as
Preslee Christensen went 1-0 with a 2.40 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of work. She matched a season-high with nine strikeouts in her complete game effort during the series opener and finished the weekend with 12 strikeouts while giving up just ten hits and four earned runs.
Hannah Sattler also made three appearances and went 2-0 with a 2.52 ERA while
Christa Zagala was also 1-0 with a 3.50 ERA over two appearances.
Complete recaps of both doubleheaders can be found at the links below.
Program 1K
The Mavericks reached a program milestone on Saturday, winning their 1,000
th game in the Division II era in the series opener against Adams State. The Mavs are now 1,003-528-1 since 1992, good for a .655 winning percentage
Since joining Division II, the Mavericks have made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and have won two regional titles while advancing to the NCAA Division II World Series in 2000.
They have had a winning season in 12 consecutive seasons since 2012 and have not finished below .500 since going 21-22 in 2006, a run of 18 consecutive campaigns.
Streaking Senior
Maverick senior
Ava Fugate led the Mavericks in hitting last weekend and is now riding a 15-game hitting streak, the longest of her career and the longest of any Maverick this season. She has also now taken over the team lead in batting average (.413) and ranks tenth in the RMAC in that category.
Fugate has also hit a team-leading 12 doubles, tied for third most in the conference and ranks ninth in the RMAC for slugging percentage at .753.
The first to a dozen
Maverick graduate student
Miranda Pruitt hit her 12
th home run of the season in last weekend's series, becoming the first RMAC player to do so. Pruitt has three more than any other RMAC player and ranks fifth nationally in total home runs and fourth in home runs per game (0.48).
Home Run Hitters
Despite hitting just two home runs last weekend, the Mavericks continue to sit atop the RMAC while ranking fifth in the country for total home runs with 43. They also sit second in the nation for home runs per game (1.65).
The Mavs have four different players in the top 10 for the home runs. Pruitt leads the pack with 12 while
Ally Distler is tied for third with eight.
Myah Arrieta is tied for fifth with seven while
Chloe Valdez has six home runs to her credit, tied for eighth most in the conference.
Slugging Stars
The Mavericks also have four players amongst the RMAC's top 10 in slugging percentage as the Mavericks now sit seventh in the nation with their .596 team slugging percentage, second only to Colorado Christian's RMAC-leading total of .610.
Miranda Pruitt is ranked second at .851 while
Myah Arrieta and
Ally Distler have identical .782 slugging percentage to rank fifth in the RMAC.
Ava Fugate is now ranked ninth at .733.
Reaching Safely
Myah Arreita and
Ally Distler have both reached safely in 24 consecutive games entering this weekend.
They are also first and second on the team with their .495 and .473 on-base percentages. Arrieta ranks seventh in the conference with her mark.
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, which was again the case early this season.
The Mavs have swept both of their home series this year and have now won 180 of their 212 home games over the last nearly ten seasons, good for a winning percentage of .849.
They were a perfect 24-0 at home back in 2017 and have recorded 20 or more home wins in six of their last seven full seasons, a streak that was snapped last year, when CMU went 15-9 at home.
Here's a look at the Mavericks' home-field records over the last ten seasons.
2015- 18-2
2016- 17-5
2017- 24-0
2018- 22-5
2019-24-4
2020*- 6-2
2021-23-2
2022- 23-3
2023- 15-9
2004 (current)- 8-0
The Boss
Head Coach
Mercedes Bohte, a member of the Maverick coaching staff since 2013, is now in her fourth season in charge of the program and currently has a 135-44 (.754) career record and winning percentage as the leader of the program. The Mavericks have also won 82.9 percent (112-23) of their 135 RMAC games under her tutelage.
She picked up her 100
th RMAC win in the first game of the series sweep against Mines on Feb. 23.
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 of the regular season.
They then went 32-23 overall and 26-15 in RMAC play last year while advancing to the RMAC Tournament final for the second time in Bohte's three years.
Maverick players have combined to win 22 All-RMAC honors in Bohte's three previous years, including 12 first team picks. Seven of those honors came in 2023.
She has also guided players to a combined five all-America honors from the NFCA and D2CCA. The Mavs have combined to garner 19 all-region honors from those two organizations in her three previous years.
Bohte's 2022 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 seven straight seasons from 2016-22, 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) in 2023. Adair, now the head coach at Fort Lewis, also became the first Maverick to earn D2CCA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year plaudits.
In her time as the Mavs' pitching coach, Bohte has guided pitchers to 15 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 Yellow Jackets
By their standards, the 'Jackets have had a very successful season in 2024, already surpassing their 2023 season totals for both overall and conference wins. They also set a program record for consecutive wins (8) last weekend and are 10-13 overall and 9-9 in RMAC play after going 8-36 during an all-conference schedule last season.
Their 2022 team went 13-29 overall and 11-29 in RMAC play, their best RMAC record since joining the league in 2012.
Ashlynn Englehorn has provided the spark as the 'Jackets new head coach after spending the previous two years at the helm of the Crown College program at the NCAA Division III level in Saint Bonifacius, Minnesota.
Alyssa Wong is the team's top hitter and has a .436 batting average and .527 slugging percentage. She is 24-for-55 at that plate and has five doubles and 14 RBIs. Lily Simmons (.343), Gianna Haley (3.38) and Ashlynn Pauwels (.319) and Kayla Lee (.306) are also hitting over .300 and regular starters. Pauwels has two of the 'Jackets five total home runs and leads the team with 15 RBIs. She also has a team-leading seven doubles as the top power producer.
Englehorn has regularly used three pitchers. Shayla Tuschen is 5-4 with a 4.65 ERA and has completed seven of her eight starts. She has recorded 40 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings. Laci Peskey has thrown a team-leading 62 innings and has recorded a 4-6 record and 5.87 ERA. She has made 12 appearances and has completed eight of her ten starts. Both have combined for three shutouts.
Malaya Coleman has also started five games, posting a 1-3 record and 7.61 ERA over eight appearances spanning 26 2/3 total innings.
Series History
The Mavericks have dominated the rivalry with the Yellow Jackets winning 33 of the 37 previous meetings, including 27 in a row for a decade-long streak from 2013 to last year.
BHSU snapped the streak winning the third game of the series with the Mavericks last year on Feb. 26 by a 6-5 margin in Grand Junction. However, the Mavs won the other three games of the series by the run rule in five innings outscoring the 'Jackets 42-4 in those three wins.
The two teams have only played one previous neutral-site game which came back on Feb. 17, 2012. CMU won that contest 14-6 in Pueblo.
Up Next
The Mavericks will return home for a season-long 8-game homestand, which they will begin on Thursday, Mar. 28 against New Mexico Highlands. That day's doubleheader will begin at 4 p.m., a change from the original scheduled time. The Mavs will also host the Cowgirls on Friday (Mar. 29) before taking the Easter weekend off. CMU will the host Chadron State on Apr. 6-7.
