SERIES HISTORY
Colorado Mesa and UCCS have been competing against each other since the Mountain Lions started the program in 2017. Colorado Mesa owns an all-time mark 23-8 against UCCS with 24 of those matchups coming as regular season conference contests.

The Mavericks are 9-1 in their last 10 against the Mountain Lions but are just 7-5 all-time in Colorado Springs at Mountain Lion Field and Memorial Park. 

The series does include one neutral site matchup that occurred in 2021 when the two teams competed in San Angelo, Texas as a part of the NCAA South Central Regional. Colorado Mesa won that one 11-9.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
The Mountain Lions started off the season slow against a bevy of formidable opponents including a four-game series against then #8 Point Loma in Southern California. They have bounced back and are playing well as of late as they have won six of their last seven. 

Alec Gomez is a threat at the plate where he is batting .343 with 11 doubles and a team-leading 10 home runs with 43 runs driven in. He is currently riding a six-game hitting streak heading into the CMU week.

Marko Sipila leads the staff with 41 strikeouts and 41 innings pitched on the year. He had a season-high eight strikeouts in his start against Regis two weeks ago.

ARM BARN ACE
Ethan Voss has assumed the role of bullpen ace with Evan Bunevich in the rotation at this time. The junior transfer from Crowder College is tied for the team lead in appearances with 12 and is the team leader in ERA at 3.47.

Voss has yet to start a game this season but with the postseason looming could find a role in the rotation. He is 5-1 on the season and has pitched as little as one inning and as many as five innings out of the pen. 

SHORTSTOP OF THE MOMENT
Colorado Mesa has started six different shortstops this season and may have landed on one that is hot at the moment.

Redshirt sophomore TJ Rheem earned his opportunity at shortstop in the series with Chico State and gave the Mavericks exactly what they needed. Rheem batted .429 in the series and added two doubles, three runs scored and five runs driven in. For the season, he is batting .364 with four doubles and 12 runs driven in. 

The Parker, Colo. native committed just one error in 22 chances on the weekend and was able to record 18 assists and three putout defensively.

FRESHMAN SENSATION
Outfielder Ethan Nunez has been having an outstanding freshman season for the Mavericks. A favorite for RMAC Freshman Player of the Year, Nunez is batting .368 with nine doubles, a triple, and 10 home runs. He is second on the team in RBIs with 40 and second in total bases with 84 behind teammate and NCAA leader Rob Sharrar who has 135.

Nunez is the first freshman to reach 10 home runs in a season since now Chicago Cub Double-A player and former Maverick Haydn McGeary had 11 home runs during the 2019 season. 

COMEBACK KIDS
Senior outfielder Robert Sharrar provided the Mavericks with a spark to carry them through the season in Friday's win over Chico State. The Mavericks trailed by 8-0 and 11-2 margins in the game but found themselves the winners after Sharrar hit a three-run, oppo taco, walk-off home run and a 14-13 win over the Wildcats. 

The comeback has been somewhat of a theme for this season's Mavericks as you can never count them out of any contest. Colorado Mesa is 26-12 on the season and of those 26 wins, 17 have been comebacks as they trailed at some point in the ball game. 

A couple of odd trends the Mavericks have going as the comeback kids; they are 15-5 when their opponent scores in the first inning, are 10-2 when their opponent scores 6-9 runs, and are 5-0 when the first pitch occurs after 5pm local time. 

30-for-30
In head coach Chris Hanks' 26 years at the helm of the Mavericks, he has failed to lead the team to 30 wins just twice, once in 2003 (his fifth year as the head coach) and the other was the COVID-19 season of 2020 where they were 14-4 when the nation shutdown. 

With a sweep this weekend, the Mavericks would be sitting on 30 wins this season. 

MAVERICKS IN MILB
The Colorado Mesa baseball team currently has eight players competing at some level of professional baseball. All eight finished in the minors but two of them saw action in Major League Baseball during the 2023 season. Bligh Madris saw action with the Houston Astros while Kyle Leahy made his MLB debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on July 7. Check out the full list of Colorado Mesa Baseball Alums and ways to follow along on their professional journey:

Bligh Madris (2015-18) // Detroit Tigers
Baseball Reference
MILB.com Profile

Kyle Leahy (2016-18) // St. Louis Cardinals
Baseball Reference
MILB.com Profile

Reagan Todd (2018)  // Colorado Rockies
Baseball Reference
MILB.com Profile

Haydn McGeary (2019-22) // Chicago Cubs
Baseball Reference
MILB.com Profile

Spencer Bramwell (2018-22) // Miami Marlins
Baseball Reference
MILB.com Profile

Caleb Farmer (2018-22) // Washington Nationals
Baseball Reference
MILB.com Profile

Kannon Handy (2020-23) // Colorado Rockies
Baseball Reference
MILB.com Profile

Andrew Morris (2019-21)  // Minnesota Twins
Baseball Reference
MILB.com Profile

RMAC DOMINATION
Colorado Mesa won its 11th straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title in 2023. 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.

D2 BASEBALL SUBSCRIBER CUP
Subscribe to D2 Baseball Insider this season for all your updates in Division II baseball including interviews coaches and players, rankings, conference updates and more. Visit d2baseball.com/subscribe to get your subscription today.

D2 Baseball is having a contest with their subscriptions nationwide as the school with the most subscribers will be given a $5,000 donation, second place is $3,500 and third place is worth $1,500.

Weekly updates as the season goes along with where the schools stand will be available so follow on X @d2bsblinsider.

FIREWORKS NIGHT
Colorado Mesa will return home next weekend and will take on New Mexico Highlands in the final regular season home series of the year. Friday night will be the annual Fireworks night and will take place at 7:05pm at Suplizio Field. The remainder of the series will be held at The Diamond with the Maverick seniors honored prior to the game on Sunday.