SERIES HISTORY
Colorado Mesa and New Mexico Highlands had solid battles during the mid-to-late 2000s before the Mavericks claimed several long winning streaks in the series. They are 90-39 against the Cowboys since 2000 with a mark of 50-15 at home. 

The Mavericks have been winners of the last 17 straight matchups in the series including all four contests in Las Vegas, N.M. last season. Both nine inning games in that series were shortened by the mercy rule of 12 runs after seven innings.

The most memorable win came in the 2005 NCAA West Regional when Sergio Romo carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning in a 6-1 win for the Mavericks at Suplizio Field. 

SCOUTING THE COWBOYS
First-year head coach Harry Estep has had a tough year but has the Cowboys playing well in stretches. Highlands swept Oklahoma Panhandle and earned a series split with CSU Pueblo during their first RMAC series of the season. The only other win they have is against Colorado School of Mines. 

Tucker Simpson leads Highlands with a .361 batting average with 11 doubles and eight home runs. He has hits in his last five games played with two home runs and 10 runs driven in.

Jadrian Martinez has two wins on the mound and has the team-leading 8.25 ERA and 35 strikeouts. Martinez had a season-high seven strikeouts against UCO.

PAULY PICKS UP TWO AWARDS
Junior outfielder Paul Schoenfeld was named the RMAC Player of the Week after a stellar performance against UCCS last weekend. Schoenfeld batted .643 (9-for-14) with six runs scored, two doubles, a home run and 12 runs driven. He finished with an OPS over 1.600 OPS and in game two of the series, he went 4-for-4 with two runs scored, four runs driven in, and a double.

Schoenfeld joined Rob Sharrar as the only Mavericks to be named the RMAC Player of the Week this season and later went on to earn NCBWA South Central Region Player of the Week edging out the Lone Star Conference Player of the Week. 

CANNELL AVENUE CRUSHERS
The Maverick baseball and softball teams have been hitting balls out of the park at an alarming rate. The baseball team ranks fifth nationally with 76 home runs while the softball team is tops in the country, and on pace to break the RMAC and national record for home runs, at 107. 

The two teams have combined for 183 home runs, tops in the country for the bat and ball sports. The only school that comes even close to that number is Lee University in Florida with 139.

REGIONAL RANKINGS
The initial regional rankings from the NCAA were released this week and showed the eight teams in the region that were under consideration in alphabetical order. Colorado Mesa was among those teams listed along with RMAC foes Regis and MSU Denver. Five Lone Star Conference teams were also listed.

Inkblot Sports had the Mavericks No. 1 in their regional rankings this week with Regis and Texas Permian Basin in their half of the bracket with West Texas A&M, Lubbock Christian, and UT Tyler in the other half. 

WHERE WE STAND
With two weeks left in the regular season, Colorado Mesa will have a chance to wrap up their 28th overall and 12th straight RMAC Championship this weekend pending results of a couple other matchups.

If the Mavericks win all four of their games against New Mexico Highlands, they would eliminate MSU Denver, Colorado School of Mines and Adams State from a shot at the top spot in the conference. The four wins would also clinch a share of the title and would give the Mavericks hosting rights for the RMAC Tournament. 

That leaves Regis who is taking on Colorado Christian as the only team that could match the Mavericks record. One loss by the Rangers and four Maverick wins would give them the conference title outright with one week to play. 

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
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