SERIES HISTORY WITH CHICO STATE
The Mavericks and Wildcats have had many fierce battles over the years including several matchups in NCAA West Regionals in the late 90s through the mid-2000s. Since 2004, the two teams have played to an even 10-10 record.

Colorado Mesa won last year's series in Grand Junction three games to one with the series finale going to extras.

After losing four straight to the Wildcats from 2004 to early in the season 2007, the Mavericks won back-to-back games against Chico State in the 2007 NCAA Wester Regional that was held at Cal State L.A. They won the first matchup 6-0 and then followed it up with a 9-8 win.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Chico State has had a strong start to the season and enters the season with a 4-2 record. They took the series two games to one over both Northwest Nazarene and preseason No. 5 ranked Point Loma. 

A big reason for their strong start has been their pitching where the Wildcats boast a team ERA of 3.04. Evan Tomlinson is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA. He is limiting opposing batters to a .214 batting average in 11 and a third innings pitched.

Thade Miller leads Chico State in batting with a .500 average and 13 hits in six games this season. Troy Kent boasts a 1.126 OPS and leads the team with two home runs. 

POWER IN PITCHING
Colorado Mesa head coach Chris Hanks has said that he thought the strength of the team this season could be in the pitching department and in specific the depth. That was on full display last weekend at Cal Poly Pomona as the pitchers exited the weekend with a 1.73 team ERA and limited the projected second-best team in the CCAA to a batting average of .215 with just three extra base-hits.

The bullpen allowed just two earned runs (three total) in 14 innings of work in the series. They recorded two saves with stalwarts JJ Almeda and newcomer Cayden Clark combining for three and a third innings of no-hit work and allowing just one walk while striking out five. 

Ethan Voss showed he is ready to assume the role as staff ace taking the ball in the opener and throwing five innings of shutout baseball. He allowed just a one hit and struck out three in his first appearance.

EARLY SEASON PLATE PRODUCTION
The Mavericks got three strong performances from a trio of veterans at the plate in the season opening series with Cal Poly Pomona. Outfielders Paul Schoenfeld and Kolby Felix along with first baseman Stevenson Reynolds all finished the weekend with an OPS over 1.000.

Schoenfeld led the way with a 1.346 OPS that led to an honorable mention for RMAC Player of the Week while Felix had an OPS of 1.077. Reynolds, returning to the lineup after a season ending injury in 2024, had a 1.052 OPS in the series with CPP.

Sophomore infielder Joey Blank enters this weekend with the second highest batting average at .455 after a four-hit effort in the series finale last Saturday.

THE ROAD WARRIORS
This will likely be a recurring theme for the first month of the season but the Mavericks will continue out on their season-opening 10-game road trip this weekend with a trek out to Chico, California for a series with the Chico State Wildcats. Weather has altered the series and the two teams are now scheduled for just a three game series at Nettleton Stadium.

Colorado Mesa passed the first test earning a series win over Cal Poly Pomona in the season opening series 2-1 in Southern California. 

Finally, they will return home for their home opening series with the Montana State Billings Yellow Jackets at The Diamond beginning on Thursday February 27 at 2:00pm. That evening will also be the annual Leadoff Dinner. 

Following that series, they will start conference play on the road for four-games with the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys in Las Vegas, N.M.

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 2024 season. 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

Kyle Leahy (2016-18) // St. Louis Cardinals

Reagan Todd (2018) // Colorado Rockies

Haydn McGeary (2019-22) // Chicago Cubs

Spencer Bramwell (2018-22) // Miami Marlins

Caleb Farmer (2018-22) // Washington Nationals

Kannon Handy (2020-23) // Colorado Rockies

Andrew Morris (2019-21)  // Minnesota Twins

RMAC DOMINATION
Colorado Mesa won its 12th straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title in 2024 and was the unanimous selection to win their 13th in row in the RMAC Preseason Poll as selected by the coaches prior to the season. 

Since 2009, Colorado Mesa has won 82 percent of their games against RMAC competition as they have a 477-105 record in that span prior to the season.