GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University Softball Team stays on the road for another weekend this spring break as they head south once more to take on the UCCS Mountain Lions in a 4-game conference series.
The Mavericks come into this week boasting a 12-game winning streak as they are 18-8 overall while playing to an outstanding 16-4 record in the RMAC.
Facing off at Mountain Lion Field this weekend, the Mavs will take part in two double headers on Saturday and Sunday with play beginning at noon on Saturday and at 11 A.M. on Sunday.
LAST TIME OUT
Sweeping a conference opponent for the third week straight, the Mavs came home with four wins from Alamosa this past weekend as they defeated Adams State University in all four games.
Over the course of the weekend the Mavs scored 48 runs in the series while conceding just 12. They scored nine runs or more in every game with both games in Sunday's doubleheader lasting just five innings due to mercy rule.
Myah Arrieta led all players hitting .923 (12-13) while collecting four home runs, two doubles and 10 RBIs. In addition, she was named both the NFCA National and RMAC Player of the Week from her performance.
Arrieta also joined the 50-home run club on the weekend to rank fourth in program history. Ally Distler is the only active player to rank ahead of her with 53 for third all time.
Distler also hit a pair of home runs on the weekend while collecting 12 RBIs. The team as a whole hit .402 against the Grizzlies with 19 of their 47 hits coming as extra base hits.
Jessalyn Gallegos led all pitchers going 2-0 in the circle as she is now 8-1 on the season. Preslee Christensen and Sophia Tassinari earned the other two wins.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
The Mavs are the hottest team in the RMAC right now as they are the only team to own a winning streak greater than six. Factoring into this winning streak of theirs has been the explosion of the team's offense and defense lately as they rank top five in the conference in both.
Offensively the Mavs are ranked fifth in the conference with a team batting average of .331 while owning 30 home runs to sit in first. They own an on base percentage of .410 while slugging .560.
Leading the team this spring has been Senior Myah Arrieta who is hitting .518 with 10 home runs. Arrieta has accumulated 43 hits with 18 extra base hits to this point.
Serving as the team's other leading batters are the trio of Makayla Westmoreland, Ally Distler and Chloe Valdez with each of them batting over .300. Westmoreland is hitting just under .400 with a .397 batting average to lead the bunch with Distler hitting .370 and Valdez at .342.
Distler leads the team with 35 RBIs herself and is joined by Arrieta (26) and Valdez (22) as the other top power threats.
On the base paths the Mavs are 25-31 in stolen bases with Westmoreland having six of them.
Defensively the Mavs are no slouch either as they are fielding .961 this season which ranks them in the top five of the conference as well. They have turned nine double plays with nine base runners caught stealing.
On the pitching end, Colorado Mesa ranks second in the conference with the team owning a 3.15 ERA through 166.2 inning pitched. They have struck out 144 batters while only allowing opponents to bat .262 against them.
Jessalyn Gallegos has served as the team's ace this spring with the Redshirt Freshman already having a record of 8-1 this season with a 1.90 ERA. She leads the team with 73.2 innings pitched while going complete games in eight of her 10 starts.
Sophia Tassinari has served as another top arm for the team going 4-2 so far with a 3.47 ERA. Her and Preslee Christensen have both won each of their last two outings with the pair accompanying Gallegos as the weekend starters. Christensen has fared a 3-3 record this year with a 4.64 ERA.
Marisa Nehm and Kamdyn Hagerty round out the bullpen with the pair combining for 12 appearances and a 3-2 record. Each of the two currently own a sub five ERA.
ABOUT UCCS
Sitting as a fellow top five team in the conference, the Mountain Lions enter this week with a 20-10 record while playing to 14-5 in the RMAC. In the team's past weekend of play they won all four of their games as they swept the Cowgirls of New Mexico Highlands University on the road.
In the series history, Colorado Mesa has a 91-35 advantage against the Mountain Lions with the Mavs on a 15-game winning streak. In last year's series the Mavs won all four games while run ruling the Mountain Lions in three of them.
UCCS is hitting .368 this season as a team with them ranking second in the conference in home runs and doubles with 29 and 58.
Seven different players hit over .300 for the team with two of them hitting .400 or better. Halley Redd leads the team with a .478 batting average and 44 hits. Tayler McCombs is hitting .477 to rank second on the squad. Gianna Pancost leads the team with seven home runs and 31 RBIs as their main power threat.
The Mountain Lions have used five different pitchers this spring but are led in large part by their duo of Kailey Bond and Hannah Hunt who have combined for 14 of the team's wins. Hunt leads the team with eight wins going 8-2 this season with a 5.44 ERA while Bond has added the other six wins going 6-1 with a team leading 4.35 ERA.
Bond was recently announced as the RMAC Pitcher of the Week released on Tuesday to accompany Arrieta for the conference's players of the week.
The Mountain Lion staff has pitched to a 5.98 ERA this season with opponents hitting .310 off them.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
All four games this weekend will be streamed on the RMAC Network free of charge and have live stats available to follow along with as well.
