GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Still in the hunt for a heavily contested RMAC Title the Colorado Mesa University Softball Team returns home this coming weekend for their final homestand of the regular season when they take on the Chadron State Eagles in a 4-game conference series.
Coming into this week the Mavericks are in second place of the RMAC standings, a half-game behind MSU Denver (29-6) after the Roadrunners won three of four home games over CSU Pueblo this past weekend. Colorado Christian is in third place, a game behind the Mavs at 28-8.
Colorado Mesa is (31-11, 29-7 RMAC) with just two weeks left of play before the conference tournament.
This weekend games will happen on Friday and Saturday instead of their usual Saturday, Sunday schedule due to Easter Sunday. Friday's games are slated for a noon start with Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday will also serve as the team's Senior day to honor the program's four seniors this spring.
LAST TIME OUT
Playing against their biggest rival in recent years, the Mavs split a pivotal 4-game series at Colorado Christian over the weekend after completing a sweep of Fort Lewis last Monday.
Taking wins in both games one and four the Mavs played to their tightest series of the season as only a total of 18 runs were scored between the two teams. Every game of the series was decided by four runs or less with games one and two being one-run affairs.
Preslee Christensen claimed a shutout in Game 4 of the series, allowing just three hits in the 2-0 win on Sunday afternoon while Jessalyn Gallegos picked up the other win in Game 1 of the series, her 15th victory of the season.
Christensen has both of CMU's shutouts this season with her other shutout coming against UCCS back on March 23.
Chloe Valdez had four hits, including two doubles, throughout the series to bolster the offense and was complimented Ally Distler who also had four hits and one double.
Kamdyn Hagerty also came up big for the team as she knocked in the two runs in the Game 4 victory with a two RBI single in the sixth inning.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
Tied for the fourth best batting average in the conference, the Mavs are hitting .318 this spring while being tied for the lead in homeruns with 50. They have driven 247 RBIs to this point with a slugging percentage of .533. In addition, they own an on base percentage of .403 which is top three among all RMAC schools.
Myah Arrieta has served as the team's top bat almost the entirety of the spring with the Senior hitting .428 this season and knocking in 14 home runs. She owns an OPS of 1.359 which ranks second in the conference.
Makayla Westmoreland, Ally Distler and Chloe Valdez have served as the team's other top contributors with each of them hitting .315 or higher. Westmoreland leads that group with a .348 batting average while Distler comes in at .341 and Valdez sits at .315. The trio all have 12 doubles apiece with Distler also adding 14 home runs herself to tie with Arrieta.
Bella Aragon and Cailynn Parsons have each hit .300 plus as well this season with both starting every game the past three weekends.
Defensively the Mavs are top three in the conference with them fielding .965 as a team and only committing 42 errors in over 275 innings of play.
In the circle, Jessalyn Gallegos has been the team's main arm this season with the Redshirt Freshman going 15-2 to accompany a minuscule 1.96 ERA. She leads the Mavs in appearances, innings pitched, strikeouts and complete games to sit as a top five pitcher in the RMAC.
Preslee Christensen has served as the team's other main arm going 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA. She's won six of her decisions in her last 10 appearances.
Sophia Tassinari, Marisa Nehm and Kamdyn Hagerty have each pitched the remainder of the team's innings this year combining for 90 innings and a 9-6 record.
As a whole the Mavs own a 2.69 ERA from their staff while limiting opponents to batting just .252 against them. Beyond that every member of their staff owns an ERA below five.
SENIOR DAY RECOGNITION
In the recognizing of the Mavs four seniors this spring, ceremonies and awards for the quartet will be held on Saturday between games three and four of the doubleheader.
The four seniors being recognized are Myah Arrieta, Ally Distler, Preslee Christensen and Chloe Valdez.
Arrieta and Distler have both been a part of the program for five years while Christensen and Valdez will finish their second year this spring after both transferred in last season.
In Myah Arrieta's career she has been the recipient of numerous awards in both program and national history. Holding a lifetime batting average above .400 and currently sitting at 54 home runs Arrieta is one of the program's two All-American picks to return this season after she was a consensus pick last season to both the NFCA and D2CCA. In addition, she has been awarded the South Central Region Player of the Year honor and is a two-time first team All-RMAC selection.
Standing as another program great has been Ally Distler who too has been a large part of this program's legacy. In her career she owns a .327 batting average while raking in 58 home runs, best for second all-time in school history. She is the other All-American that returned this season after earning honors as a utility pick to the D2CCA team in 2024. Distler is a multiple time award winner of All-Region, All-RMAC and All-Academic in her career.
Entering her senior season with a few accolades herself as well is Preslee Christensen who is one of the team's top arms. Christensen owns a career record of 26-8 in the circle while maintaining an ERA 2.42 through 200 innings pitched. She was named as the RMAC's Pitcher of the Year in 2024 while also earning recognition to be named as an All-Region and All-RMAC pick.
Rounding out the senior bunch this weekend is Chloe Valdez who has been another staple for the team since her arrival. Valdez is a lifetime .315 hitter for the Mavs while also owning 19 home runs and 22 doubles. She was selected as an Honorable Mention All-RMAC pick last season and has served as the team's everyday second baseman for the last two years.
ABOUT CHADRON STATE
The Eagles come into this weekend boasting a 17-25 overall record while playing to 13-23 in the RMAC. They currently sit in ninth place of the conference standings with them 7.5 games out of sixth place, the final conference tournament spot.
In their latest action the Eagles won the series over Fort Lewis College this past weekend taking three out of four games and outscoring the Skyhawks 20-11.
In the series history against CMU, the Mavs hold an all-time record of 50 wins and 14 losses against the Eagles with the Mavs being victorious in their last five matchups dating back to 2023.
Serving as the team's top bat has been Lauren Zimmerman who's hitting .411 this season with 53 hits and 10 home runs. She is currently top 10 in batting average and home runs within the conference.
Aiding Zimmerman as the team's other top performers are Ashland Baca (.367), J'lyssa Martinez (.357), Aliyah Rothstein (.345) and Jazlyn Arvizo (.313).
The Eagles are batting just .283 as a squad while striking out 205 times this season for the third most in the RMAC.
Tori Haug, Bella Akins and Kenzi Garner all round out the pitching side as the three piece together the team's main arms.
Haug is 8-12 with a 5.87 ERA as the team's top arm while Akins comes in at 4-4 with a 6.35 ERA and Garner adds a 5-9 record with a 5.62 ERA. Each of the three have all made 20 appearances or more with them combining for 17 complete games.
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. Tickets can be purchased in person at the gate or online at cmumavericks.com/tickets.
