GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Staying at home for a second consecutive weekend, the Colorado Mesa University softball team hosts No. 7 Colorado Christian University this coming Saturday and Sunday as the two meet in a pivotal conference matchup.
The Mavericks will take on the Cougars in two doubleheaders this weekend with Saturday featuring a noon start and Sunday beginning at 11 a.m.
Saturday's games will also be a part of the university's Beach Bash Weekend with fans encouraged to wear Hawaiian shirts.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavs returned to their winning ways this past weekend as they claimed a series win over Fort Lewis College taking three of the four games.
They split the Saturday doubleheader with them falling 4-2 in the first game before bouncing back with a 10-7 win in game two.
The Mavs then run-ruled the Skyhawks in five innings twice on Sunday with them scoring 16 runs in both contests as they won 16-1 and 16-8.
Their 16-run performances were a new season high for runs in a game this season as over the course of the entire weekend the Mavs outscored the Skyhawks, 44-20.
Seven home runs were managed by the team with three players having two or more. Molli Magaña led all players with three while Kamdyn Hagerty and Aprill Neill each had two.
Makayla Westmoreland had the final seventh bomb.
Beyond Magaña's three home runs, she was 8-for-14 (.571) while totaling nine RBIs and seven runs.
Hagerty, Neill and Westmoreland all hit over .500 on the weekend as well while nine different players recorded RBIs for the team.
Sophia Tassinari went 2-1 in the circle with two complete games while Marisa Nehm had the other win as the duo each had two starts.
The Mavs have now won six conference series this season and currently sit in fourth of the conference standings while being just one game back of third. They have also won six straight conference series now against Fort Lewis.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
Through their 40 games played this spring the Mavs are hitting .313 as a team while owning an on base percentage of .396 and a slugging percentage of .492. All three of those marks improved significantly after their offensive performances this past weekend.
They are just one of eight teams in the RMAC to have a batting average over .300 while playing the second fewest games.
In total there have been 333 hits recorded while scoring 229 runs and having 107 extra base hits.
Of those 107 extra base hits, 38 of them are home runs with that mark tying for second most in all of the conference. In addition, their 0.95 home runs per game ranks in the top 25 of the nation.
On the individual side, five players are now hitting .300 or better for the team with eight players already owning 20 hits or more.
Cailynn Parsons leads the team with her batting .360 this year and being joined by Brynn Escobar (.357), Makayla Westmoreland (.356), Molli Magaña (.321) and TK Landes (.307) as the team's top offensive forces.
Magaña is the Mavs' home run leader with eight herself while Khloe Kubitschek follows up closely behind her with seven.
61 doubles have been hit with Escobar having 10 to lead the team. Landes adds three triples to lead the three-bagger department.
On the pitching side, the Mavs have maintained being a top three team in the RMAC for a majority of this season with them owning an ERA of 4.30 and holding opponents to a .305 batting average against.
They have only walked 102 batters as well which is second fewest of any team in the league.
Sophia Tassinari has been the Mavs' top arm having while pitching 132 innings this spring and going 12-10 over 35 appearances. Her 2.97 ERA leads the team while also ranking for sixth best in the RMAC.
In addition, Tassinari ranks second in innings pitched while her 12 wins are tied for third most in conference.
Marisa Nehm has complimented Tassinari as the team's number two pitcher, appearing 26 times in the circle herself and owning a 8-6 record through 93.1 innings.
Tassinari and Nehm have combined for 35 of the team's starts while appearing in 61 of the team's 72 total games.
Kamdyn Hagerty adds a 6.07 ERA through 15 innings pitched while Lacie Rodabaugh has seen the circle four times with a 6.00 ERA herself.
The staff owns a WHIP of 1.65 and have pitched two shutouts this spring.
Defensively the Mavs also have turned the most double plays in the nation this season with 26 while averaging .65 per game.
THE COACHES
Returning to coach the girls this season is Mercedes Bohte who enters her sixth season at the helm of Maverick Softball after taking over as the Interim Head Coach in the 2021 season and then officially being hired as the Head Coach in June of 2021. In total she has been with the Mavs for 14 seasons with her being an assistant coach for the first eight.
Coming into this season Bohte holds a 202-65 record while leading the team to five consecutive 30-plus wins season, including three of them having 40 or more wins. In addition, she is responsible for claiming three of the last five RMAC regular season champions with one RMAC Tournament Championship. She was named as the RMAC Coach of the Year in 2021 and 2024.
Since taking over the reins of the program in 2021, Bohte has totaled eight all-Americans, 21 all-region selections and 35 all-conference picks.
Additionally, she has amassed three RMAC Players of the Year, four RMAC Pitchers of the Year, one D2CCA Region Player of the Year, one D2CCA Region Pitcher of the Year and one NFCA DII Freshman of the Year Finalist.
Joining her once again this season to aid her coaching efforts are the pair of Willie Hinojosa and Eddie Mort as her assistants. Former softball standout and all-American Myah Arrieta joins the staff as well as another assistant coach after finishing her playing career in 2025.
IN THE POLLS
The Mavs were picked to finish second in this year's RMAC Preseason Poll with them being voted as a top three conference team after finishing second in the 2025 season.
They earned 109 points in this year's preseason voting with them claiming three first-place votes, five second-place votes and two third-place votes.
They were just eight points behind Colorado Christian who was picked to win the conference with them earning seven first-place and four-second place votes en route to a total of 117 points.
Both schools, and MSU Denver, all made the NCAA Regionals last season as the RMAC's only representatives.
In addition to being selected second in the conference, the Mavs also had two picks to the Preseason RMAC Team that was released with the poll. Jessalyn Gallegos and Makayla Westmoreland were the two Mavs to be selected with the duo being the only returning All-RMAC performers for the team.
ABOUT COLORADO CHRISTIAN
The Cougars come into this week as the No. 7 ranked team in the nation while owning an overall record of 42-2 and being undefeated in RMAC at 32-0.
They currently are on a 38-game winning streak with their only two losses on the year being to Hawaii Pacific and then No. 3 Western Washington back in the first two weeks of the season.
In addition, the Cougars are the only team in the South Central region with over 40 wins this season to this point.
In their most recent series, they went up to Spearfish, South Dakota this past weekend where they swept Black Hills State in four games while outscoring them 35-12 and winning twice by mercy rule.
CCU is ranked first in batting and second in pitching in the conference with them having a batting average of .383 and a team ERA of 2.88. They rank second in the nation as well with that batting average with their 8.57 runs per game being third.
Kat Hanson leads the team individually with a .535 batting average while collecting 85 hits already this season and totaling 17 doubles and 12 home runs.
Beyond Hanson six other Cougars also own averages above .300.
In the circle, four arms have bolstered the staff this season with Felesha LePenske leading the way as she is 16-0 with a 3.02 ERA. She is joined by Elyse McMullin, Hannah Espinoza and Lisa Liddell as the team's other top pitchers.
RMAC NETWORK NEWS
The RMAC Network has moved to a pay-per-view model for the 2025-26 season. This season, all RMAC athletic events broadcast by its 15 full-member institutions and associate members will only be available for purchase via a single-game pass or a monthly or annual subscription. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their programs.
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them with access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
Additionally, a discounted annual subscription price will be available to students, faculty, and staff of each member institution throughout the year. Purchasing options and pricing for individual RMAC Championships will be announced closer to each event.
UP NEXT
Following their home stint with the Cougars, the Mavs will head to Chadron State this next weekend as they take to the road for a final time this regular season. Games are set for April 25 (Sat.) and 26 (Sun.) with Saturday being a noon start. Streaming for those game can be found through the RMAC Network.
