GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Looking to bounce back in their final road set of the regular season, the Colorado Mesa University softball team heads to Nebraska this coming weekend as they take on Chadron State College in a 4-game conference series.
The Mavericks will take on the Eagles in two doubleheaders this weekend with games being pushed up one day due to weather and day two featuring a different start time.
The games will take place on Friday and Saturday with Friday beginning at noon and Saturday featuring a different start time of 2 p.m. Saturday's games were pushed back two hours due to event scheduling at Chadron State.
All games will take place at the CSC Softball Field with streaming for the games found through the RMAC Network.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavs suffered a series sweep to No. 5 Colorado Christian University this past weekend as they dropped all four games to a hot-hitting Cougar squad.
The Mavs fell three times by run-rule in the series with them dropping both games on Saturday 12-0 and 12-2 in five innings before then falling twice on Sunday by scores of 6-4 and 11-0 in six innings.
This was just the second time this season the Mavs have been swept in a conference series with it also being only the second time in school history since 2011.
April Neill led the team by being responsible for all six runs scored in on the weekend as she finished batting 3-for-9 (.333) with two home runs and six RBIs.
She has now hit four home runs in the last six games as well.
Sophia Tassinari and Marisa Nehm each made three appearances in the circle with both of them collecting one complete game performance.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
With only eight games remaining in the regular season the Mavs are hitting .307 as a team while owning an on base percentage of .387 and a slugging percentage of .481.
They are just one of nine teams in the RMAC to have a batting average over .300 while having played the second fewest games.
CMU has recorded 353 hits to this point to average just over eight per game while 111 of them have been for extra bases. 40 of those 111 have also been home runs to tie for fifth most in the conference.
In addition, their 0.91 home runs per game ranks in the top 25 of the nation.
On the individual side, four players are hitting .300 or better for the team.
Cailynn Parsons leads that group with her batting .369 this year and being joined by Makayla Westmoreland (.345), Brynn Escobar (.341) and Molli Magaña (.321) as the team's other top offensive forces.
April Neill, Allison Lindsay and Kamdyn Hagerty have also recorded notable at bats with each of them batting above .300 as well.
Magaña is the Mavs' home run leader with eight herself while Khloe Kubitschek follows up closely behind her with seven. Neill adds five while four others have four apiece.
63 doubles have been hit with Escobar having 10 to lead the team. TK Landes adds three triples to lead the three-bagger department.
On the pitching end, the Mavs have an ERA of 4.90 and hold opponents to a .319 batting average against.
They have only walked 112 batters which is third fewest of any team in the league.
Sophia Tassinari has been the Mavs' top arm having while pitching 145.2 innings this spring and going 12-13 over 38 appearances. Her 3.75 ERA leads the team while also ranking in the top 10 of the RAMC
Tassinari currently 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 29 times in the circle herself and owning an 8-7 record through 102.2 innings.
Tassinari and Nehm have combined for 39 of the team's starts while appearing 67 times over 44 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 1.73 and have pitched two shutouts this spring.
Defensively the Mavs also have turned the most double plays in the nation this season with 27 while averaging .61 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 CHADRON STATE
The Eagles have undergone a tough season coming into this weekend as they hold an overall record of 5-40 while going 5-31 in RMAC play.
They previously earned their fifth win of the season this past weekend when they went 1-3 against Fort Lewis College with all four of the games being decided by two runs or less.
Prior to that win on Sunday, they had not won a game since Mar. 21 when they defeated MSU Denver 3-0 in eight innings.
The Eagles are currently in last place in the RMAC standings with them already eliminated from reaching the conference tournament as well.
In the series history with the Mavs, Colorado Mesa owns a 53-15 advantage while only ever losing two series all-time.
Head Coach Skye Koehl is in her first season leading the team after being announced as the program's new leader last summer and taking over following Dr. Rob Stack's single season return as the interim head coach.
The Eagles have the last place offense in the conference, hitting .215 as a team while only one batter owns an average above .300 with Tiffani Mein hitting .330.
On the pitching side they own a 5.82 team ERA with three pitchers combining for all of the team's innings. Belle Akins has gone 3-16 with a 4.86 ERA to lead the staff while Brynn Trujillo adds a 2-13 record with a 6.26 ERA herself.
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
The Mavs will return to Grand Junction for their final home series of the regular season after this weekend when they host Black Hills State on May 1 (Fri.) and 2 (Sat.). Saturday's games will be the Mavs' Senior day as well with there being pregame ceremonies to honor the team's seniors.
