SERIES HISTORY WITH UCCS
The Mavericks and Mountain Lions will meet up in Grand Junction this weekend with Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference supremacy on the line. The two teams are scheduled for four games including the annual fireworks night at Suplizio Field. 

UCCS hasnt played a season series in Grand Junction since the 2023 season when they were swept in four games. The Mavericks are 15-3 all-time in Grand Junction against the Mountain Lions. 

The Mavericks won the season series a year ago 3-2 with the season confrence series being split two games a side. Colorado Mesa defeated UCCS 9-3 in the RMAC Tournament at The Diamond.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
UCCS has had a tremendous season after starting the year 11-7 in non-conference games and then going 14-1-1 in conference games with 16 games in the conference season.

The Mountain Lions have a trio of batters hitting over .400 on the season led by junior Brendan Killeen. He is currently riding an 18 game hitting streak. Trevor Dale leads the RMAC in home runs with 17.

Gerrit Erickson leads the UCCS staff with a 7.36 and a 5-2 record. The redshirt senior had a season-high six strikeouts against Jamestown earlier in the season.

THE WEEK THAT WAS
During the Mavericks four-game sweep of Adams State, they batted .401 with 24 extra base-hits. They averaged 13.5 runs per game and had an on-base percentage of .514.

The Grizzlies batted .258 with 11 extra base-hits and a .326 on-base percentage. Adams State had a team ERA of 12.19 and issued 28 walks (7.0 per game). 

A NEW NUMBER ONE
Back on May 29, 2021, the Mavericks fell to No. 7 ranked West Texas A&M 7-6 in the NCAA South Central Region Tournament. That was the last day Colorado Mesa was ranked No. 1 in either of the two NCAA nationally recognized polls.

The Mavericks ascended to the top spot this week in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association poll released on Wednesday April 8. Ironically, the first time Colorado Mesa was named No. 1 in 2021, came on Thursday April 8 of that year.

Tampa had occupied the top spot the previous week but the Spartans fell to Florida Southern and Valdosta State last weekend and in a midweek contest.

LEAN INTO IT
Senior outfielder Kolby Felix is on moving towards breaking a program single season record as the season progresses. Former utility man Erik Kozel holds the record for hit by pitches in a single season with 21 during the 2013 season.

Felix has been hit by a pitch 18 times this season with a minimum of 14 games left to play. That number can change with how many postseason games the Mavericks play when May rolls around. 

With how many times the Arizona native has been hit by a pitch this season, that has led to a .team-high .554 on-base percentage. 

LATE GAME SITUATIONS
While the Mavericks have plenty of bullpen options depending on who is on the mound to start the game. There are a couple of constants though regardless of who starts the game.

Innings 7-8-9 likely belong to Jett Walker, Cayden Clark and Sage Ferguson when the postseason rolls around. Walker has made 10 appearances and has pitched 10.2 innings and has struck out 18 batters while Cayden Clark has made 12 appearances with 16 strikeouts and 16 innings pitched.

Sage Ferguson is the closer and is 1-0 with four saves and a 1.59 ERA. He has 22 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched with just one walk. 

THE PREMIER MATCHUP
Colorado Mesa will take on the UCCS Mountain Lions this weekend in a battle of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the standings. 

The Mavericks enter the series with the top ERA in the conference at 3.77 which is 2.40 points better than the next best in the conference who is MSU Denver at 6.18. 

The Mountain Lions come into the weekend as the second best hitting team at .366 and fourth in pitching at 8.57.

MAVERICKS IN MILB
The Colorado Mesa baseball team currently has seven players competing at some level of professional baseball. All seven finished in the minors with one of them seeing action in Major League Baseball during the 2025 season. Check out the full list of Colorado Mesa Baseball Alums and ways to follow along on their professional journey:

Bligh Madris (2015-18) // St. Louis Cardinals
Kyle Leahy (2016-18) // St. Louis Cardinals
Haydn McGeary (2019-22) // Chicago Cubs
Spencer Bramwell (2018-22) // Miami Marlins
Caleb Farmer (2018-22) // Washington Nationals
Andrew Morris (2019-21)  // Minnesota Twins
Andrew Pogue (2025) // Detroit Tigers

RMAC DOMINATION
Colorado Mesa won its 13th straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title in 2025 and is looking for more. The Mavericks have won 28 overall regular season titles and 23 tournament titles after winning their third straight last season.

Since 2009, Colorado Mesa has won 82 percent of their games against RMAC competition as they have a 528-110 record in that span prior to the season.

THE BEST AROUND
Two seasons ago, head coach Chris Hanks eclipsed the 1,000 win mark in his career. He is one of just 17 head coaches across NCAA Baseball that is over the 1,000 win mark and is fourth in wins in NCAA Division II of active head coaches.

Top-10 Division II Active Head Coaches by wins
1. John Schaly (Ashland) - 1,371-751 (39 seasons)
2. Greg Guilliams (Flagler) - 1,233-612 (36 seasons)
3. Jeff Messer (Slippery Rock) - 1,171-771 (40 seasons)
4. Chris Hanks (Colorado Mesa) - 1,145-431 (28 seasons)
5. Joe Urso (Tampa) - 1,090-302 (26 seasons)
6. Jim Gantt (Catawba) - 1,064-522 (30 seasons)
7. Greg Appleton (Columbus State) - 1,020-534 (29 seasons)
8. Tim Mead (Walsh) - 972-984 (42 seasons)
9. Paul O'Neil (UNC Pembroke) - 917-571 (30 seasons)
10. Jon Sjogren (Rollins) - 911-762 (36 seasons)

NCAA Active Head Coaches with 1,000 wins
1. John Schaly (Ashland) - 1,371
2. Dave Van Horn (Arkansas) - 1,324
3. Elliott Avent (NC State) - 1,316
4. Greg Guilliams (Flagler) - 1,233
5. Rich Hill (Hawaii) - 1,224
6. Jeff Messer (Slippery Rock) - 1,171
7. Chris Hanks (Colorado Mesa) - 1,145
8. Rick Heller (Iowa) - 1,092 
9. Steve Owens (Rutgers) - 1,091
10. Joe Urso (Tampa) - 1,090
11. Tim Corbin (Vanderbilt) - 1,089
12. Mike Bianco (Ole Miss) - 1,071
13. Jim Gantt (Catawba) - 1,064
14. Rich Maloney (Ball State) - 1,039
15. Yogi Lutz (Alvernia) - 1,033