THIS WEEK
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team will be traveling to Grand Junction, Colo. to take on #12 Colorado Mesa University (CMU) in a four-game series. The series will consist of the usual two double headers. However, due to the upcoming holiday weekend, the game schedule has been moved up one day. The first double header will take place on Friday, Apr. 19 with games slated for 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Apr. 20 will feature the second double header, with the games scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
UCCS has not played well historically against CMU as they own a 3-20 record against the Mavericks since 2013. The Mountain Lions have not won a game against CMU since the 2013 season (0-18 in their last 18 games). UCCS will look to break the streak this weekend.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
The Mavericks are currently atop the standings in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) with an overall record of 35-6 and a conference record of 28-3. CMU enters this weekend having won 20 games in a row. In their most recent series, CMU took on Regis University and Colorado State University – Pueblo in a pod. In the two against Regis, the Mavericks outscored the Rangers 24-0 on 26 hits including five doubles, two triples and five home runs. The games against CSU – Pueblo were more interesting, but CMU still outscored the ThunderWolves 10-3. As a team, CMU ranks first in the RMAC in batting average (.362), runs scored (354), home runs (56) and RBI (321). They rank second in the RMAC in hits (392), doubles (83) and triples (13). Individually, CMU is led by a number of different players. AnnMarie Torres leads the team in batting average (.504, first in the RMAC), hits (57, tied for second in the RMAC), slugging percentage (.920, first in the RMAC), on-base percentage (.620, first in the RMAC) and RBI (56, first in the RMAC). She is also tied for the team lead in home runs with Kaila Jacobi with 12 (tied for third in the RMAC). Jacobi has a .313 batting average and is third on the team in RBI with 46 (fifth in the RMAC). Kellie Mrofcza ranks second on the team in batting average (.408, seventh in the RMAC), hits (53, tied for ninth in the RMAC), doubles (13, tied for eighth in the RMAC) and RBI (49, fourth in the RMAC). Brooke Doumer ranks third on the team in batting average (.400, tied for ninth in the RMAC) and hits (50), but ranks first on the team in doubles with 15 (tied for sixth in the RMAC). Alexa Samuels (.382 BA) has the second most home runs on the team (nine, tied for sixth in the RMAC) and the third most RBI with 34. Defensively, the Mavericks have two of the top pitchers in the RMAC in seniors Kimbri Herring (15-3, tied for the second most wins in the RMAC) and McKenzie Surface (14-0, fourth most wins in the RMAC). Herring has appeared in 24 games (started 20) and has allowed 36 runs (33 earned) on 76 hits and has a team high 99 strikeouts (tied for third most in the RMAC), giving her a team best 2.09 ERA (third in the RMAC). Surface has appeared in 18 games (12 starts) and has allowed 25 runs (23 earned) on 65 hits and owns 73 strikeouts (ninth most in the RMAC), earning her an ERA of 2.24 (fifth in the RMAC).

LAST TIME OUT
The Mountain Lions took care of business last weekend against Black Hills State University with a dominant four-game sweep, making their record 22-21 (18-13 RMAC) which ranks sixth in the conference. UCCS outscored BSHU 37-4 in the four games, including two shutout victories by a combined score of 27-0. The Mountain Lions had nine different players tally a hit, including six players recording at least four hits. In total, UCCS racked up 42 hits in the series including 12 doubles and five home runs. Those numbers bring the season totals for UCCS to 350 hits (fifth in the RMAC), 77 doubles (third in the RMAC), 39 home runs (fourth in the RMAC), 238 RBI (third in the RMAC), 247 runs scored (fourth in the RMAC) and a team batting average of .297 (eighth in the RMAC).

Individually, Alex Cook (.321 BA) and Peyton Reisman (.379 BA) led the way for UCCS with seven hits each in the series. Cook's seven hits were made up of two doubles and one home run, which helped her drive in a team high eight RBI for the series. Reisman would add one double, giving her three doubles, one home run and four RBI. Payton Romines (.289 BA) and Melissa Martinek (.390 BA, leads the team) tied for the second most hits on the team with six each. Romines had one double and a team high two home runs in the series which led her seven RBI, the second most behind Cook. Martinek recorded three doubles and one RBI in the series. Her six hits and three doubles give her 53 and 17 respectively this year, which rank tenth and third respectively in the RMAC overall. Rayle Glover (.379 BA) and Leigh Lancaster (.244 BA) round out the top six performers for the weekend as they recorded five hits and four hits respectively in the series. Glover had one double and two RBI in the series. Lancaster also had one double, however she made the most of her hits as she tied with Romines for the second most RBI of the series with seven.

Defensively, the UCCS pitching staff had its best performance of the season as they finished the series with a combined ERA of 0.88. Taylor Reidhead (9-9) finished the weekend with two wins in two appearances. She pitched the first shutout of the weekend, going five innings and giving only one hit with 10 strikeouts. In her second appearance, she threw three innings to start the game and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with four strikeouts, giving her an ERA of 1.75 for the series. Braelyne Crenshaw (7-7) picked up one win in the series as she went seven innings and gave up only one run on five hits with three strikeouts for an ERA of 1.00. Cami Duffey (6-5) earned the final win of the weekend for UCCS as she went seven innings in the second shutout effort for UCCS while allowing only four hits. Duffey combined to throw nine scoreless innings and allow only five hits over the weekend to round out a great overall performance by the UCCS pitching staff.

WEATHER FORECAST
The forecast for this weekend in Grand Junction, Colo. shows perfect conditions for softball with high temperatures of 77 and 78 degrees for Friday and Saturday respectively. No precipitation is expected for either day and winds are only expected to gust up to 11 miles per hour at most. For any updates due to weather, stay tuned to gomountainlions.com.

UP NEXT
UCCS will be hosting Adams State University for their final series of the season before the RMAC tournament begins. The games are scheduled for Friday, Apr. 26 and Saturday, Apr. 27, with double headers slated for both days. Friday's games are scheduled for 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday's games are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. There will also be a Senior Day celebration honoring the six seniors on the UCCS roster.