Complete Notes (PDF)

Metro State will face Texas Woman's at 4 p.m. (CT) on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Notes:
•    Metro State went 4-1 against four Lone Star Conference schools in non-conference action Feb. 14-16, with a win over No. 17 Angelo State (17) and its only loss to No. 8 West Texas A&M.
•    Cassidy Smith (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) was named RMAC pitcher of the week on Feb. 18 after going 3-0 with a 3.85 ERA in her first three collegiate starts.
•    Britney Thomas (Cheyenne, Wyo./East H.S.) is batting .400 (10-for-25) over her current six-game hitting streak.
•    Colissa Bakovich (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) is batting .435 (10-for-23) with seven runs and seven RBIs over the past eight games.
•    Chelsea Brew (Colorado Springs/Rampart H.S.) has four home runs, 11 RBIs, an .828 slugging percentage and a .345 average (10-for-29) over the past 10 games.
•    Dani Sandel (Omaha, Neb./Westside H.S.) is batting .404 (19-for-47) with eight extra-base hits over the past 13 games.
•    Kaylynn Harmon (Erie, Colo./Erie H.S.) was batting .483 (57-for-118) over a 38-game stretch entering the RMAC tournament and is batting .583 (7-for-12) with seven runs scored, two triples and a home run over the past four games.
•    Kelsey Tillery (Windsor, Colo./Windsor H.S.) is batting .448 (13-for-28) with 12 RBIs and five extra-base hits over the past eight games.
•    Mary Towner (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) is batting .444 (20-for-45) with 10 RBIs and seven extra-base hits over the past 13 games.
•    Susie Oury (Arvada, Colo./Arvada West H.S.) is currently out of the lineup with an injury; she batted .374 with 33 runs and 17 stolen bases while starting the first 30 games at shortstop.
•    Oury returned to pinch run in three games last weekend and had two steals and three runs scored.

RMAC CHAMPIONS:
•    Metro State won its third RMAC tournament title and first since 2010, defeating Fort Lewis 2-1 in eight innings on a walk-off home run by Mary Towner (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) in the championship.
•    Colissa Bakovich (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) was named tournament MVP after a team-high .474 batting average, six runs scored, three RBIs and three stolen bases.
•    Bakovich also had a tremendous diving catch in the championship game in left-center field, keeping the Roadrunners in front 1-0 in the fifth inning as she made the grab with two outs and the bases loaded.
•    Towner was also selected to the all-tournament team, batting .458 with two home runs, two doubles, six RBIs and four runs scored.
•    Kelsey Tillery (Windsor, Colo./Windsor H.S.) was an all-tournament selection, batting .440 with a team-high 10 RBIs, seven runs scored, three doubles and a home run.
•    Kaylynn Harmon (Erie, Colo./Erie H.S.) was an all-tournament selection, batting .368 with eight runs scored, four RBIs, two triples and a home run.
•    Cassidy Smith (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) emerged in the pitching circle to be named all-tournament, posting a 5-0 record in six appearances with a 3.00 ERA in 23.1 innings.
•    Smith made her first start in the third game of the tournament.

BIGGEST TURNAROUND IN RMAC HISTORY:
•    Metro State tied the best single-season turnaround in RMAC history, placing fourth overall this season after finishing 12th last year, a jump of eight spots in the standings.
•    Previously, only two teams had moved up eight spots in one season: (Fort Lewis '11-12, Western N.M. '09-10).
•    The +.342 improvement in conference winning percentage from last year (.303) to this year (.645) is the third-best improvement in RMAC history (Fort Lewis +.600 from 2000-01; Adams State +.344 from 1999-2000).

TILLERY EYEING NATIONAL DOUBLES RECORD:
•    Kelsey Tillery (Windsor, Colo./Windsor H.S.) leads all of Division II with 29 doubles this season and is two off the all-time national record of 31.
•    Brittany Hyatt of West Virginia State set the national record of 31 in 2012 in 59 games.
•    Tillery also is averaging 0.62 doubles per game, first in Division II.
•    Kelon Whelan of Kentucky Sate (2005) set the Division II record for doubles per game of 0.88 with 22 in 25 games.
•    Tillery already broke Metro State's single-season record, previously 18 by Sarah Rusch in 2008.
•    As a sophomore, Tillery led Division II with 23 home runs.

Division II Doubles Single Season Record
    Name    2B    G    Year
Brittany Hyatt, W. Va. State    31    59    2012
Shelly Rhein, N.D. State    30    80    1998
Kelsey Tillery (Windsor, Colo./Windsor H.S.)    29    47    2014
Kristin Spencer, Ala.-Huntsville    29    68    2005
Niki Toussaint, CSU-Pueblo    29    66    2001
LaKeisha Pruitt, Clark Atlanta    28    51    2008
Tracy Glover, Okla. Panhandle    28    57    2003
Zayne Smith, West Ala.    28    56    1999
Liz Bartels, Rollins    28    49    1996
Donika Altamirano, NMHU    28    42    1994
Kristi Johnson, Lander    28    62    1994
Sarah Reed, Le Moyne    27    57    2008
Jill Burnett, West Florida    27    65    1997
Kelly Norris, Coker    27    51    1996

MAUL'S BATTLE WITH CANCER:
•    Aubree Maul (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain H.S.) was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer last season on Feb. 5, 2013--the same day she was named RMAC pitcher of the week.
•    She completed her final round of chemotherapy during the week of April 15, 2013, and has made a full recovery.
•    The team held a T.E.A.L. (Tell Every Amazing Lady) game on April 27 last season against Black Hills State as a fundraiser for Ovarian Cancer.
•    Maul is back after earning a medical redshirt and is expected to be the team's No. 1 pitcher and a centerpiece in the batting lineup.