GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— For the second straight day, the nation's top-ranked Colorado Mesa University Maverick softball team bounced back from a first game setback to crush the visiting Colorado Christian University Cougars in a tussle of the top two teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
The Cougars won the first game 8-4 before the Mavericks used two 5-run innings and a 2-hit shutout from Kimbri Herring to post a 12-0, 5-inning mercy rule win to split the Sunday doubleheader and the 4-game weekend series.
 
The Senior Day split leaves the Mavericks two games and percentage points ahead of the Cougars atop the RMAC standings with one weekend to go in the regular season.  The Mavericks are now 39-3 overall and 29-3 in the conference while CCU is 38-9 (28-6 RMAC).
 
Assuming both teams get to play all four games of their respective season-ending series next weekend, the Mavericks magic number is now two.  The Mavericks are at CSU-Pueblo (15-32, 13-23 RMAC) on Saturday while the Cougars will make the short trip to Golden to face the Colorado School of Mines (26-20, 20-14 RMAC) in a 4-game set.
 
Game One 

The Cougars used five unearned runs to break a 3-3 tie and go on to record the win.  They were down 2-0 but received RBI singles from Charlotte Romero and Stephanie Day in the top of the third to tie the game.  Shelby Fusich then hit a lead-off homer to begin the fourth to put the visitors up 3-2 before the Maverick answered back on a Alexandria Dufour single, one of her season-high four hits in the game, to re-tie the score at 3 through four innings.
 
The Mavericks then turned a double play in the top of the fifth to help get out of a 2-on, no-out jam but committed a costly error in the sixth, which led to four Cougar runs and an 7-3 CCU lead.
 
CCU also scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh before a Kellie Mrofcza RBI single completed the scoring in the bottom half of the inning.
 
Five of the first six Cougars in the lineup had two more hits in the game as the Cougars pounded out 12 as a team, the most CMU has allowed all season.  Romero drove in three runs as Kenzie Mattey improved to 21-7 with the win after coming on in relief of starter Jennifer Romero.  Mattey allowed two hits and just one run in her 3 1/3 innings of work.
 
McKenzie Surface (19-1) lost her first decision of the year for the Mavericks after allowing nine hits and four runs, three of which were earned, in 5-plus innings.  Brooke Hodgson then pitched the final two innings giving up three hits and four unearned runs.
 
Game Two
 
After both teams went down 1-2-3 in the first inning, the Mavericks overcame a second inning error and then put up five runs on the same number of hits in the second to seize early control.  Mrofcza delivered the biggest blow, hitting her third home run of the campaign off the scoreboard before some alert base running and RBI singles by Hailey Hinson and Alexandria Dufour helped propel the Mavs to the big inning.
 
The Mavericks also added two runs in the third thanks to more solid base running from Hodgson and a sacrifice fly from Kellie Mrofcza before tacking on five more runs on four hits in the fourth.
 
The highlights of that inning were run-scoring doubles from Hodgson and AnnMarie Torres, who went a combined 3-for-4 with two walks, a hit by pitch and four runs scored.  Mrofcza also went 2-for-2 with four RBI while Maggie Manwarren went 2-for-3 with two runs scored from the lead-off spot.  She also stole her RMAC-leading 39^th base.
 
Meanwhile, Herring was in complete control allowing just a third inning single to Amy Edison a fourth inning double to Alyssa Hanks a single walk while striking out five Cougar hitters.  She improved to 16-1 with the win and picked up her fifth shutout of the season needing to throw just 69 pitches.
 
Romero took the loss for the Cougars after allowing two hits, two walks and three runs in a brief 1 1/3-inning outing.
 
The Mavericks' final regular season series will begin Saturday at noon at CSU-Pueblo's Rawlings Complex.