GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— A record Colorado Mesa University softball season came to an abrupt end as the Mavericks were defeated twice on the same day for the first time all season by Texas A&M University-Commerce and Tarleton State University on the second of three days at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional here at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
The Mavericks, ranked third in the nation, and seeded first in the region, dropped their first game of the day 14-7 to No. 13 (No. 4 seed) Texas A&M-Commerce and then fell 6-3 in the evening elimination game as they finish the season with a 48-5 record, good for a school-record setting .906 winning percentage.
 
No. 17 (No. 5 seed) Tarleton State, which also won 6-3 over Rogers State (39-20) in an earlier elimination game, improved to 49-10 with the win as the Mavericks ended their second straight season with 48 wins, just one shy of the 2002 team's school-record total of 49.
 
Texas A&M-Commerce, which beat Tarleton State by a 15-8 count in the opener on Thursday is now 41-9 and can with the tournament title with a single win over their Lone Star Conference rivals on Saturday.  Tarleton State must beat the Lions twice.  Saturday's championship game will begin at noon with the "if necessary" game to follow at 2:30 p.m.
 
Texas A&M-Commerce 14, Colorado Mesa 7
 
Against the Lions, the Mavericks were guilty of a season-high four errors and surrendered 12 consecutive runs in a 3-inning stretch. 
 
The Mavericks took a 2-0 lead in the first on a 2-out Kaila Jacobi double but gave up a lead-off home to Kinsie Hebler in the top of the second.  Hebler then hit a grand slam in the third to give the Lions a 5-2 lead before they exploded for seven runs in the third to build a 12-2 lead.
 
The Mavericks chipped away and got a run back via a Kellie Mrofcza home run in the fourth before staving off the run-rule with a 3-run fifth, highlighted by another run-scoring Jacobi double and double Lion error.
 
Down 12-6 at that point, the Mavericks again gave up two more runs in the top of the sixth but again stayed alive by getting a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
 
Neither team would score in the seventh.
 
Emily Otto picked up the win for the Lions as she spread nine hits and seven runs over 5 1/3 innings before Lacie Bullard closed out the win.  Kimbri Herring suffered the loss as the Mavericks used all three of their pitchers.
 
Jacobi went 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Maggie Manwarren went 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs to pace the Maverick attack, which finished with 10 hits, the same number as the Lions.
 
Tarleton State 6, Colorado Mesa 3
 
After losing the pre-game coin-flip, the Mavericks were the visiting team but jumped out to another 2-0 lead after each of their first three hitters banged out hits.
 
However, the TexAnns struck for one of their own in the bottom half of the first and then took a 3-2 lead on a Georgia Cappell RBI double after an earlier RBI single by Maddie Quintanar.
 
Meanwhile, the Mavericks left two runners on base in each of the first three innings and 10 overall.
 
Tarleton extended the lead to 5-2 on a Karli Herron homer in the third before the Mavericks pulled within 5-3 in the top of the fourth when Brooke Hodgson delivered what would end up being her 105^th RBI of the season and the last of her 291 career RBIs to plate Manwarren.
 
However, Cappel would answer right back with her second homer of the game in the fourth to regain a 6-3 lead.
 
The Mavericks had a chance in the fifth and had the bases loaded with just one out before Jordan Withrow came on in relief of starter Megan Rosewell to record two strikeouts to get out of the jam.
 
Withrow, who threw 165 pitches to earn a complete game win over Rogers State, ended up with the first save of her season as the Mavericks went quietly in 1-2-3 sixth and seventh innings.  The freshman retired all eight batter she faced, four on strikeouts.
 
Rosewell, 18-2 on the year, went 4 2/3 innings to earn the win.
 
Herring (22-3) suffered the loss for CMU while Brooke Hodgson threw the final 4 2/3 innings in relief.
 
Manwarren had three of the Mavericks' nine hits and scored two runs to finish her season and career with an RMAC record 83 runs.  She also stole 48 bases and hit .485 while Hodgson finished the year with a .508 batting average to win the RMAC's triple crown with 17 home runs and her 105 RBIs, the second-highest single-season total in NCAA Division II history.  Her career total of 291 is also the second highest in the D-II record book.
 
Friday's games were also the last of the careers for senior catcher Zoe Pakes and senior utility player Abby Toller.  Pakes had a hit in both games on Friday after a 3-for-3 effort in Thursday night's 10-2 win  over Rogers State and ended the year hitting .384 with 11 home runs and 50 RBI.  Toller hit .330 throughout the season.
 
Hodgson and Pakes were 4-year seniors with the Mavericks and end their career with 169 wins, three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles, two RMAC Tournament titles and three straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.
 
The Mavericks also finish the year with RMAC team records for batting average (.398), runs scored (508), doubles (135) and hits (609).  They also had a 37-0 start to set the RMAC record for consecutive wins and had another streak of 10 consecutive wins snapped today.