ST. GEORGE, Utah— The Colorado Mesa University Softball team took advantage of 10 total hits, nine walks and six Pioneer errors while posting a 6-run third and a 7-run fourth inning to give interim head coach Erik Kozel a comfortable first career win by a wide 14-1 margin over Cal State University-East Bay in the Mavericks' season-opener on Thursday night here at the Canyons Softball Complex.
 
Nine different Mavericks, including eight in the starting lineup, scored at least one run as CMU batted around in both of the long innings of what ended up being a 5-inning, mercy-rule win to open the Dixie State Courtyard Classic and the season in style.
 
The Pioneers dropped to 0-2 after losing falling to Chadron State, 13-10 in the preceding game.
 
Kellie Mrofcza, who was 3-for-5 and Kaila Jacobi, who went 2-for-5, each had three RBIs while freshman Jordyn Hays, a Grand Junction Central High School product, delivered a 2-run homer to left for her first career hit in the top of the third to trigger CMU's first big inning.
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Meanwhile, Kimbri Herring allowed just four hits and a single run, a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth with the game well in hand, to pick up the victory inside the circle.  She also had three strikeouts.
 
The nation's 21^st ranked Mavericks, who set a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record 508 runs in 2018 with Kozel as their hitting coach, could have done even more damage offensively, leaving 11 runners on base.
 
Batting first, the Mavericks ­­manufactured their first run on a Mrofcza single, the first of three AnnMarie Torres walks and a Jacobi RBI single through the left before leaving the bases loaded when Hays hit into a bases-loaded fielder's choice.
 
The Mavs also left the bases loaded in the top of the second but would not make the same mistake in the third as Bailey Kleespies reached on a 1-out error before Hays blasted a 2-2 pitch to left to extend the Mavericks' early lead to 3-0.
 
The Mavericks then loaded the bases once again on singles by Sarah Staudle and Western Nebraska Community College transfer Brooke Doumer followed by an Alexandria Dufour walk.  After getting a second out on strikes, Pioneer starter Bailee Glover then walked Torres for the second time as the Mavs' lead grew to 4-0 on the RBI walk.
 
Jacobi then delivered a single as three Mavs scored on an error in left field which made the score 7-0.
 
After a quick bottom of the third, the Mavericks then went to work on relief pitcher Abby Burkholder in the top of the fourth as Hays walked before moving to second on a Staudle single up the middle. 

Doumer then beat out a bunt single to load the bases before a Dufour bases-load walk extended the lead to 8-0.
 
Mrofcza then provided the biggest blow of the inning, a 3-run double as lead inflated to 11-0 before the Mavs added three more runs as the Pioneers made three errors in the fourth inning alone.
 
Burkholder, who hit the Pioneers' home run in the bottom half of the inning, gave up three hits and walked four and was charged with seven total and five earned runs in her two innings of relief while Glover took the lost after giving up seven hits, seven runs, three earned runs and five walks in the first three innings.
 
The Mavericks will play two more games on Friday facing Central Washington (4-1) and Western Washington (3-2) at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m., respectively.  Both the Wildcats and Vikings went 2-0 on Thursday.