GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The nation's 18^th-ranked Colorado Mesa University Softball team combined for four home runs, 11 extra-base hits and needed just over two combined hours to record a pair of 9-0, 5-inning mercy-rule victories over visiting Adams State University on Saturday afternoon at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
The Mavericks now have a season-long 7-game winning streak and improved to 22-2 overall and to 15-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as starting pitchers Kimbri Herring and McKenzie Surface each recorded shutouts while giving up just five hits and striking out a combined 14 Grizzlies.
 
ASU fell to 6-24 overall and to 6-12 in the RMAC with the losses.
 
Alexa Samuels, who got the nod as the Mavs' starting designated player in both games, led the Maverick offensive attack with a pair of first-game home runs while finishing the day with seven RBIs on five total hits.
 
AnnMarie Torres and Kaila Jacobi also homered while Kellie Mrofcza hit a pair of doubles in the second game after tripling in the first as her hitting streak reached 13 consecutive games.
 
The Maverick banged out 22 total hits throughout the doubleheader, which lasted just hours and seven minutes combined.
 
Game One
 
Herring struck out seven of the first 10 Grizzlies she faced retiring nine straight in between the only two hits she allowed.
 
Meanwhile, the Mavericks scored in each of the first three innings to take a 6-0 lead.
 
In the bottom of the first, Torres walked before Mrofcza hit a 2-out triple to plate CMU's first run.  Mrofcza then scored a second run moments later when Jordyn Hays beat out an infield single.
 
The Mavericks then executed a delayed double steal with perfection to make it a 3-0 game in the second as Jacobi led off the inning with a double before moving to third on a Hailey Hinson single to put runners on the corners.  On the ensuing play, Hinson stole second while Jacobi stole home.
 
The Mavericks then hit their first two home runs in the bottom of the third as Torres led off the inning with a bomb to deep center field before Samuels hit a 2-run shot after Mrofcza had drawn a walk.
 
After being held scoreless in the fourth, the Mavericks then iced the game in walk-off fashion as Samuels hit a 3-run homer to cap the game after Torres and Hays had registered hits earlier in the inning.
 
The Mavericks finished the contest, which lasted just 58 minutes with nine hits while Herring registered nine strikeouts while allowing just two base runners, neither of which made it to third base.  Needing just 58 total pitches, Herring tossed 44 strikes while improving to 8-3 with her fourth individual shutout of the campaign.
 
Brittany Phillips (2-6) took the loss for the Grizzlies.
 
Game Two
 
The Mavericks were again dominant as the put up four runs in each of the opening two innings, which saw all nine Mavericks come to the plate in both.
 
Jacobi had her home run, a solo shot, in the first inning to highlight that frame, which saw the Mavericks combine for six hits. 
 
Meanwhile, a Mrofcza RBI double and a 2-run Samuels single helped highlight the second inning, which saw the Mavericks score four more runs on the same number of hits.
 
Surface was also in total control and allowed just one walk while striking out five in the first three innings.  She finished with five strikeouts while giving up just three hits and a walk.  In the process, she improved to 10-0 on the season and picked up her first individual shutout of the year.
 
After begin held hitless for 3 2/3 innings, the Grizzlies broke through for a hit with two outs in the fourth but left that runner (Shelby Haskins) on before a Hinson RBI triple extended the Mavericks' lead to 9-0 in the bottom half of the frame.
 
The Grizzlies then put up only a whimper in the top of the fifth as the game ended when Mercedes Salazar was thrown out at second after trying to reach second after a single.
 
Eight of the Mavericks' starters combined for 13 hits in the game, which lasted just one hour and ten minutes.
 
Samuels went 3-for-3 in the game and 5-for-6 on the day to lead the way.
 
The Mavericks have now won 13 straight and 16 of the last 17 games over the Grizzlies dating back to 2015.  They will look to extend that streak on Sunday when they square off in another doubleheader, which will get underway at 11 a.m.