GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The nation's 15^th ranked Colorado Mesa University Softball team once again used the big inning to full effect as the Mavericks ran their winning streak to a dozen with 13-1 and 15-3 victories over visiting Black Hills State University on Sunday afternoon at the CMU Softball Stadium.  The Mavericks have now won each of their last seven games in five innings via the mercy rule while improving to 27-6 overall and to 20-3 in the RMAC.
 
The Mavericks out-scored the Yellow Jackets (9-16, 6-11 RMAC) by a combined 54-6 margin in the 4-game weekend sweep while running their home-field record to an impressive 14-1.
 
They also finished the month of March with a 16-3 mark after going 20-0 during their perfect 37-0 start last year.
 
CMU cranked out a dozen hits in each game of Sunday's doubleheader as reigning Fastpitch News Division II Player of the Week Alexa Samuels hit a home run in both of Sunday's games.
 
The Mavericks, who had 10 and 14-run innings in Saturday's doubleheader sweep, scored seven times in the first inning of Sunday's first game and added five more runs in the bottom of the third.  They then jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second game of the twin-bill before BHSU rallied to within 6-4 after 3 ½ innings.  However, the Mavericks went on to score nine runs in the bottom half of the fourth as they won going-away to record their 16th straight win over the Yellow Jackets dating back to 2013.
 
The Mavericks hit .495 as a team throughout the weekend as eight different players hit .400 or better.  CMU had 46 hits and drew 28 free passes, including 23 walks.
 
Game 1
 
Samuels went 3-for-3 with two doubles and five RBIs as she and freshman catcher Jordyn Hays, who was 2-for-3 with four RBIs, both hit home runs for the Mavericks, who had six extra-base hits amongst their 12 overall.
 
The Mavericks banged out seven of those in the opening frame as they jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead.  Samuels had a 2-run double to begin the scoring before a Hays RBI single and a 2-run triple from sophomore Sarah Staudle made it 5-0.   Freshman Lauren Wedman then hit a run scoring double to chase Yellow Jacket starter Crystal Amaral from the game after just a third of an inning.
 
Brooke Doumer, who had two singles in the inning, then drove in Wedman just two plays later.
 
The Mavericks then added a run in the second on a deep Samuels homer to center field before tacking on five more runs in the third to build up the lead to 13-0.  A Samuels 2-run double and Hays' 3-run blast to left on the very next play were the biggest shots of that frame.
 
The Yellow Jackets then finally broke through for a run of their own in the fourth on a Maddi Fidler home run snuck inside the pole in left field snapping a string of 18 consecutive shutout innings for Maverick senior pitcher Kimbri Herring, who had more than enough run support.
 
Herring, now 11-3, gave up just three hits and the one Fidler run while striking out seven in four innings of work.  Freshman Shea Mauser then had a solid fifth inning to close out the victory, which saw eight different Mavericks record hits.  The only CMU starter that did not get a hit was AnnMarie Torres, who did draw a pair of walks.
 
Amaral took the loss for BHSU and fell to 6-4 after surrendering seven earned runs and six hits in her brief start.
 
Game 2

In search of their third straight series sweep, the Mavericks again jumped out to an early lead as Samuels drove in three more of her nine RBIs on the day with her sixth home run of the season, the highlight of a 4-run opening frame.
 
The Yellow Jackets then pulled two of those runs on the first collegiate home run for freshman pitcher Alex Wiley. 
 
However, the Mavericks stretched the lead ever so slightly to 5-2 in the bottom of the second as Kellie Mrofcza plated Doumer, who had led off the inning with a single before stealing second.
 
The Mavericks then uncharacteristically made two errors in the top of the third as the Yellow Jackets pulled back within two (5-3) with an unearned run.
 
Wedman then hit a RBI double in the bottom of the third to make it a 6-3 game before a Maddie London homerun pulled BHSU within 6-4 in the top of the fourth as the Mavericks brought in Paige Adair in relief of undefeated starter McKenzie Surface.
 
Adair walked her first batter but got out of the jam with a sacrifice bunt and fly out as she went on to earn her CMU single-season record tying (Sara Jordan, 2009) fourth save of the year.
 
Leading by just two and a bit perplexed, the Mavericks then responded in a big way as they scored nine runs in the bottom half of the inning, eight of which came with two outs.
 
A Mrofcza single to center began the frame innocently enough before a 1-out RBI single by Kaila Jacobi, who had 10 RBIs in Saturday's doubleheader, increased the lead to 7-4. 
 
Later, Wedman had a RBI single to score Samuels before Dufour was hit on just the second pitch thrown by reliever Breanne Henricksen, allowing Staudle to walk across the plate in the bases-loaded situation.
 
Henricksen then walked both Doumer and Mrofcza before Wiley re-entered to face Torres, who recorded a 3-run bloop double over the shoulder of the Yellow Jackets' second baseman as the Mavs opened up a 14-4 lead.
 
After Jacobi drew a walk, Samuels then plated Torres with the game's final run as the Yellow Jackets made three pitching changes in the 6-hit frame alone.
 
Adair then gave up back-to-back singles to begin the top of the fifth but closed the door retiring the next three Yellow Jackets, two of which went down on strikes.
 
Surface, now 12-0, was credited with the win after going 3 1/3 winnings while striking out six.
 
Mrofcza was 3-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored to help lead the Maverick attack, which once again went off for 12 hits, including three doubles and a Samuels homer.  The Mavericks also took advantage of seven walks from the BHSU pitching staff.
 
Wiley (3-7) took the loss after giving up 12 hits, five walks and 12 runs in her 3 2/3 total innings.
 
Up Next

The Mavericks will take their winning streak on the road next weekend traveling to Chadron, Nebraska to face the Chadron State College Eagles, who swept a 4-game RMAC series at New Mexico Highlands on Friday and Saturday in Las Vegas, New Mexico.  The Eagles, who had lost their previous six games, will enter there series with 10-23 overall and 7-16 RMAC records.
 
Doubleheaders are slated for noon on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday.