GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The nation's 12^th-ranked Colorado Mesa University Mavericks banged out 23 hits and scored 17 runs while allowing just six hits and a single unearned run as they posted a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Softball wins to extend their winning streak to 18 games on on Saturday here at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
In the morning game of the 3-team pod series, the Mavericks hit four home runs, including a Alexa Samuels grand slam, and used a 2-hit Kimbri Herring shutout to dominated Regis University, 13-0 in five innings.  They then came back in the afternoon with a 4-run fourth-inning to see off the Colorado State University-Pueblo ThunderWolves by a 4-1 score.
 
In between, the ThunderWolves laced 22 hits, including 19 singles and three doubles, to claim a 10-2, 5-inning win over the Regis Rangers.
 
The teams will continue the pod series on Sunday with three more games to be played in reverse order, begging at 10 a.m. CMU will enter Sunday with 33-6 overall and 26-3 RMAC records and sit six wins and one loss better than idle Colorado Christian University (20-4 RMAC) atop the RMAC standings.  The Cougars had their series with third-place Colorado School of Mines (19-6 RMAC) pushed back a day to a Sunday/Monday format.
 
Regis Game
 
The Mavericks jumped all over the Rangers (12-19, 9-16 RMAC) in the bottom of the first scoring four runs on five hits in the bottom of the first before leaving the bases loaded.  A Kellie Mrofcza RBI triple that plated lead-off Brooke Doumer followed by an AnnMarie Torres single delivered the first two runs.  Kaila Jacobi then doubled the lead with a home run to right field that landed in the middle of CMU's Spring Football practice.
 
Torres then hit a 2-run homer of her own highlighting a 3-run second inning.
 
Up 7-0 at that point, the Mavericks would then score six more times in the third as Bailey Kleespies led off the inning with a home run before Samuels cleared the bases with CMU's third grand slam of the winning streak and fourth of the season to make the score 12-0.
 
Kleespies later delivered another RBI single as she had two RBI hits in the inning while finishing the day 2-for-3.
 
Meanwhile, Mrofcza finished 3-for-4 as five different Mavericks had multiple hits.  The Mavericks recorded 14 as a team, eight of which were for extra bases.
 
Samuels was 2-for-2 with five RBIs.
 
Meanwhile, Herring allowed just two hits and a single walk while striking out five Rangers to extend her RMAC lead for shutouts.  She now has eight on the year and is 15-3 overall.
 
She retired 11 straight Ranger hitters and had 1-2-3 innings in the second, third and fourth.
 
Maisie Mortimer suffered the loss for the Rangers and fell to 3-7 as the first of three Ranger pitchers.
 
CSU-Pueblo Game
 
Neither team could score until the bottom of the fourth when with two outs, five straight Mavericks reached safely in a 4-run inning that proved to be the difference.
 
Kleespies started the rally with a double before Jordyn Hays walked.  Sarah Staudle then delivered the first run with a single up the middle before Lauren Wedman plated the next two runs to make the score 3-0.
 
Doumer then recorded a RBI double to extend the lead.
 
Meanwhile, Maverick senior McKenzie Surface controlled the ThunderWolves throughout, allowing just four hits while striking out eight.  She also did not allow a single walk as CSU-Pueblo would only manage a consolation unearned run in the top of the seventh when Melissa Torrez singled up the middle to plate Michaela Burpee, who had reached on a 3-base error.
 
Surface moved to 14-0 on the year with the victory while CSU-Pueblo starter Samantha Riesen took the loss and fell to 3-7.
 
The Mavericks finished the game with nine hits as Torres, Kleespies and Wedman each had two.
 
Torrez had two hits for the ThunderWolves (10-22, 9-19 RMAC).