GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Three Colorado Mesa pitchers combined to lead the No. 1 Mavericks to a 12-2 win over the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys to open the four-game series on Thursday evening at Suplizio Field.
 
Senior right hander AJ Landis took the series opening start and was superb once again. Landis (5-2) allowed two runs on four hits, walked two and struck out seven to earn the win. He struck out four in a row and retired nine straight at one point.
 
Freshman Gage Edwards and Nathan Wilson pitched the final two innings of hitless baseball. Edwards struck out a pair in his hitless eighth inning.
 
The Mavericks scored all 12 of their runs in three big innings. They scored six runs (two earned) in the fourth inning and hit for the cycle in the four runs sixth inning. They added two more in the bottom half of the eighth inning.
 
Josh Shapiro led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a deep triple to center field that was somewhat misplayed by the Cowboy center fielder. Dominic DeMarco was the next batter up and doubled down the right field line, driving in Shapiro. Caleb Farmer followed with a single before a wild pitch scored DeMarco. Jordan Stubbings followed with home run to left field to complete the single inning cycle.
 
DeMarco finished the game 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs driven in and a run scored while Stubbings went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three runs driven in with his fifth home run of the season.
 
Tyler Sandoval and Shapiro each had two hits as well.
 
Colorado Mesa, the No. 1 team in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, moved to 32-7 on the season and 20-5 in the conference. They move their win streak to five games and now have a two-game lead on second place MSU Denver in the conference standings.
 
The Mavericks and Cowboys will continue their series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 3pm at Suplizio Field.