GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University Softball team saw their 22-game winning streak snapped by visiting UCCS, 7-6 in the first game of a Saturday Senior Day doubleheader but came back to pound the Mountain Lions, 13-3 in the second game to split the twin-bill and win the 4-game Easter weekend series, three games to one.
The Mavericks moved to 38-7 overall and to 31-4 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with the split but had their lead atop the conference standings shaved slightly to 3 ½ games as Colorado Christian University completed a series sweep at Black Hills State University to move to 26-6 in conference games with four to go.
The Mavericks will face the Cougars twice in Lakewood as part of a 3-team pod series which will also include New Mexico Highlands on Friday and Saturday.
UCCS temporarily moved back to .500 with their come-from-behind victory in the first game but slipped back to 23-24 overall and to 19-16 in the conference after the second game, which was ended early in five innings via the mercy rule. They are in sixth place in the RMAC.
Game 1
After pre-game ceremonies honoring their eight seniors, the Mavericks fell behind 3-0 after giving up single runs in the first, second and fourth innings. However, they roared back with six of their own in the bottom of the first to build a 6-3 lead only to see the Mountain Lions score twice in the sixth and twice in the seventh to pull out the win while becoming just the second team to knock off the Mavericks at home this season (Dixie State).
Freshman Sawyer Brewster, who got the start at third base for the Mountain Lions in both games after only playing as a reserve on Friday, made the most of her opportunity as she hit two home runs in the game and three on the day to double her season total to six.
The Mountain Lions also received a home run from Peyton Reisman, who put her team on top 1-0 with her blast in the top of the first.
A pinch-hit RBI single by Shae Bushey then extended the lead to 2-0 in the second before Brewster led off the fourth inning with her first home run of the day.
However, the momentum would be short-lived as the Mavericks scored six runs on four hits in the bottom half of the seventh to turn a 3-run deficit into a 3-run lead.
Lauren Wedman plated CMU's first run with a RBI single before she scored on an error to make it a 3-2 game.
Brooke Doumer then delivered a run-scoring single through the left side to tie the game before a RBI groundout by
Kellie Mrofcza, one of the Mavericks' seniors, put CMU up, 4-3.
AnnMarie Torres then belted her 13
th home run of the season out to right center.
After a scoreless fifth which saw the Mavericks leave two of their eight runners on base, UCCS came back to within 6-5 on Brewster's 2-run homer.
They then took the lead back in the seventh on RBI singles by Rayle Glover and Brewster, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs in the game.
Suddenly down 7-6, the Mavericks then put two runners on base with just one out in the bottom of the seventh. Pinch-runner
Ashley Bradford and Wedman then moved up to second and third on a Staudle groundout to first before pinch-hitter
Alexa Samuels hit a laser to right field which was caught by UCCS' Leigh Lancaster against the fence to end the game and the Mavericks' 16-game home-field winning streak.
Mountain Lion reliever Braelyne Crenshaw (8-7) picked up the win after throwing 3 2/3 innings of, 4-hit, 2-run relief of Taylor Reidhead. Meanwhile, the Mavericks used both of their senior pitchers as
McKenzie Surface suffered her first loss after throwing two innings. She had come on in place of starter
Kimbri Herring right after Brewster's sixth-inning home run.
The Mountain Lions finished the game with 12 hits while the Mavericks tallied eight, seven of which were singles.
Game 2
Glover hit a home run in the top of the second to put the Mountain Lions up 1-0. However, the Mavericks answered back with back-to-back blasts by
Tegan Woosley and
Lexie Comer, who made the most of their Senior Day starts to take a 3-1 lead.
The Mavericks went on to score six more runs in the second inning, taking an 8-1 lead. Doumer and
Bailey Kleespies also had RBI doubles in the big inning, which proved to be more than enough for the Mavericks to bounce back.
The Mavericks also scored three runs in the third inning as Doumer hit another double to score two runs before she scored on a Torres RBI single.
Leading 11-2 at that point and 11-3 after a solo Brewster homer in the top of the fourth, the Mavericks then scored two more times in the bottom half of the inning on a Mrofcza 2-run double.
Shea Mauser then came on to relieve Surface for the fifth as the Mavericks implemented the mercy rule for the 20th time this season.
The Mavericks finished the game with 14 hits as Doumer went 3-for-3 with three RBIs while Kleespies, Staudle and Comer each recorded two hits while combining for four RBIs.
Meanwhile, Surface allowed just four hits in her four innings to improve to 17-1 while Cami Duffey lost for the second time on the weekend to drop to 6-7. She lasted just 1 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and four earned runs.
Up Next
The Mavericks can still clinch the RMAC's Regular Season title on Friday with a win against Colorado Christian (33-12) in the first game of next weekend's Pod Series at Lakewood Park. First pitch is slated for 10 a.m.
The Mavericks will also play against New Mexico Highlands (8-27, 7-22 RMAC) at noon on both Friday and Saturday before closing out the regular season on Saturday at 2 p.m. against the Cougars, who will need to win both head-to-head games against the Mavericks and get some help from the Cowgirls to surpass the Mavericks.
