GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The nation's leading scoring offense was held to just three runs in two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Softball Tournament Championship games as the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks dropped 3-2 and 4-1 decisions to visiting Dixie State University on Saturday afternoon at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
The Trailblazers won three games on the day defeating MSU Denver, 9-5 to reach the championship game before defeating the Mavericks twice to earn the tournament title in their first year as members of the conference.  In the process, they improved to 42-11 and earned the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II tournament, which begins Thursday.
 
The Mavericks, who were beaten by the same team on the same day for the first time all season fell to 45-9.  They will await Monday morning's (8 a.m. MDT) NCAA selection show on www.ncaa.com and hope for an at-large berth.
 
CMU had won 11 straight RMAC Tournament games over the last three years prior to Saturday.
 
Kaila Jacobi, Kellie Mrofcza and McKenzie Surface were all named to the all-tournament team.
 
Game One (Tournament Game #14)
 
CMU needed to win just once to claim a third straight RMAC Tournament title after defeating the Trailblazers, 2-1 on Friday night, but left nine runners on base while falling behind 3-1 after three innings.
 
The Mavericks then left the bases loaded in the fifth inning before Hailey Hinson drove in a run on an infield single in the sixth to pull within one.  However, the Mavericks again left the bases loaded as the Trailblazers hung on for the win to force the if-necessary game.
 
Both teams finished with eight hits as the Trailblazers had their first two hitters reach on singles before Kaila Jacobi snagged a pop out while doubling off lead-off hitter Brenna Cornwall at second to help the Mavericks get out of the inning.
 
The Mavericks took advantage as a 2-out walk to AnnMarie Torres helped start a rally.  Jacobi then singled before Bailey Kleespies drove Torres in with an RBI single up the middle.
 
However, the Mavs' momentum would be short-lived as the Trailblazers registered three singles and a walk consecutively to tie the game at one on a single by No. 9 hitter Kaitlyn Delange before taking a 2-1 lead on a Cornwall sacrifice fly.
 
The Trailblazers then added a third run in the top of the third on a Kelsey Crawford RBI single before McKenzie Surface came on to relive starter Kimbri Herring.  Surface got out of the bases-loaded, 1-out jam without any further damage.
 
The Mavericks then saw their half of the third end on a double play before going two in order in the fourth.
 
CMU would get the offense going in a bit more in the fifth as Hinson recorded a pinch-hit single up the middle before Mrofcza hit a 2-out single.  Torres then walked to load the bases before a fly out to shallow left was caught to end the attack.
 
The Mavericks then turned their second double play of the game in the top of the sixth as Lauren Wedman gunned down pinch-runner Riley Tyteca who had tried to score on a Cornwall fly out to left.
 
Kleespies then singled to begin the bottom of the sixth before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Wedman.  However, the Trailblazers snagged a Jordyn Hays lineout to third before Hinson cut the deficit to one.  A Trailblazer error, the only one of the game and a walk by Brooke Doumer loaded the bases before a groundout ended the rally.
 
Both teams then went down in order in the seventh as Carissa Burgess, named as the tournament MVP, picked up her RMAC-leading 23^rd win of the year, going the distance after earning the win in a 4 2/3-inning relief stint against MSU Denver.
 
Herring (21-4) took the loss for the Mavericks while Surface threw 4 2/3 innings of one hit stellar relief to keep the game close.
 
Kleespies and Hinson both had two hits for the Mavericks.
 
Game Two (If-Necessary Game)
 
Batting first as the "visiting" team after losing the coin flip, the Mavericks struggled to figure out DSU pitcher Cambrie Hazel, who struck out four of the first six Mavericks in the opening two innings.
 
However, Wedman singled to begin the third before scoring moments later on a RBI double by Sarah Staudle, giving CMU a 1-0 lead through 2 ½.
 
However, the Trailblazers took a 2-1 lead in the bottom half off the third on a 2-run Kori Gahn homer and then tacked on a third run on a Delange RBI single with two outs in the fourth.
 
The Mavericks managed just one hit the rest of the way as Hazel recorded sixth strikeouts while holding the Mavericks to a season-low three hits.  She also did not give out any free passes while improving to 18-6 with the win.
 
Surface (20-2) pitched a respectable game, giving up just six hits and three walks, but was defeated for just the second time this year.