ST. GEORGE, Utah— Bailey Kleespies hit a walk-off grand slam, her second of the day, to lift the Colorado Mesa University Maverick softball team to an 8-5 win over Hawai'i-Hilo after she had hit her first as part of a 10-run sixth-inning barrage that carried the Mavericks to a 15-0 mercy-rule win over St. Mary's (Texas) earlier in the day here at the Canyons Softball Complex.
With the wins, the Mavericks went 4-1 at the Dixie State Courtyard Classic to open the 2020 campaign in solid form.
Kleespies had 11 RBIs on the day as the Mavericks scored 22 of their 23 runs in four big innings, two in each game.
Colorado Mesa 15, St. Mary's 0 (6 inn.)
The Mavericks pounded out 16 hits, including six for extra-base, throughout what was by far their most lop-sided win of the young season.
In the third inning, the Mavericks scored four runs as freshman
Camryn Mullen and Kleespies hit back-to-back 2-run singles after an
Ashley Bradford single and walks to
Brooke Doumer and
AnnMarie Torres, who tied CMU's Division II era record for career walks (102) later in the game, had set the table.
The Mavericks then added a fifth run in the top of the fourth as Mullen plated Bradford with a 2-out single after Bradford had led off the inning by reaching on a Rattler fielding error.
CMU then did serious damage in the sixth as they scored nine runs before the Rattlers could get a single out. Walks to Doumer and Torres followed by a Mullen single loaded the bases for Kleespies who delivered her first grand slam of the day down the left field line to make the score 9-0.
Hailey Hinson then went long to center field for a solo shot just two pitches later. A pinch-hit double by
Taylor Tremelling and another 2-bagger from Bradford them made the score 11-0 as the Mavericks rolled to four more runs in a variety of fashions, including a
Tayah Gerber RBI single.
The Mavericks finished with seven hits in that inning alone.
Meanwhile, the Maverick pitching duo of
Ellie Smith and
Shea Mauser held the Rattlers to just five hits in the combined shutout. Smith got the start and threw 2 2/3 innings giving up three hits and five walks. Mauser, who earned the win to move to 2-0, then came on in relief in the bottom of the third and shut down the Rattlers. She gave up just two hits and struck out four in 3 1/3 innings of work.
Bradford and Mullen each went 3-for-4 with a combined four runs scored and four RBIs to support Kleespies' career-high 6-RBI game. Nine different Mavericks had at least one hit.
Colorado Mesa 8, Hawai'i-Hilo 5
Down 5-3 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Mavericks scored five runs in the final frame to claim their third win in 24 hours.
With one out, Bradford was hit by a pitch before moving to second on a
Lauren Wedman single.
Brooke Doumer then singled to load the bases for
AnnMarie Torres, a 3-time all-American. The senior first baseman delivered with an RBI single to cut the gap to 5-4 as Bradford scored.
Mullen then came in to pinch-hit but popped up as the Mavericks were down to their final out. However, Kleespies made the most of her opportunity as she hit a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left field to give the Mavericks the win.
Kleespies also had a big part in the Mavericks' 3-run bottom of the first as she gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead with an RBI double. The Vulcans had scored one run in the top of the first before singles by Wedman and Doumer along with a fielding error helped Mullen tie the game with a sacrifice fly. Kleespies, who had five RBIs in the game, then hit her go-ahead double before the Mavericks added a third run when
Jordyn Hays singled to score Kleespies, seconds before Hinson was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
The Vulcans then came back to score two runs of their own in the fourth to tie the game at 3 and took a 5-3 lead in the fifth on a two-run homer by Skylar Thomas.
Valerie Alvarado then shut down the Mavericks in order in the bottom of the fifth and sixth before faltering in the seventh. She fell to 1-2 after giving up 10 hits and eight earned runs while striking out four.
Smith picked up the relief win for the Mavs and moved to 2-0 after coming on in the sixth inning. She had three strikeouts and allowed just two hits in her two innings. Mauser lasted five innings as the starter and gave seven hits while striking out four.
Up Next
The Mavericks will continue tournament play next week, playing five more games over three days at the Cactus Classic in Tucson, Ariz. All five will be against South Central Regional foes from the Lone Star Conference. The stretch begins Thursday (Feb. 13) against West Texas A&M and Western New Mexico.
