DENVER— The Colorado Mesa University softball team pounded out 26 hits, including ten for extra bases as they completed a 4-game season-opening series sweep over the host MSU Denver Roadrunners, taking both games of Monday's doubleheader here at the Regency Athletic Complex.  After claiming low-scoring 3-0 and 2-1 wins on Sunday, the Mavericks won the first game of Monday's twin-bill 11-10 and then took the second by a 13-2 margin via the mercy rule in five innings.
 
Ellie Smith had four doubles throughout Monday's doubleheader, two in each game, while Lauren Wedman homered from the second straight day.  Freshman catcher Ally Distler also hit a double in both games on Monday, finishing the day with five RBIs.
 
After recording a 7-strikeout shutout in the season-opener on Friday, Paige Adair picked up the save in the Monday's first game before earning her second wins of the series in the second.
 
With the sweep, the Mavericks seized an early share of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference lead with Regis, which swept a Saturday and Sunday home series against Adams State.  MSU Denver, which was a slight favorite in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll and receiving votes in the national poll, is now 0-4.
 
Game One
 
The Mavericks jumped out to a 10-1 lead putting up three runs each in the top of the third, fourth and fifth innings before the Roadrunners pulled all of them back with a 9-run bottom of the fifth.
 
However, Distler began the top of the sixth with single before moving to third on back-to-back runner-advancing groundouts.  Redshirt sophomore utility player Brandi Haller then delivered the eventual game-winning RBI single with two outs to give the Mavericks an 11-10 lead.
 
Adair then came on allowing just two walks, one of which was erased by a double play line drive snag by freshman Eva Fugate, while striking out two in her two innings of hitless relief to pick up the save, the fifth of her career, moving her within one of Sara Jordan's school-record of six.
 
More than two hours earlier, the Mavericks got off to a strong start as Wedman lead off the game with an infield single before moving to second on a Brooke Doumer sacrifice bunt and scoring on Smith's first double.
 
The Roadrunners would then tie the game at 1 with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second before walks by Doumer and Distler set up Smith for a 2-run double in the top of the third.  Smith would later score on an Aislyn Sharp sacrifice fly.
 
In the fourth, Distler provided the big swing with a 3-run double that plated Doumer, Wedman and Drew Sims, who in turn hit a 2-out run-scoring triple to left in the top of the fifth, moments before Wedman cranked her second home run of the series over the center field fence to put the Mavs up 10-1.
 
However, the Roadrunners roared back in the bottom half of the fifth with seven official hits, including 2-run doubles by Ari Valdez and Kayla Banks.  The Roadrunners also had three other hitters reach on fielder's choice plays as the Maverick defense struggled to get out of the inning.
 
However, once they did, Distler and Haller provided the necessary spark to lift the Mavericks to the win.
 
The Mavericks finished the game with 12 hits, including three doubles, Sims' triple and Wedman's home run.
 
Smith earned the win to improve to 2-0 after coming on to get all three outs in the fifth in relief of starter Shea Mauser, who had given up just two hits in four innings before things turned ugly for CMU in the fifth.
 
Game Two
 
The Mavericks continued to show their offensive firepower cranking out 14 hits, including five doubles, while Adair and Mauser combined to hold the Roadrunners to just four hits, including one double.
 
The Mavs also benefited from three Roadrunner errors in the top of the first quickly building a 3-0 lead thanks in part to RBI singles by Distler and Sharp.
 
The Roadrunners did pull two of those runs back in the bottom half with RBI hits by Banks and Darby McGhee before Wedman hit a 2-out double which was wasted in the top of the second.
 
However, a third-inning Smith double followed by a Nicole Christensen RBI groundout and a 2-run single by Sarah Staudle later in the inning helped give the Mavericks a 6-2 lead through three innings.
 
RBI doubles by Wedman and Distler then pushed the Maverick advantage to 8-2 after the top of the fourth as Adair gave up just three hits in a 3-inning start before giving way to Mauser for the bottom of the fourth.
 
After only allowing a 2-out walk in the fourth, Mauser then watched the Maverick offense tack on five more runs in the top of the fifth, which began with a Sharp single and Staudle walk.  Kaley Barker then hit a run-scoring single to plate Sharp to chase Roadrunner starter Julia Heitz from the pitching circle.
 
Later in the inning against Banks, Wedman drove in two runs on a single to right before Smith delivered her fourth double of the day to complete the scoring.
 
Mauser then retired two successive Roadrunner pinch hitters to begin the bottom of the fifth, two plays before a nubber in front of the plate ended the game in just five innings allowing the Mavericks to claim what was their 12^th straight win over the Roadrunners since the start of the 2017 campaign.
 
Wedman finished the game-3-for-4 with three RBIs while Distler and Sharp both went 3-for-3 while combining for three more RBIs.

Meanwhile, Wedman and Distler put up identical numbers throughout the day as both went 5-for-7 with five runs and five RBIs each in Monday's sweep.  Smith also drove in five runs on her four doubles while Sharp went 4-for-5 with RBIs in each game.  Sims also had a 3-for-7 day while scoring three runs from the No. 9 spot in the order.
 
Throughout the series, the Mavericks hit .376 as a team recording 44 hits, twenty more than the Roadrunners, including 11 doubles and 14 for extra bases.  Wedman hit at a .571 clip (8-14) throughout the series, registering four extra-base hits to slug at a 1.143 pace.  She also scored seven runs and drove in seven as well.
 
The Mavericks will now return home to prepare for their home-opening series against the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers on Saturday and Sunday.  The Orediggers took three of four in their RMAC-opening series against CSU Pueblo in Golden and are now 4-4 overall.