GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year Ellie Smith hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the first and then pitched 1 1/3 inning of 1-hit relief to earn the save as the top-seeded Colorado Mesa University Mavericks held on for a 2-1 win over visiting and fourth-seeded Colorado School of Mines in Game 3 of the RMAC Softball Tournament on Thursday afternoon at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
After receiving their regular season championship plaque and banner in pre-game festivities, the Mavericks got off to a hot start as starting pitcher Paige Adair set down the first three Orediggers she faced in the top of the first.  Brooke Doumer, who would later be caught stealing, and Lauren Wedman, who went 3-for-3 in the game, then singled before Smith hit her RMAC-leading extending 17^th bomb of the season to the Party Deck in center field.
 
That homer proved to be enough for the now 35-2 Mavericks as Adair and Smith gave up just seven hits in the 1-run victory.
 
Adair, the RMAC Pitcher of the Year, improved to a conference-leading 18-1, as she allowed just one fifth-inning run, a Clara Larson home run to left, on six hits. 
 
An inning later, the Orediggers (22-14-1) put two runners on with just one out thanks to singles by Sidney Wilson and Kylie Redding prompting RMAC Coach of the Year Mercedes Bohte (Lovato) to make a change in the circle bringing in Smith, the ultimate utility player.
 
Just two pitches later, Smith got Kayleigh Krueger to ground into a double play at third base as Nicole Christensen stepped on the bag before throwing over to Sarah Staudle to retire Krueger and get the Mavs out of the inning.
 
The Mavericks also survived a mini-Oredigger threat in the top of the seventh as Larson, who was 3-for-3 to lead the Orediggers, hit a leaf off single.  However, Christensen made a line drive snag to retire pinch-hitter Grace Gonzales.  The Mavs then retired Larson on a fielder's choice as Kailey Robb reached first.
 
Robb then moved to second on a Christensen bobble but rounded the bag to far and was gunned down by Christensen, who threw to Aislyn Sharp to finish the game.
 
The Mavericks finished the game with an 8-7 advantage in total hits and had four of them in the opening inning before Syndey Marchando settled down as she held the nation's top offensive unit in CMU to just four more hits.  The Mavericks had just one runner reach second base in the second through sixth innings.
 
Marchando, a regular pest to the Mavericks' offensive prowess throughout her career, tossed the complete game for the Orediggers but fell to 9-5 after giving up eight hits and a walk while striking out six Mavericks.
 
Adair also had six strikeouts for CMU, including four in the opening two innings alone.
 
Staudle, who went 2-for-3, joined Wedman, who raised her batting average to a RMAC-leading .546, as Mavericks with multiple hits.
 
With the win, the Mavericks advance to Game 7 of the tournament at 4 p.m., Friday, when they will face No. 3 seed Colorado Christian, which posted a 9-7 win over No. 2 seed MSU Denver later Thursday evening.
 
Mines, which posted a 5-2 win in the opening game of the tournament earlier in the day, will play MSU Denver in an elimination game on Friday at 1:30 p.m.