COMMERCE, Texas— The nation's 15^th-ranked Colorado Mesa University softball team dropped the opening game of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional to tenth-ranked and tournament host Texas A&M University-Commerce on Wednesday afternoon here at the John Cain Family Softball Complex.
 
The Mavericks (38-4) out-hit the Lions, 6-4 in the contest but left seven runners on base, including three in the bottom of the seventh as the hosts (29-16) hung on for the victory, propelled by two first inning solo home runs and single tallies in the fifth and sixth innings.
 
The Mavericks had tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the third and then loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh when pinch hitter Ava Fugate and Ashley Bradford drew walks before an infield single by Drew Sims.
 
Brooke Doumer, who along with Sarah Staudle, went 2-for-3 to lead the Maverick attack, then drove in Fugate to make the score 4-3.
 
However, Lion reliever Emily Otto, who had given up the singles to Sims and Doumer, then settled down retiring the heart of the Maverick lineup to earn the save, her first the campaign.
 
Alyssa LeBlanc (16-10) earned the win after spreading four hits and four walks while surrendering just one earned run in six-plus innings of work.
 
Paige Adair (20-3) suffered the loss for CMU despite giving up just three hits while striking out five in five innings of work.
 
Kimber Neal and LeBlanc hit the first inning home runs for the Lions, who despite playing at home, batted first as the lower seed (No. 5) in the tournament.
 
LeBlanc was nearly perfect through two innings giving up just one walk while striking out two and retiring six of the first seven Mavericks she faced.  However, the Mavericks got their offense rolling in the third when Sims drew a walk before moving to second on a wild pitch and scoring on an error.
 
Ellie Smith then drove in her national-leading 77^th run of the season with two outs to drive in Doumer as the Mavericks tied the game.
 
After Adair retired the Lions in order in the top of the fourth, Sarah Staudle began the bottom of the fourth with an infield single before pinch runner Brandi Haller moved to second on a wild pitch.  However, LeBlanc struck out the next three Mavericks to get out of the jam giving the Lions the momentum.
 
They took full advantage of that momentum as Chealsea Slider doubled to right center before her pinch runner Da'Jia Davis came around to score on a 2-out passed ball.
 
The Mavericks then saw the fifth inning come to an end on a lineout double play as the Lions went on to double their lead to 4-2 in the sixth against Smith, who came on to relieve Adair.
 
Neal began the inning with a walk and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and LeBlanc ground out before Kinsie Hebler beat out a high-chop infield single allowing Neal to score.
 
LeBlanc then recorded three more of her 11 strikeouts in the sixth as the Mavericks wasted a 2-out Staudle single before squandering an even bigger chance in the seventh.
 
The Mavericks will now play in an elimination game on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. CDT (5 p.m. Mountain) against the loser of Game 2 between Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville.