COMMERCE, Texas— The top five hitters in the Colorado Mesa University lineup combined for a dozen hits as the Mavericks used a trio of 3-run innings to stave off elimination with a 9-2 win over Angelo State University in Game 3 of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional on Wednesday evening here at Texas A&M University-Commerce's John Cain Family Softball Complex.
 
Sarah Staudle went 4-for-4 while Ellie Smith went 2-for-4 with a double and home run to lead the way as they combined for five RBIs and four runs scored in the win over the third-seeded and nation's 20^th-ranked Rambelles, who saw their season come to an end with a 33-14 record.
 
Smith also pitched four shutout innings of relief while allowing just two hits as she improved to 13-0.
 
CMU, now 39-4 overall after a 1-1 day, will have Thursday off before taking on the Game 6 winner in Game 8 on Friday at 3 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. Mountain).  The 15^th-ranked Mavericks, who are seeded fourth in the 6-team double elimination tournament, had dropped a tight 4-3 decision to the host and 10^th-ranked Lions in the first game of the tournament.  Angelo State had fallen 7-3 in Texas A&M-Kingsville in Game 2 of the tournament right before facing the Mavericks.
 
Winning the coin toss to serve as the home team, the Mavericks got off to a quick start in the bottom of the first when Smith hit a 2-run homer, her 19^th of the season, to left field to plate Lauren Wedman and herself. 
 
Staudle then followed that blast up with a bloop single before moving to second when Ally Distler was able to reach on a third strike wild pitch.  Aislyn Sharp then hit an RBI double to plate Staudle as the Mavericks sent eight batters to the plate in the opening inning.
 
The Mavericks continued the onslaught in the second inning as Drew Sims singled before moving to second on a Brooke Doumer and scoring on a Wedman double that forced the Rambelles into a pitching change.  After Smith struck out, Staudle hit an RBI single to score Wedman before Nicole Christensen doubled home Staudle to give the Mavs a 6-0 advantage.
 
The Rambelles then scored two runs in the top of the fourth as Keilei Garcia homered before back-to-back singles ended Paige Adair's start after three innings.  However, Smith came on in relief and retired the next four hitters she faced.
 
Leading 6-2, the Mavericks then gave themselves some additional breathing room in the sixth as back-to-back RBI doubles by Smith and Staudle highlighted an inning, which was also aided by a 2-error play.
 
The Mavericks banged out 14 hits against three different Rambelle hurlers in the contest, including five doubles from five different players.
 
Doumer went 2-for-3 and a run scored in the lead-off spot while Wedman went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI.  Nicole Christensen also went 2-for-4.
 
Prior to Wednesday's win, the Mavericks had lost their last five NCAA Tournament games since an opening round win in 2018.
 
Thursday's schedule will feature two winner's bracket games, featuring the top two seeds in Oklahoma Christian and West Texas A&M, who both had the day off.  The two losers will then square off in Game 6 elimination contest, the winner of which will face the Mavericks, who would play again at 6 p.m. CDT (5 p.m. Mountain) if they could win on Friday.
 
The Mavericks would also need to win twice on Saturday to advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships in Denver.