GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Twelve different Colorado Mesa University Mavericks combined for 26 hits, five of which went for home runs while Ellie Smith threw a 1-hit shutout to lead the Mavericks to a business-like Friday afternoon Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference doubleheader sweep over visiting Chadron State College on the penultimate day of the regular season here at the CMU Softball Stadium.
 
The Mavericks recorded 12 hits, including three home runs in a 6-2 first game win, before Nicole Christensen hit two home runs for the Mavs, who sailed to a 11-0 Game 2 win in five innings.  The Mavs had 14 hits in the second game as reserves Kaley Barker and Aislyn Sharp took full advantage of rare starts, recording three hits each.
 
Meanwhile, Smith took a perfect game in to the top of the fifth as the Mavericks took care of the business that they needed to remain in a tie for first place in the RMAC standings with Colorado Christian, which posted a pair of run-rule wins over last place New Mexico Highlands on Friday afternoon in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
 
The Mavericks, who are now 41-7 overall, and Cougars (45-7) are still tied for the RMAC lead at 33-3 in conference play.  They will both play doubleheaders against the same opponents on Saturday to close out the regular season in hopes of winning at least a share of RMAC title.
 
The Mavericks' doubleheader will begin at 11 a.m. and will feature Senior Day festivities in between games. 
 
Two Maverick wins would guarantee the Mavericks at least a share of the conference title for the sixth straight completed season and the right to host next week's RMAC Tournament.
 
The Mavericks are now assured to win any seeding tie-breakers with the Cougars after UCCS and CSU Pueblo split a Friday doubleheader.
 
CCU's doubleheader on Saturday will also begin at 11 a.m.
 
Game 1
 
Ally Distler, Ashley Bradford and Brandi Haller all hit solo home runs in the Mavs'  6-2 victory.  Haller went 3-for-3 while Bradford was 3-for-4.  Myah Arrieta, who also had a key triple, and Iliana Mendoza, also went 2-for-3 with RBI hits.
 
Meanwhile, Paige Adair improved to 15-2 while striking out six in her complete game effort.
 
The Mavericks got rolling in the bottom of the second scoring three times aided in part by three Eagle errors.  Haller began the inning with a single before stealing second and moving to third on a throwing error.  Mendoza then brought her home two plays later before moving to third on another stolen base/error combination.
 
Mendoza was then able to score on another Eagle error before Arrieta tripled home Bradford for the final run of the inning.
 
Distler then began the third with a sole home run before Haller hit another home run just two plays later to give the Mavs a 5-0 lead.
 
Bradford then scored CMU's final run in the fourth with her lead-off home run.
 
The Eagles did manufacture a run with two hits and a walk in the top of the fifth and pulled back another in the top of the sixth on Lauren Zimmerman's first career home run but could get no closer as Adair retired five of the final six Eagles she faced.
 
Tia Kohl (6-15) took the loss for the Eagles after giving up 12 hits and six runs while striking out four for the Eagles.
 
Game 2
 
The Mavericks wasted little time in taking control as Smith struck out the side in the top of the first before Bradford walked and scored on a Sharp triple on the very next pitch.
 
Sarah Jorissen then added an RBI single to give the Mavs a 2-0 first-inning lead.
 
Sharp then delivered  another RBI single in the bottom of the second before Christensen hit her two home runs in the third and fourth to give the Mavs an 8-0 lead.
 
The Mavs then tacked on three more runs later in the inning on RBI singles by Lauren Wedman and Bradford and a run-scoring double by Sharp, who finished with three RBIs in what was just her third start of the season.
 
Rylee Crouch also had a pinch-hit single and scored on Bradford's single that extended the shortstop's hitting streak to 15 consecutive games.
 
Meanwhile, Smith (15-2) was in complete control needing just 52 total pitches in the shutout.  She struck out five Eagles and retired each of the first 13 hitters she faced before Zimmerman broke up her perfect game with a 1-out shot off the right field fence in the top of the fifth.  The Eagle freshman would be thrown out trying to extend her play to a single.
 
After a Maverick fielding error, Smith then got Amaya Ruiz to hit a slow come-backer as Smith recorded her fourth shutout of the campaign.
 
Gabby Russell (2-8) took the loss for the Eagles after giving up 12 hits and seven earned runs in 3 2/3 innings for the Eagles, who are now 11-35 overall and 10-24 in RMAC play.