CHADRON, Neb.— For the second straight day, sophomore outfielder
Rylee Crouch hit a home run in both games as the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks split their Friday doubleheader at Chadron State College.
The Mavericks won the first game, 5-2 as Crouch and
Ava Fugate hit home runs while
Hannah Sattler fared well in the pitching circle.
However, the Mavericks dropped the second game of the day and the fourth of the series as the Eagles came back to post a 4-2 win despite homeruns by Crouch and
Ashley Bradford.
The Eagles won three of the four games in the series and are now 11-21 overall and 9-15 in RMAC play.
The Mavericks lost an RMAC series for the first time since 2015 and are now 20-11 overall and 18-5 in conference action.
Crouch added to her national lead and now has 19 home runs on the season, tied for second most in CMU history and just two shy of Kelly Adams' 22-year old school record of 21 with more than a month remaining in the season.
Game 1
Both teams failed to score in any of the three innings of a pitcher's duel.
However, Crouch broke open the scoring with a one-out homer in the top of the fourth. They could have scored more but left the bases loaded after drawing three free passes.
The Eagles took advantage and scored two runs of their own on a Lauren Zimmerman single to take a 2-1 lead.
However, the Mavs answered back in the top of the fifth as
Myah Arrieta drew one of her three walks as the Mavs loaded the bases thanks to Bradford and Crouch singles.
Two plays later,
Iliana Mendoza drew a walk to drive in the tying run.
The Mavs then scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth on back-to-back passed balls to take a 4-2 lead before Fugate hit a solo homer with one out in the seventh to complete the scoring.
The Mavs were out-hit 8-5 but took full advantage of nine walks by Eagle starter Tori Haug.
Crouch had two of the Mavs' hits while she, Arrieta and Litzen were all on base three times.
Sattler improved to 11-5 with the complete game win after striking out three and not giving up any walks.
Game 2
The Mavericks left seven runners on base in the first three innings combined and failed to score as the Eagles took a 2-0 lead on a 2-out Zimmerman double before going ahead 3-0 later in the bottom of the third on a passed ball.
The Mavs were able to pull two of those runs back in the top of the fifth on back-to-back homers by Bradford and Crouch but again left two runners on base later in that inning.
The Eagles then went up 4-2 as Kenzi Garner hit a 2-out single to plate Bailey Steinke, who had singled and stole second with one out.
The offenses then sputtered in the final two innings as the Mavs managed just one more walk and one more hit.
The Mavs finished with an 8-6 advantage in hits but left 12 runners on base. The Eagles left just four on.
Bradford went 2-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch while Crouch was 2-for-4.
The Mavericks will continue their season at home on Apr. 1 and 2 against MSU Denver.
