DENVER— The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's top three home run hitters all hit one while Ava Fugate delivered a key grand slam as the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks set a new single-season program record for homers in a doubleheader sweep at Regis University on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Mavericks hit four homers throughout the 10-0 and 8-4 sweep and extended their winning streak to 27 games while sealing a first round bye in next month's RMAC Tournament while very much keeping their RMAC regular season title hopes alive.  They now have hit 103 home runs as a team, surpassing the 2022 squad's former record total of 100.
 
The nation's top home run hitting team needed just two innings to match the record as Myah Arrieta delivered a 3-run shot extend CMU's early lead to 5-0 before Miranda Pruitt delivered the Mavs' record-breaking 101^st of the season to lead off the third.   
 
Arrieta has now hit 24 home runs this season, just one shy of the RMAC record with six regular season plus post-season games to go.
 
Ally Distler, who also had a key 3-run double in the sixth inning of the Mavs' mercy-rule win, then hit a solo shot in the fifth inning of the second game to join Pruitt on 18 home runs.
 
Fugate's grand slam came in the fourth inning of the second game as the Maverick moved from 3-1 down to 5-3 up on one swing of the senior first baseman's bat.
 
The Mavs also relied on an impressive 2-hit shutout from Preslee Christensen in the Game 1 win before getting hits from eight different players in the second game victory, which went the distance.
 
In the process, the Mavs improved to 37-7 overall and 35-3 in RMAC play entering another doubleheader on Monday at 11 a.m.  The Rangers fell to 26-20 overall and to 22-14 in RMAC play with their fifth and sixth straight losses against the RMAC's top two teams.  The first four of that stretch came last weekend against Colorado Christian, which swept a 4-game weekend series at Black Hills State to lead the RMAC standings at 37-3. 
 
The CCU Cougars will host third place MSU Denver on Friday and Saturday to close out the regular season while the Mavs will take on sixth place CSU Pueblo at home on the same days.
 
Arrieta, Distler and Pruitt all finished the first game with three RBIs as Pruitt started the scoring in the top of the first with a 2-run double that plated both Arrieta and Distler, who had drawn walks.
 
Makayla Westmoreland and Cailynn Parsons then both singled in the top of the second to set up Arrieta for the record-tying home run to center field as the Mavs took an early 5-0 lead through just 1 ½ innings.
 
Pruitt then extended that lead with her record-setting home run at the start of the third.
 
The Mavs then added four more runs in the sixth as Fugate drew a bases loaded walk before Distler cleared the bases with her 3-run double.
 
Meanwhile, Christensen retired 13 consecutive Ranger batters in between first and sixth-inning Ranger doubles and went on to improve to 14-3 on the season with her fifth shutout of the campaign.  She also struck out three Rangers without conceding any free passes and needed just 76 total pitches to easily out-duel Ranger starter Kyle Harpman, who fell to 14-8.
 
The Rangers would then use the long ball to open up a lead in Game 2 of the doubleheader as Morgan Norris hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the first before adding another solo shot in the sixth to close out the scoring.
 
However, the Mavericks were unphased as Westmoreland hit a 2-out double to claw one run back in the top of the second.  A Fugate single and Pruitt double in the third were wasted before Fugate delivered the game-winning grand slam in the fourth to give the Mavs the lead for good.
 
That blast, Fugate's second grand slam of her career and the fifth of the Mavs' season, was set up by a Ranger error, a Westmoreland bunt single and a 2-out Arrieta walk. 
 
The Mavs then doubled their 5-3 lead to 7-3 in the fifth as Parsons drew a bases-loaded walk before Arrieta hit an RBI infield single to extend her hitting streak to 21 straight games.  Distler then added her home run in the sixth to tack on an insurance run.
 
Distler and Arrieta have now reached safely in each of the last 42 Maverick games.
 
Hannah Sattler registered the win for the Mavs to improve to 10-2 after going five innings while surrendering just five hits and three runs.  Marisa Nehm pitched the final two innings in relief.