DURANGO, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University Softball Team continued their winning ways this weekend as they used another strong offensive outing this afternoon to not only sweep the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks in a 4-game series but also take over as the new top team in the conference.
With the pair of wins the Mavericks are now 29-9 overall while being 27-5 in RMAC play to have a .5 game advantage above MSU Denver and solely possess first place. They were also aided by the Yellow Jackets of Black Hills State this afternoon who split the series with Colorado Christian to drop them to third place in the conference.
In the two wins the Mavs won by scores of 8-2 and 14-2 with the final game of the series going just six innings before the mercy rule ended it short.
Over the course of the series the Mavs scored a total of 34 runs to back their pitching who only conceded seven runs in return. Today alone the Mavs scored 22 of those runs with the game four run-rule also being their 11th mercy rule win this season.
Below is a short recap of each game:
GAME 1 (CMU 8, FLC 2):
The Mavs won their sixth consecutive series with the game three win to start today as they used consistent hitting to back up yet another strong pitching performance.
Past the second inning the Mavs led the entire game with them scoring runs in four separate innings.
The scoring for the Mavs began in the second inning with them getting to bring in two runs on bases loaded pressure to the Skyhawks who's pitching walked in the first run and then hit the next batter to bring in another.
Scoring another two runs to follow in the third inning was Kamdyn Hagerty of Colorado Mesa this time who recorded a pair on a two-run home run to now make it 4-0.
In the fifth, Bella Aragon scored a run as well with her reaching base on a walk to start the inning and then ultimately using some strategic Maverick hitting to reach third base and finally get to home from a passed ball.
The fifth and six innings remained scoreless to maintain the Colorado Mesa shutout but saw some more action from both sides take place in the seventh inning to end the game in dramatic fashion.
In the top of the seventh the Mavs used another home run to extend their lead with Jackie Oster hitting a three-run home run to now make it 8-0 but saw some fight back from the Skyhawks in the bottom of the inning who ruined the shutout chance.
With just three outs left, Colorado Mesa allowed four hits to Fort Lewis to fight off a rally attempt, but were able to thwart any more damage soon after as they turned a double play and used a base running error in the last two batters to finally conclude the game.
Jessalyn Gallegos took the circle for the Mavs in the win with the redshirt freshman going six plus innings and earning her 14th win of the season. Gallegos limited the Skyhawks to just four hits and two run (one earned) in her outing while striking out six. She was relieved by Sophia Tassinari who closed out the seventh inning.
Offensively the Mavs recorded 12 hits in the win with six players totaling them. Hagerty and Cailynn Parsons both had three hits each to lead the team. Olivia Litzen added a double to compliment the team's two home runs as well.
GAME 2 (CMU 14, FLC 2; 6 inn.):
Following almost the same script as yesterday the Mavs used the first game of their double header to wake up the bats with them then exploding for an onslaught of runs in game two as they won by an easy run-rule decision of 14-2.
In the early comings of the game offense was slow to start for both squads as through two innings only one hit was managed.
Offensive production then began for the Mavs as they tacked on their first run in the third inning. With bases loaded and one out Chloe Valdez was able to bring in a run on a groundout with her giving the Mavs the early lead.
The one run lead gave Colorado Mesa the lead for a short time to start but was overcome by the Skyhawks in the following inning as Fort Lewis retaliated with two runs of their own. In that inning they used a solo home run to gather the first run with the next then coming from three consecutive hits to drive in another.
Now trailing for just the second time this series, the Mavs decided enough was enough as they piled on 13 runs combined in both the fifth and six innings.
Five hits were totaled in the fifth inning to score six runs with six more hits then being added in the sixth inning to score seven runs.
Ally Distler did damage in both of those innings to lead the team with her hitting two home runs in that stretch, one being a grand slam and the other being a three-run.
She was aided by Cailynn Parsons, Makayla Westmoreland and Myah Arrieta who all added multiple RBIs as well.
Seemingly a completely different game now Colorado Mesa was able to make quick work of the Skyhawks in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game.
Earning the win in the circle was Marisa Nehm for the Mavs as she went 2.2 innings of relief while only allowing two hits and no runs. She improved to 2-1 with the decision as she come on in relief of Preslee Christensen who went the first three and a one third innings for her second start of the weekend.
The Mavs had 13 hits in the win with every single run being batted in. Distler led all players with eight RBIs herself to compliment a 2-4 day. She was joined by Arrieta, Valdez, Parsons and Olivia Litzen who all had two hits as well.
UP NEXT
Following this weekend the Mavs will return home for a few short days before heading back onto the road again when they travel to Denver to take on rival Colorado Christian University in another 4-game conference series. Games will take place Saturday and Sunday this weekend with times set for noon on April 12 and 11 A.M. on April 13.
