The Colorado Mesa University softball team showed why it’s the No. 1 team in the nation, as the Mavericks blew past Fort Lewis College with a pair of shutout victories Friday afternoon in Grand Junction.
The unbeaten Mavericks (32-0, 22-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) took Game 1 of the doubleheader 8-0, then cruised 10-0 in the second game.
In the first game of the day, CMU held the Skyhawks (10-26, 4-18 RMAC) to two hits with one each from Madelynne Blood-Smyth and Tristen Gilbert.
CMU jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning, added four runs in the fourth and one more in the sixth to get the victory in six innings. The Mavericks had nine hits in the game.
McKenzie Surface moved to 16-0 on the season, as she pitched six clean innings and struck out 11 FLC batters against no walks in the win.
Mandy Lorenson (5-6) pitched 5 1/3 strong innings for FLC in the loss. She gave up nine hits, walked three batters, hit one batter and struck out four. Only three of the eight runs were earned, as the Skyhawks’ defense committed two costly errors.
Alexandria Dufour led the Mavericks at the plate, as she went 3-for-3 with a double, three runs batted in and two runs scored. AnnMarie Torres belted a two-run home run in the first inning, Brooke Hodgson had an RBI single and a sacrifice fly, and Kaila Jacobi recorded a double for the Mavericks.
Game 2 followed a similar pattern. CMU took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, then blew the game open with six runs in the third and added two more in the fourth to win in five innings.
The Mavericks went 12-for-25 at the plate and had four players record multiple hits in the game. Abby Toller led the way with a 3-for-3 performance with three doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored. Dufour went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and had two stolen bases, Hodgson was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored, and Maggie Manwarren finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two stolen bases.
Kimbri Herring (12-0) earned the win in the pitcher’s circle for CMU. She pitch five innings, as she allowed two hits, no walks and struck out 11 Skyhawks.
Kelly Decker (0-7) took the loss for FLC and pitched all four innings. She gave up 12 hits, walked one and struck out none. Five of the Mavericks’ runs were unearned, as they took advantage of four fielding errors from the Skyhawks.
Gilbert and Pillar Gutierrez recorded the two hits for FLC.
FLC went 2-for-17 at the plate in both games. The Skyhawks committed six fielding errors on the day.
The Skyhawks and Mavericks will wrap up their four-game series with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday in Grand Junction.
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