Sports Reporter
If losing Lauren Cross to injury two weeks ago wasn’t enough for the Colorado Mesa University Softball team (14-12, 20-8), they lost two more players this weekend in Taylor Gross and Shannon McClenahan.
“I basically just strutted out to a ball at first base and heard a pop,” McClenahan said. “And it turns out I hurt my hamstring and it’s pretty swollen.”
In Saturday’s first game, CMU got out to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning. Christian scored one run in the fifth and another run in the seventh, putting the Mavericks behind 2-1 in the final at-bats. With the bases loaded, Lisa Pille walked, scoring Jessica Albertson to tie the game. After two scoreless innings, the Mavs entered the bottom of the 10th with another chance to finish the game. With two outs and two runners on base, Gross doubled to right center to bring home Tawnee Woosley and get the walk-off win 3-2.
Courtney Maihi pitched 10 innings for the Mavericks, giving up 13 hits and two runs while striking out two batters to advance to 9-6 on the season. Gross hit 1-5 with the winning RBI in the 10th inning.
On Saturday afternoon, following the long game one win, the Mavericks fell behind 4-0 through the first four innings. After scoring two runs in the following three innings, the Mavs fell short, losing 4-2 to split Saturday’s series. In the third inning, CMU lost Gross and McClenahan to injury.
Maihi hit 2-3 with an RBI single in the fifth. Ashley Pulido pitched for the Mavericks, giving up four runs and ten hits.
On Sunday, the Mavs looked to bounce back without Gross and McClenahan. The Mavs led 2-0 through two innings with Pille homering in the second. The Cougars tied it in the third before the Mavericks put four more on the board. Mackenzy Derrick homered in the fifth, and the Mavs won 9-4.
Maihi picked up her second win of the weekend, pitching a complete game, giving up four runs on five hits and four strikeouts. Lita Romero hit 2-4, scoring two runs. Danielle Vallie hit 1-3 and scored two runs. Maihi hit 3-4 with a run and five RBI’s for the Mavs.
In game four, the Cougars scored in the early at-bats of the first. The Mavericks rallied back in the bottom half of the inning, sparked by a Maihi two-run RBI single followed by a Megan Smith two-run homer. After scoring again in the second, the Mavericks added to their lead with a Derrick home run in the third, her third of the year. Neither team scored in the final four innings. The Mavericks added another win to their record by a final of 6-2.
Albertson and Vallie both hit 2-4 with an RBI each. Pulido gave up two runs on six hits while recording seven strikeouts to give her a 4-4 record on the season.
“It’s a big improvement because we’ve been splitting a lot over the past few series,” McClenahan said. “It’s good to go out and win three more here against CCU who was top in our conference.”
The Mavericks travel to Nebraska next Saturday for a weekend of doubleheaders against Chadron State.
Recent Comments