LAKEWOOD,CO- The Cougars kicked off the biggest weekend of their season to date with a doubleheader showdown at All Star Park against Colorado Mesa. Fighting for sole possession of first place in the conference, Colorado Christian came to play, taking both games 11-3 and 6-2 in an impressive display of power and pitching throughout. 

GAME ONE
The first contest pitted two of the best pitchers in the RMAC against one another as Mesa's Paige Adair took on the Cougars' Alexis Hamilton. After two shutout innings from both pitchers to start, it was the Mavericks who struck first in the top of the third. A pair of singles with traffic on the bases and a sacrifice fly gave Mesa a 3-0 lead, but the Cougars responded in a big way.

After an error allowed Miki Berg to score following a walk, Sydney Reamer loaded the bases with another drawn walk. That set the stage for Taylor Olsen, who stepped up to the plate and lined a homerun on a rope out of the park for a massive grand slam. The Cougars would add on three more runs, capped by an RBI double from Sami Edwards to make it 9-3 after three innings. 

Olsen continued an already fantastic game with a solo bomb in the fourth to push her team ahead 10-3. The Mavericks did not score the rest of the game, and Sydney Reamer led off the sixth with a solo walkoff homer as the Cougars run-ruled Mesa 11-3, something that has not happened to the Mavericks since 2017. 

Hamilton picked up her 18th win on the year with an impressive performance that featured five shutout innings of the explosive Mesa offense. 

GAME TWO
After the momentum built from a huge game one victory, the Cougars went right to work in the first inning. Olsen started the rally with a double, and Reamer doubled right after her to make it 1-0. Kayla Middleton picked up an RBI single, and Miki Berg was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded as Colorado Christian took the early 3-0 lead. 

Olsen picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the second to score Kenzie Middleton, and Edwards scored on a passed ball as the Cougars went ahead 5-0 after two. Mesa got on the board with a solo homer in the third, but Reamer answered with a solo shot of her own in the fourth to regain the five run lead. 

Another solo homerun cut it 6-2 in the fifth, and then Abrie Castillo delivered perhaps the highlight of the game from the mound. Consecutive bunt singles loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth, but Castillo never flinched. A grounder to the shortstop induced a throw home as Colorado Christian gunned down the lead runner as the bases remained loaded. Castillo then forced a popup to the shortstop and followed that with an inning ending flyout to center field as she escaped the jam unscathed. 

Castillo locked in from there, shutting down the Mavericks the next two innings to claim the complete game-victory and secure the doubleheader sweep for her team 6-2. She fanned five batters and walked just one on her way to victory number 17 on the season. 

UP NEXT- The Cougars will look to carry the momentum into their next doubleheader on April 24 against Mesa, with first pitch slated for 9:30 a.m.