Box Score CANYON, Texas - Metro State scored seven runs with two outs in the fifth inning to rally for a 9-4 win over Texas Woman's University on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Canyon, Texas. The Roadrunners improved to 33-15 overall, while TWU fell to 34-18.

Chelsea Brew (Colorado Springs/Rampart H.S.) led off the fifth with a double to right-center, her second of the game. After a sacrifice bunt and a ground out, Britney Thomas (Cheyenne, Wyo./East H.S.) reached on an infield single to drive in Brew, cutting the Roadrunners' deficit to 3-2. Dani Sandel (Omaha, Neb./Westside H.S.) doubled to left-center to tie the game at 3-3 as Thomas scored from first.

The power then erupted for MSU Denver as Kelsey Tillery (Windsor, Colo./Windsor H.S.) hit her first of two home runs in the game. After a single by Mary Towner (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.), Kaylynn Harmon (Erie, Colo./Erie H.S.) and Aubree Maul (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain H.S.) hit back-to-back home runs to cap the seven-run inning.

After the Pioneers pushed one run across in the bottom of the sixth, Tillery blasted another homer to left to keep the margin at five runs.

Maul pitched around a hit batter and a single in the bottom of the seventh. She survived a rough first inning from her defense as an error and an infield pop-up that landed between three players cost the team three runs. Maul pitched all seven innings, allowing two earned runs by scattering 14 hits, 13 of which were singles.

Brew led the offense with three hits, while Thomas, Sandel, Tillery, Towner, Harmon each had a pair. Tillery homered twice and Sandel, Harmon and Maul each had one.

Metro State will face the winner of No. 1 West Texas A&M and Midwestern State (Texas) at 1:30 p.m. (CT) on Saturday.