Complete Notes (PDF)

MSU Denver will play four games at Adams State this weekend.

Notes:
RECENT NOTES:
•    MSU Denver swept the RMAC player of the week awards on Feb. 10, with Mary Towner (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) earning player of the week (.500 avg., 7 RBI, 4 R, 3 2B, 1 HR in 6 games) and Kenzie Mattey (Parker, Colo./Ponderosa H.S.) (3-1, 4.34 ERA, 19.1 IP, 22 SO in 4 games) earning pitcher of the week.
•    Mattey won RMAC pitcher of the week again on Feb. 17, becoming the first pitcher in conference history to earn the award each of the first two weeks of the season.
•    Mattey went 2-1 with a 2.80 ERA in 20 innings in three starts in Texas Feb. 13-15.
•    Newcomer Lani Redmond (Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol H.S.) was on fire over the first weekend of the season, batting .643 (9-for-14) with three doubles, four RBIs and two runs in six games.
•    MSU Denver's No. 25 national ranking on Feb. 18 is the first top-25 appearance for the Roadrunners since being ranked No. 15 in the 2011 preseason NFCA poll.

OURY BECOMES STEALS LEADER:
•    Susie Oury (Arvada, Colo./Arvada West H.S.) broke the school record for career steals on Feb. 8 when she stole home on a double steal against Fort Lewis in the sixth inning of an 8-4 win.
•    It was her 42nd career stolen base, moving past Nancy Kogle (1988-90).

HIGH EXPECTATIONS:
•    MSU Denver was picked as the preseason favorite in the RMAC in 2015.
•    Cassidy Smith (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) was named RMAC preseason pitcher of the year and joined Brew, Harmon and Towner on the preseason all-RMAC team.
•    Harmon was named among 50 players to the NFCA preseason national player of the year watch list.

BIG HITTERS RETURN IN 2015:
•    Six of the team's top nine hitters return in 2015, and the returners accounted for 63 percent of the team's hits, 61 percent of the team's RBIs, 64 percent of the team's runs and 64 percent of the team's home runs in 2014, while combining to bat .355.
•    Losing Aubree Maul (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain H.S.) is a big blow to the pitching staff as Cassidy Smith (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) is the only returning pitcher.
•    Smith accounted for 18 of the team's 33 wins last season (55 percent) and 147.2 of the team's 320.2 innings (46 percent).

NCAA QUALIFIERS:
•    MSU Denver qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2014 for the first time since 2011 and won its first NCAA tournament game since 2010, defeating Texas Woman's in the first round.

RMAC CHAMPIONS IN '14:
•    MSU Denver won its third RMAC tournament title and first since 2010, defeating Fort Lewis 2-1 in eight innings on a walk-off home run by Mary Towner (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) in the championship.
•    Colissa Bakovich (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) was named tournament MVP after a team-high .474 batting average, six runs scored, three RBIs and three stolen bases.
•    Bakovich also had a tremendous diving catch in the championship game in left-center field, keeping the Roadrunners in front 1-0 in the fifth inning as she made the grab with two outs and the bases loaded.
•    Towner was also selected to the all-tournament team, batting .458 with two home runs, two doubles, six RBIs and four runs scored.
•    Kelsey Tillery (Windsor, Colo./Windsor H.S.) was an all-tournament selection, batting .440 with a team-high 10 RBIs, seven runs scored, three doubles and a home run.
•    Kaylynn Harmon (Erie, Colo./Erie H.S.) was an all-tournament selection, batting .368 with eight runs scored, four RBIs, two triples and a home run.
•    Cassidy Smith (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) emerged in the pitching circle to be named all-tournament, posting a 5-0 record in six appearances with a 3.00 ERA in 23.1 innings.
•    Smith made her first start in the third game of the tournament.