Denver—The Metropolitan State University of Denver softball team split the doubleheader on Sunday afternoon against Regis University to improve to 26-14 overall and 21-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
Junior Cassidy Smith (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) took the mound for the Roadrunners in her 20^th appearance and 13^th start of the season, marking her second start of the weekend.  Smith earned a no decision, allowing four runs—only one of which was earned—on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts in seven and two-thirds innings.
 
Regis scored the first run of the game in the top of the second, before MSU Denver tied up the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second.  Sophomore Carissa Terry (Moreno Valley, Calif./Valley View H.S.) reached on a Regis error, and then scored on a wild pitch.
 
MSU Denver then extended the lead in the bottom of the third to make it a 2-1 game.  Junior Hayley Fields (Arlington, Wash./Arlington H.S.) led off the inning with a walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch.  Smith singled to right-center field to score Fields from second, notching her third RBI of the weekend. 
 
The Roadrunners put up another run in the bottom of the fourth inning to score in three straight frames and take a 3-1 lead.  With one out on the board, junior Colissa Bakovich (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) reached after being hit by a pitch, and wasted no time in stealing second.  Freshman Ashlee Kim (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County H.S.) dropped down a beautiful bunt single, allowing Bakovich to score from second via some heads-up base running.
 
Regis scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning to even up the ballgame at three runs apiece, with neither team scoring in the sixth or seventh frames to force extra innings. 
 
The Rangers scored again in the top of the eighth inning to take their first lead of the day at 4-3, forcing the Roadrunners to make their first pitching change of the game.  Senior Sarah Bretti (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) came in to the game to replace Smith on the mound, making her 11^th appearance of the season.  Bretti allowed no runs and no hits and one walk, pitching one-third of an inning and earning the victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.
 
In the bottom of the eighth inning with one out, sophomore Annika Anderson (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) knocked a single to put the tying run on first base.  In the very next at-bat Terry smashed a homerun over the left field wall to walk-off a 5-4 victory for the Roadrunners and take game one of the doubleheader.
 
Fields started game two of the doubleheader for MSU Denver, making her 20^th appearance and 12^th start of the season, and second start of the weekend.
 
Regis scored in the top of the first inning, but MSU Denver quickly fired back, scoring two in the bottom of the frame to go up 2-1.  Sophomore Sarena Espinoza (Corona, Calif./Corona Centennial H.S.) singled and advanced to second in the next at-bat as Smith reached on a fielder's choice.  Fields drew a walk to load the bases, and Anderson singled to score Espinoza and Smith to take a 2-1 lead.
 
After a scoreless second, the Rangers plated three in the top of the third inning to take a 4-2 lead.  The Roadrunners answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to tie the game at 4-4.  Espinoza led off with a double down the third base line, and scored on a single from Smith.  Smith then moved into scoring position by stealing second, and moved to third on a ground out.  Terry singled up the middle to plate Smith and tie up the game at four runs apiece.
 
Kim led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single, and then advanced to second on a single from Bakovich.  Junior Brooke Lovas (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills H.S.) laid down a bunt to advance both runners, and Espinoza followed up with a single to score Kim and Bakovich to take a 6-4 lead.
 
Regis scored in the top of the fifth frame to make it a tight 6-5 ballgame, but Anderson led off the bottom of the inning with a homerun to extend the MSU Denver lead to 7-5.  In the top of the sixth inning Regis scored two more runs to tie the game at 7-7.  After a scoreless seventh inning the game went into extra innings, with Regis scoring two runs in the top of the eighth frame.  The Roadrunners were unable to plate any runs in the bottom of the eighth and lost game two of the doubleheader 9-7.
 
Fields finished the day with seven runs—four of which were earned—on 13 hits with no walks and one strikeout in five innings.  Senior Kailey Christensen (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork H.S.) came in to replace Fields on the mound in the top of the sixth inning for the Roadrunners, pitching two-thirds of an inning with two hits and no runs.  Smith replaced Christensen in the sixth and pitched the remainder of the game, with two runs on four hits and one walk in two and one-third innings, taking the loss to fall to 8-9 on the season.

The Roadrunners will travel to UCCS next weekend on Saturday, April 16th.