DENVER – Pressed into full-time duty this weekend, freshman Laney Sheppard (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley) became a prime-time performer.
 
Sheppard went 7 for 11 with six extra-base hits and five RBIs in MSU Denver's four-game sweep of Chadron State, highlighted by a two-homer game in the middle game of Sunday's tripleheader that included a two-run, go-ahead homer in the top of the seventh.
 
"I got a little extra work during the week, and that helped," Sheppard said. "The coaches noticed that I was struggling a little bit. My teammates were so supportive."
 
The Roadrunners (8-8 overall) posted wins of 3-0, 7-6 and 4-1 to open Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play at 4-0.
 
The unscathed start might not have been possible if not for Sheppard's second two-run homer of the 7-6 win, which capped a comeback from a 6-2 deficit after five innings (MSU Denver was the visiting team all weekend, as the series was shifted from Chadron State due to weather).
 
Sheppard, whose first homer went to left field, lifted a fly ball to just right of straightaway center field to put the Roadrunners ahead.
 
"I was thinking hard line drives and help my teammates," Sheppard said. "It was an outside pitch and I was able to drive it."
 
Sheppard has been a part-time starter thus far and has also spent time at third base before catching every inning this weekend. She said a pep talk from teammate Kassi Reiger (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) in particular helped her keep her spirits up.
 
She raised her batting average from .227 to .364 during the series, and during Sunday's three games she was 5 for 8.
 
"She was struggling with consistency and finding her stroke," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "She had to make some adjustments. She was dipping and she was way under (pitches that she was swinging at). We talked about focusing more on (hitting) the top half of the ball and it will go. It was nice to see her work through her frustrations and make the physical adjustments. It's nice when they do that and get the result."
 
Sheppard caught a pitching staff headlined by Darby McGhee (Camarillo, Calif./Adolfo Camarillo) and Julia Heitz (Queen Creek, Ariz./Queen Creek), that bordered on dominant.
 
McGhee pitched complete-game victories in Saturday's series opener and in Sunday's finale, and she also picked up the save with an inning of work in Sunday's middle game.
 
Heitz got the win with a complete game in Sunday's opener, then was the winning pitcher after a three-inning relief stint in the next game.
 
McGhee pitched 15 innings in the series, allowing two runs – one earned – on 10 hits while striking out 13. Heitz pitched 10 innings, allowing two runs – one earned – on nine hits, all on Sunday.
 
"They are doing good things," Van Wetzinga said. "And the nice thing is that I wouldn't say it was as sharp as either can be for the weekend. Conditions were tough. But I liked how they responded to hits or walks. They did a great job of not opening the floodgates and letting big innings happen."
 
McGhee also starred with the stick, delivering a three-run double in the sixth inning of Sunday's second game to pave the way for Sheppard's game-winner the following inning.
 
"It's not easy to do that against any team," Van Wetzinga said of the late rally. "We'd like to do it earlier and not make it so interesting. But I think this team is very resilient, that's another strength of our team. They stay steady and don't give up."
 
There were plenty of other strong performances.
 
That includes freshman center fielder Rebecca Gonzales (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista), who went 6 for 12 with three doubles on Sunday and was 8 for 17 with five doubles in the series. She has posted five straight two-hit games and has had two hit in all but one game of an eight-game hitting streak. She's hitting .431 for the season.
 
JJ Sheppard (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley), Laney's twin sister, leads the team with a .483 average, while McGhee is hitting .423.
 
After a rough start, the Roadrunners have now won six straight and 7 of 8 to get to .500 overall.
 
"It's hard to play anybody four times in a row and sweep them," Van Wetzinga said. "A lot of things can happen. You're seeing the same players over and over. I'm impressed with our young squad. It was really nice to see us find different ways to win this weekend."