ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Metropolitan State University of Denver softball team fell to Montana State-Billings, 10-2, in the final game of the Dixie State Courtyard Classic on Saturday.

After a great team win Friday night against Northwest Nazarene (Idaho), the Roadrunners struggled to keep the momentum going and fell victim to a big third inning from the Yellow Jackets. MSU-Billings scored seven runs in the frame, capitalizing on some defensive miscues from MSU Denver to rally home five after a two-run homer early in the inning.

MSU Denver fought back from the 8-0 deficit in the top of the fourth. Freshman JJ Sheppard (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley) beat out an infield single to open the inning, and senior Celyn Whitt (Broomfield, Colo./Legacy) continued her hot streak with a double down the left field line to move Sheppard to third. JJ's sister, Laney Sheppard (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley), was up next and worked a walk to load the bases.

Alyssa Richter's (Thornton, Colo./Mountain Range) run-scoring fielder's choice scored JJ Sheppard (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley), putting runners on the corners for freshman Ari Valdez (Denver, Colo./John F. Kennedy), who produced MSU Denver's second run with an infield single to shortstop that scored Whitt.

Defense, which had been a point of strength for the Roadrunners in Saturday night's game against Northwest Nazarene, proved to be a struggle in the bottom of the fourth. An inning-opening error opened the gates for two more MSU-Billings runs and the score was 10-2 heading into the fifth.

MSU Denver made a two-out rally in an attempt to keep the game alive as JJ Sheppard (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley) was hit by a pitch and Whitt came up with yet another hit, advancing pinch-runner Kassi Reiger (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) to second. The threat ended with a strikeout from Laney Sheppard (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley), ending the game in four and a half innings due to the eight-run rule.

MSU Denver will have another shot at MSU-Billings a week from today at home, as the Roadrunners will host the Yellow Jackets at the Regency Athletic Complex for a Saturday doubleheader starting at noon. In conjunction with the MSU Denver baseball game against Sioux Falls the same day, the pair of games against MSU-Billings will serve as the Roadrunners' Strike Out Cancer day for cancer awareness.