DENVER – The Metropolitan State University of Denver softball team begins a homestand on Tuesday when it hosts No. 9 West Texas A&M at Regency Athletic Complex in a doubleheader during Staff Appreciation Day scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
 
The start time has been moved earlier from the initially scheduled time of 3 p.m.
 
"West Texas A&M is traditionally a very strong program," coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "They're having another strong year, especially offensively. They have really good numbers. But I don't care who you're playing with, whether it's a No. 9 team or the No. 9 team in the conference, if you don't show up ready to be focused, play with some energy, there's probably a good chance you're going to get beat, or at least it's going to be a struggle.

"So we need to show up and play to our potential and then what happens happens."
 
The Roadrunners go into Tuesday's games with an 11-11 record overall, including a 7-3 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, which puts MSU Denver fourth place.
 
The Lady Buffs are 18-5 overall and have an 11-1 Lone Star Conference record to lead the 11-team league. They have won 15 of their last 16 games.
 
"You're playing a good team, so you're probably going to need a few balls to drop, those 50-50 balls, and have our pitchers execute some pitches in some tough situations," Van Wetzinga said. "To me, it all starts with us coming to the field prepared to compete and get after it."
 
The Roadrunners' unusually early start to the week can have its drawbacks. However, Van Wetzinga believes there are benefits as well.
 
"Some people might call it tough coming off the weekend or having a midweek start, but I think of it as this is why we do what we do," Van Wetzinga said. "I don't think you join a team to practice. You join it to play games, and for me, I look at it as really exciting because we get to play games midweek and not just playing in another practice when that's all we've been doing all year. So I would hope it would keep them competitive, excited, help to keep them sharp, and all those things. … You've got to come wanting those things and ready to go do that."
 
MSU Denver split its last weekend, going 2-2. In the Roadrunners' Saturday wins against the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and New Mexico Highlands by respective scores of 9-2 and 11-1, junior pitcher Darby McGhee (Camarillo, Calif./Adolfo Camarillo) went 5 for 8 (.625), scoring five times while hitting four RBIs and striking out once. She also threw a complete game against UCCS in which she allowed only two runs, six hits and two walks while striking out four in the win.
 
McGhee (4-5) also pitched in Sunday's weekend-closing 4-2 loss to UCCS, going 5 2/3 innings while allowing four runs, six hits and four walks in addition to striking out two.