DENVER – It was another frustrating day for the MSU Denver softball team.
Once again the Roadrunners played 17
th-ranked Colorado Mesa close in both games of a doubleheader. But there's also a saying about when "close" only counts, and this wasn't horseshoes or hand grenades.
Metropolitan State University of Denver coach
Annie Van Wetzinga was succinct in her post-game evaluation regarding an extra-inning 5-2 setback that was followed by a 4-2 defeat in Sunday's second game.
"We need better hitting," she said.
The Roadrunners (11-17 overall, 7-7 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the opening game, pushing a run across in the sixth on an RBI groundout by
Darby McGhee (Camarillo, Calif./Adolfo Camarillo) and then tying it in the seventh on another run-scoring groundout, this time by
Celyn Whitt (Broomfield, Colo./Legacy).
With momentum on their side in the top of the eighth, the Roadrunners were one strike away from coming to the plate in the bottom of the eighth with the scored tied, but a walk extended the inning and Colorado Mesa (20-6, 13-3) wound up scoring three runs with two outs.
McGhee (4-8) picked up another tough-luck, complete-game loss after giving up five runs – four earned – with two walks and seven strikeouts.
In the second game, Mesa led 4-0 after 3 ½ innings, but the Roadrunners chipped away with a fourth-inning homer by
Laney Sheppard (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley), her team-high fifth, then scored another in the sixth as Sheppard doubled and pinch-runner
Kassi Reiger (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) scored on a double by
JJ Sheppard (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley), Laney's twin sister.
But Colorado Mesa's McKenzie Surface, who won both games Saturday and picked up the save in Sunday's first game, finished the sixth inning and wound up with the victory that saw her improve to 9-0 to become the RMAC's all-time wins leader with 79.
Roadrunners starter
Kylee Burnside (Idaho Falls, Idaho/Skyline) (3-4) was charged with four runs, only two of them earned, in 3 1/3 innings before
Julia Heitz (Queen Creek, Ariz./Queen Creek) came on to pitch 3 2/3 innings of scoreless two-hit relief. MSU Denver limited Colorado Mesa to just four hits in the game.
Rebecca Gonzales (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) was 3 for 6 on the day to lead the Roadrunners' offense, while McGhee and
Ashlee Kim (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) were both 3 for 8. For the series, McGhee, who is hitting a team-best .419, was 7 for 15.
After a tough six-game stretch against nationally-ranked opponents, MSU Denver looks to get back on track next weekend at home against Colorado State University-Pueblo (4-14, 3-11), with doubleheaders at the Regency Athletic Complex set for noon Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.
