DENVER – One of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's premier softball matchups of the season has already taken place, as league favorite Dixie State and defending champion Colorado Mesa played a four-game series.
 
Time will tell if a couple of the games that MSU Denver plays this weekend – neutral-site matchups in Las Vegas, N.M., with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs – are also key contests.
 
"I try to not get too caught up in the standings, especially at this point in the season," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "We just want to go down to (New Mexico) Highlands, play clean ball, compete well and continue to put good at-bats together."
 
The Roadrunners are set to play UCCS at 1 p.m. Saturday and on noon Sunday. Games with host New Mexico Highlands are scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday.
 
Heading into the weekend, UCCS (11-8 overall), picked to finish seventh in the league, is leading the RMAC with a 7-0 record. Mesa, after winning 3 of 4 against Dixie State, is second at 7-1. MSU Denver, picked fifth, is third at 5-1.
 
UCCS and MSU Denver split a pair of non-conference games at the Regency Athletic Complex on the opening weekend of the season, so the Mountain Lions' strong start isn't unexpected.
 
"It's not a surprise," Van Wetzinga said. "And to do what they've done, it's not an easy thing. We're going to have to show up and play tough. Hopefully we can continue to stay focused and continue to get a little better each weekend."
 
MSU Denver (9-9 overall) has won seven of its last eight games, with the only setback a 2-1 decision last weekend in a doubleheader split with a Colorado Christian team picked to finish third in the RMAC.
 
"Our effort and showing against CCU was pretty (high) quality," Van Wetzinga said.
 
New Mexico Highlands is 1-8 overall and 1-4 in RMAC play. The Cowgirls and the three other teams at the bottom of the league standings are a combined 2-24 in conference games. The rest of the league is jammed near the top of the standings, with five teams having one loss or fewer.
 
"Highlands isn't off to a good start, but we have to travel down there and we're playing at their place," Van Wetzinga said. "It's a tough place to play because usually it's pretty windy there. It's always different when you're playing on the road."
 
MSU Denver, while not completely healthy, is as healthy as it has been all season.
 
"Everybody is practicing in some capacity again," Van Wetzinga said.