DENVER – Coming off one of the most prolific offensive games in program history, MSU Denver gets back to work this weekend with a four-game softball series at Colorado School of Mines.
Doubleheaders are scheduled for noon Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday in Golden, Colo.
MSU Denver posted its highest run total since the program was revived in 2008 in a 20-5 win Sunday at Fort Lewis in the second game of a doubleheader. Included in the six-inning victory was an 11-run fifth inning, the biggest single-frame outburst since a 13-run inning in 2010.
One of the offensive leaders was
Ashlee Kim, the senior second baseman who was 9-for-16 with five runs scored while recording multi-hit games in all four games of the series.
"I'm hoping Ashlee can build off that," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach
Annie Van Wetzinga said. "She played a lot more relaxed. I think a lot of times seniors press a little bit. Last weekend, she just seemed like someone who was trying to have fun and play hard. And she got good results."
Outfielder
Megan Sansburn was 8-for-13 for the weekend to raise her average to .345, while freshman
Laney Sheppard had two homers and nine RBIs and freshman
Rebecca Gonzales drove in six.
Now, the Roadrunners would like to see another wave of players join in the offensive fireworks.
"That's been our focus," Van Wetzinga said. "There's not a whole lot more to work on or introduce. We need to focus on playing our game, playing together, and having fun. If you do those things, big things can still happen for us."
MSU Denver is 22-23 overall and is fifth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at 17-11. The Roadrunners appear to be on the verge of locking up a spot in the RMAC tournament – they are 7 ½ games ahead of eighth-place Adams State with eight games to play – and they appear destined to finish fifth or sixth (they are four games behind fourth-place Dixie State and 6 ½ games ahead of seventh-place Regis).
Colorado School of Mines, meanwhile, is 22-15 overall and is in third in the RMAC at 21-8.
MSU Denver is third in the league in hitting (.310), yet is just sixth in runs at 227. The Roadrunners lead the league in doubles (100) and are second nationally in Division II with an average of 2.22 doubles per game.
Mines is fourth in hitting (.304) but is only eighht in runs (202).
MSU Denver is fifth in the league in ERA (3.59), while Mines is third (3.05).
"They were similar to us in that they were struggling earlier in the season in nonconference play," Van Wetzinga said. "They've got quite a few experienced players and I think that's helped them once they got to conference. They're fundamentally sound."
