DENVER – Some have been four-year fixtures, and others provided a two-year fix.
 
Combined, an MSU Denver softball senior class that has made a lasting impact will play its final home series this weekend.
 
Second baseman Ashlee Kim and outfielder Tes Hass (who hasn't played this season due to injury) have been with the program for four years. Catcher Jasmine Wessel, outfielder Celyn Whitt and pitcher Kylee Burnside entered as junior college transfers last season.
 
All will be honored with a between-games ceremony during Saturday's noon doubleheader against Regis at the Regency Athletic Complex. The series starts with a 4 p.m. doubleheader Friday, which is Military Appreciation Day and features postgame fireworks.
 
"It's a unique combination," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said of her senior class. "A couple years ago we were kind of bottom-heavy (with more younger players on the roster), so we wanted to mix in some players with experience. And that's where those three (Wessel, Whitt and Burnside) were good additions for us. They came in and played right away for us.
 
"And Ash and Tess have seen a lot. A lot of ups and downs. It makes a difference to be here for four years."
 
Kim, a four-year regular, has played second base, third base and shortstop while also dabbling in the outfield and at catcher. And she went from being a full-time right-handed hitter to full-time left-handed hitter during her college career.
 
"I just wanted to be out there," Kim said. "I didn't care where I played. Wherever she tells me to go, I'll go."
 
Kim ranks ninth in program history with 197 games played, third with 60 stolen bases, tied for third with 12 triples, eighth with 576 at-bats, ninth with 125 runs and tied for 12^th with 168 career hits. Despite switching sides of the plate, she has compiled a .292 career batting average, including .299 this season.
 
And yet, there's a lot more to it than that.
 
"I don't think her impact is fully understood with just numbers," Van Wetzinga said. "Her biggest impact has been the work ethic she brings to the field every day. She's hands-down our most in-shape player. She's pound-for-pound our strongest kid in the weight room – by far. She loves to work, isn't afraid of it.
 
"So she helps set the tone on the field. That's an immeasurable thing. She's also a leader on the field. She brings intensity and fire to the field, and she's a vocal leader. Her impact is hard to measure, but it's certainly impactful. And as a four-year senior who's been on the field a lot, she's helped a lot of the younger players, talking them through struggles and that sort of thing."
 
Kim said her MSU Denver career has given her what she was hoping to have.
 
"My biggest thing was to have a really good experience, and I did," Kim said. "There were definitely points in seasons and in my career where I wasn't performing how I wanted to. But my biggest goal was to get a good education, have a good experience and meet all these great teammates and lifelong friends. So I feel really good about that."
 
Wessel has been a two-year regular with 99 career games for the Roadrunners after transferring from Western Nebraska Community College. She is a career .308 hitter for MSU Denver, with three homers and 40 RBIs.
 
Whitt, also a Western Nebraska CC transfer, has hit .317 with two homers and 36 RBIs while appearing in 75 games for MSU Denver.
 
Burnside has a 16-17 record with a 3.83 ERA in her two seasons with the Roadrunners, recording six shutouts. She's fourth in MSU Denver history among pitchers with at least 180 innings with a strikeout rate of 4.4 per seven innings, is tied for fifth in shutouts, and her ERA is 10^th on the all-time list.
 
Frequently MSU Denver's leadoff hitter or No. 2 hitter, Kim is in position to set the tone for games.
 
Off the field, she's a three-time academic All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference selection and a fixture on MSU Denver's Athletic Director's honor roll.
 
"I knew when I recruited her that I was going to get a tough kid, and a kid with high character who I wasn't going to have to babysit," Van Wetzinga said. "I knew she was someone who would set the tone culturally. So we've definitely got what we expected from her. On and off the field, she's taken care of business."