DENVER – Another day, another doubleheader split.
 
And MSU Denver is showing that its young team has a chance to do some impressive things this softball season.
 
"Our kids are playing hard," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "So it's a little frustrating to be 2-2. But at the same time we have a lot of things to build off."
 
The Roadrunners earned a tense 4-3 victory in the nine-inning opening game Saturday against Sioux Falls (S.D.) and couldn't quite get back into the nightcap after surrendering runs to the first five batters in an 11-4 setback.
 
After pitching 5 2/3 solid innings as the first-game starter (five hits, three earned runs, three walks, three strikeouts), Kayla Banks eventually started the game-winning rally as a hitter with a leadoff double in the ninth.
 
"I wasn't really thinking of anything, I just tried to relax," Banks said. "When I hear my walkup song, it just puts me in the hitting mood."
 
The Roadrunners' mood turned sour after Sioux Falls (1-1) opened the second game with five runs after the Cougars' first seven batters reached base on a combination of five hits, a walk and a hit by pitch. MSU Denver got two in the third inning and two more in the fourth to get within 7-4, but Sioux Falls pulled away to close out the win.
 
"I think we have a lot of good pieces, and we've had a lot of good moments," Van Wetzinga said. "It's just a matter of us putting it together. We also have moments that are back-breakers. We just can't give up big innings, whether it's pitchers figuring it out or us defensively playing behind our pitchers. If a ball that is hit should be an out, then it needs to be an out. Especially when you're playing from behind."
 
"The first inning was the first inning. But after that I thought our pitchers deserved a little bit better."
 
Banks' first-game heroics put her in a unique position. Through four games she leads MSU Denver in batting with a .583 average (7-for-12) and in pitching with a 3.00 ERA. She picked up a pitching win in relief on Friday against Humboldt State (Calif.).
 
"There were a couple of times where I had two strikes and I gave up some hits," Banks said of her pitching. "But other than that I was proud of the way I came out. I was pretty strong and I was hitting my spots really well."
 
Of her hitting she said: "I was just out there ready to attack. I'm excited to be out there finally and to be a part of the team."
 
MSU Denver got some terrific defensive plays in the opener, including a diving catch by left fielder Kassi Reiger another by right fielder Rebecca Gonzales.
 
"Our outfield is our most veteran area, and they're leading from the outfield, which is a little rare," Van Wetzinga said. "They're doing a good job, stopping balls for singles, those are big things."
 
Another clutch catch was by third baseman Olivia Dampier, who made a diving, back-handed grab of a soft foul pop for the final out of the seventh inning, preserving a tie game while stranding two runners in scoring position.
 
"When a ball is hit foul like that and you don't make the play, it seems like it's always bad ju-ju and they come back and get a hit," Dampier said. "When I saw it, I was all-out, and it was kind of instinct really."
 
Dampier continued her impressive start for the season, going 5-for-7 with four RBIs for the day. Through four games, she's batting .500 (7-for-14) with one homer and a team-best eight RBIs.
 
"Well, we started her in the 3-hole, so we saw something," Van Wetzinga said. "She just likes to compete. You can tell that."
 
The Roadrunners wrap up their weekend as Humboldt State returns for a single-game Sunday at 11 a.m., which had its scheduled doubleheader at Colorado School of Mines on Saturday cancelled due to high winds.