ST. GEORGE, Utah – Laney Sheppard continued her early season tear and MSU Denver cashed in on an insurance home run by
Megan Sansburn while extending its winning streak to six games with a 9-8 victory Saturday over Northwest Nazarene (Idaho).
Sheppard's fifth-inning homer, a two-run blast that was her fifth homer in 10 games this season, broke a tie and put the Roadrunners ahead for good at 4-2.
No doubt pitching carefully to Sheppard when she came to the plate with the bases loaded in the sixth, Northwest Nazarene walked the slugging cleanup hitter to make the MSU Denver lead 5-2 and run Sheppard's RBI total to an astounding 23. Sheppard, who broke the program's freshman home run record with 13 last year, is hitting .483 (14-for-29) this season.
"Laney has a really good at bat," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach
Annie Van Wetzinga said. "She started down in the count (in the fifth), but she fouled some pitches off and finally got one she could drive. It was a really mature at bat and really needed."
After Sheppard's bases-loaded walk, the Roadrunners wound up scoring three more in the sixth inning. Then Sansburn hit her third homer of the year in the top of the seventh for a seemingly comfortable 9-3 lead.
But then came the bottom of the seventh, as Northwest Nazarene rallied for five runs before
Darby McGhee came on in relief and – after forcing in a run by hitting the first batter she faced – got the final out with a strikeout while stranding three runners on base.
"Nothing like some stress to finish the weekend," Van Wetzinga joked. "It wasn't pretty, but we found a way to win. When it's game number five of a long weekend, that's all that matters. It was great to watch this team fight and see different players step up at different times. Those things always matter in crunch time."
MSU Denver completed the Dixie State Courtyard Classic at 5-0, and its six-game winning streak is its best for the program since an eight-game run in 2018. At 8-2, the Roadrunners are off to their best 10-game start since the 2010 team opened 9-1 en route to a 53-6 season.
But it took Sansburn's late homer to seal the deal.
The senior is batting .433 (13-for-30) with 10 walks for a .595 on-base percentage. Her 1.495 OPS trails only Sheppard (1.648).
"Megan has been really locked in," Van Wetzinga said. "She's been flying under the radar a little because of what a couple of others are doing, but she's had some impressive at bats. She has great plate discipline and that home run is a great example of her not wasting an at bat.
"It's easy when you feel like you have a comfortable lead to not be as locked in as a hitter or have the sense of urgency that you need to, but Megan was ready and hit what ended up being a huge home run."
Redshirt freshman
Kayla Banks, who got the pitching victory in two of the Roadrunners' five games over the weekend, hit her first career homer to tie the game 2-2 in the fourth.
And true freshman third baseman
Olivia Dampier, batting behind Sansburn and ahead of Sheppard as the Roadrunners' No. 3 hitter, continues to impress at the plate and in the field. She was 3-for-5 Saturday and is batting a team-best .500 (17-for-34), trails only Sheppard with 16 RBIs, and continues to make both the routine and the spectacular plays seamlessly.
"Both defensively and hitting, she had a big game," Van Wetzinga said. "Not only did she have a couple hits, but she also took extra bases with her speed and made a couple of really nice plays at third."
