DENVER – Folks of a certain age may remember those E.F. Hutton commercials.
 
"My broker is E.F. Hutton, and E.F. Hutton says … "
 
And then everyone in the room goes quiet to try to hear what E.F. Hutton actually said.
 
Well, MSU Denver has a star pitcher and shortstop named Darby McGhee and …
 
"She's never going to be the most vocal one," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "You'll never notice her, unless she's in the (pitcher's) circle. And I don't mean that negatively. That's just who she is: low-key, does her thing, doesn't need a lot of attention. But, that said, she has good work ethic and leads with her steadiness.
 
"And if Darby does say something, everybody listens."
 
Once again, McGhee's actions spoke much louder than words last weekend, when – despite being under the weather – she pitched two complete-game victories to defeat then-No. 11 Dixie State. She also started the winning rally in the first game against Dixie State, with a leadoff double in the eighth inning.
 
"I'm more of a lead-by-example type person," McGhee said. "I say things when I have to."
 
For her efforts, McGhee was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week – it's the third time in her career, and the first time this season, that she's won that award. She has also been named the MSU Denver Student-Athlete of the Week.
 
"What was impressive about last weekend is that she had been sick all week and missed a couple of days of practice," Van Wetzinga said. "I tried to block it out of my mind the first day and tell myself that she was 100 percent."
 
McGhee said she was well enough to pitch, and that's all that mattered.
 
"I was still feeling a little rough," she said. "I had a cough and I was stuffed up. But I feel like in the past when I've been sick I always do pretty well, and that was in the back of my mind a little bit. I felt good enough to go out there and pitch, and it went well."
 
McGhee will no doubt be called upon a couple of times again this weekend when the Roadrunners (14-6 overall, 6-2 and tied for third in the RMAC) stay in town but play at Regis in games against the host Rangers as well as visiting New Mexico Highlands.
 
MSU Denver plays Regis (8-8, 5-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday and then faces Highlands (2-18, 1-7) at 1 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, the Roadrunners play Highlands at noon and Regis at 2 p.m.
 
"We just have to stay focused and play at our level," McGhee said. "We have to take every team as if it's the best team we play, because these teams do have the potential to beat us – we've seen it before. Everyone knows that."
 
McGhee kept the high-scoring Dixie State offense – which had been averaging 6.9 runs per game with a .348 average – to a 2.50 ERA and a .240 batting average in two games. The Trailblazers had been 15-3 before losing on back-to-back days against McGhee.
 
McGhee has been at her best this season against top-ranked defending national champion Augustana (7 2/3 shutout innings), RMAC leader Colorado Christian (five dominant innings before allowing three runs in the sixth) and Dixie State.
 
"It's fun," McGhee said of pitching against top teams. "I know I'm getting good competition and that I don't have a lot of room to leave pitches over the plate. I have to be sharper and compete more."
 
After a surprising slow start in which she was charged with five earned runs in each of her first three appearances, McGhee has improved to 3-1 with a 4.20 ERA. In her last nine appearances she has a 2.82 ERA.
 
"That's why I don't get too caught up in numbers," Van Wetzinga said. "Sometimes, especially if you don't start the way you want, it can take a while before you climb out of the hole. So it's not indicative of where you're are at that moment."
 
Same goes for McGhee's hitting prowess. She got off to an uncharacteristically slow start, but she's hit .280 over her last eight games and is now at .204 and climbing.
 
And, when the Roadrunners tied the first Dixie State game with Laney Sheppard's two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, it was no surprise that McGhee the pitcher dispatched the Trailblazers quickly in the top of the eighth. Nor was it a surprise when McGhee the hitter led off the bottom of the eighth with a double.
 
"It's more what you do and when you do it," Van Wetzinga said. "And she still has that about her. We tied it up against Dixie, then she shuts them down – three-up, three-down – and then she leads off the bottom of the eighth and hadn't looked great, but she just scorches a double. She hit it so hard that she almost didn't have time to get to second base.

"Sometimes it's about when and how you hit, and not just about having nice numbers."
 
Said McGhee: "It's one of those things where it doesn't really matter what I've done in the game, all that matters is that one at-bat. I had a plan and I just had to relax and focus on that plan and try not to overdo it."
 
Being relaxed in big moments is one of McGhee's character traits that have developed in her four years in the program.
 
"It's gone from nerves more towards confidence," McGhee said. "It's a little easier to be in those situations than it used to be for me."
 
Her steady demeanor helps set the tone for a team that plays a sport where it's best to never get too high or too low.
 
"She'll hit a walk off and she'll just say, 'Oh, thanks,'" Van Wetzinga said, laughing.
 
With McGhee, there's much to be something to be said for leading by example, giving the program's younger players someone to observe.
 
"I hope so because, not just me but with the other upperclassmen, they can learn a lot just by watching us and seeing how we go about things and do things," McGhee said.
 
She's also found her inner E.F. Hutton from time to time.
 
"I don't want to just say things to say things," McGhee said. "There are always people who are always going to have things to say – and that's good, it's just never been me. When I do say things, it's never forced and it comes from what I'm actually thinking and feeling.
 
"I'm glad people listen. Sometimes things need to be said."