DENVER – Rebecca Gonzales had hits in each of her first six trips to the plate on Saturday to lead MSU Denver to softball victories over Regis and New Mexico Highlands.
 
Alyssa Richter's seventh-inning RBI single helped MSU Denver bounce back from a game-tying rally in the bottom of the sixth to lift the Roadrunners to a 4-3 win over Regis in the opener. Then the Roadrunners cruised to a 9-2 win over Highlands.
 
MSU Denver (16-6) extended its winning streak to six games and improved to 8-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
Gonzales, who had a single in her final at-bat last weekend, had hits in seven straight at-bats over three games.
 
Against Regis she was 4-for-4 with three singles and a triple. The sophomore completed a cycle of sorts in her first two at-bats against Highlands, with a double and a homer in her first two plate appearances. In four at-bats (the final two of the first game and the first two of the second game), Gonzales had a single, double, triple and homer.
 
"Rebecca was definitely a spark plug for us offensively," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "She was really locked in, looking for her pitch and jumping on it. Her steadiness and maturity in the box is really impressive for a younger player."

Darby McGhee (4-1) pitched her third straight complete-game victory in the opener, allowing three hits while striking out a season-high eight. She pitched four no-hit innings and took a one-hit shutout into the sixth before Regis rallied for three runs to tie the game, with the final two coming on a home run.
 
But the Roadrunners responded quickly, as Laney Sheppard drew a leadoff walk, pinch runner Kamryn Leoffler moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kayla Banks, and then Leoffler scored on Richter's single.
 
"It was tough to give up the lead in the sixth and have them tie it up, but I was really proud of the way we responded and came back with a run to take the lead back," Van Wetzinga said.

McGhee pitched around a two-out walk to close the door on the Rangers in the bottom of the seventh.
 
"Overall Darby threw really well," Van Wetzinga said. "After the home run, I liked the way she responded, and even in the seventh there were some tough calls that didn't go her way in terms of balls and strikes, but she kept her head about herself and got the final out."

Against Highlands, Sheppard (single) and Banks (double) each drove in runs with first-inning hits, then Gonzales – who had led off the game with a double – hit her fourth homer of the year to make it 3-0 in the second.
 
Gonzales finished the day 6-for-9 with two RBIs, while Banks was 4-for-6 with three doubles and three RBIs and Sheppard was 3-for-6 with a double and three RBIs. McGhee was 3-for-7 with two doubles and two RBIs.
 
Gonzales is batting .408 for the season, while Banks improves to a team-best .441. Sheppard remains among the national leaders with 34 RBIs (she was second nationally with 31 heading into the weekend, while the Division II leader had 34).
 
Banks (6-1) got the pitching win in the nightcap, allowing two runs on five hits in five innings.
Destinee Lopez added two innings of no-hit relief.
 
"We played some really good defense today behind our pitchers, especially Ari Valdez at second in the first game to keep runs off the board early," Van Wetzinga said.
 
The Roadrunners face the same teams again Sunday, squaring off with Highlands at noon at Regis at 2 p.m.