CHADRON, Neb. – Freshman
Shelby Robb homered in each game and
Destinee Lopez got a save and pitched a two-hit shutout as the MSU Denver softball team swept Chadron State 9-8 and 9-0 on Friday.
Robb was 4-for-4 with five RBIs in the opening game, delivering a two-run homer for a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning and a two-run double that made it 7-3 in the sixth.
"The top of our order did a great job today, especially
Shelby Robb," MSU Denver coach
Annie Van Wetzinga said. "We've talked about how consistent she's been all season, and today was a huge day for her at the plate. It's cool to see a freshman play with that presence and steadiness."
Robb was 1-for-2 with a three-run homer in the second game, making it 9-0 and completing her 5-for-6, two-homer, eight-RBI day with a blast in the fourth.
But that was just icing on the cake with Lopez in control. The right-hander struck out five in a game shortened to five innings by the eight-run rule.
"It was great to see the team respond by an excellent outing by Destinee," Van Wetzinga said.
MSU Denver (11-5 overall, 10-4 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) never trailed in the opener, but hard to work to finally subdue the Eagles (7-14, 7-10).
"It's been our pitching and defense that has been keeping us in games, but in game one our offense kept extending the lead and answering back, which was great and needed," Van Wetzinga said. "I don't think the score or the number of hits completely indicated how Darby (McGhee) pitched. We had some mental mistakes which Chadron capitalized on with runs."
Lopez got the final out of the game for her third save of the season, stranding the tying and go-ahead runs on base with a game-ending strikeout.
Kayla Banks was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while McGhee and
Megan Sansburn each had two hits.
In the second game,
Mackenzie Jamieson had a two-run triple in the first and added a third-inning sacrifice fly.
"We got some big, timely hits today which was needed for this team," Van Wetzinga said. "We know we've been close and have hard luck, so I'm happy that their hard work paid off today.