TUCSON, Ariz. – MSU Denver will be looking for a little more offense after the opening day of the Desert Stinger softball tournament.
 
No-hit for 5 1/3 innings in the opening game before a Katie Maney home run, the Roadrunners fell 3-1 to Northwest Nazarene (Idaho), and then were defeated by No. 10 Concordia-Irvine (Calif.) 9-2 in the second game.
 
"We've got to work to put pressure on opposing pitchers and defenses sooner," Van Wetzinga said. "We need to find a spark and be consistent with our effort to get to where we want to go as a team."
 
Northwest Nazarene received votes in the NFCA Division II preseason national poll, and pitcher Sidney Booth showed why, racking up 16 strikeouts in her no-hit bit.
 
MSU Denver's Sarah Norton gave up three runs on three hits in the first inning, but pitched three-hit shutout ball the rest of the way and finished with eight strikeouts.

"After a rocky start, I was really proud of how Sarah pitched in game one," Van Wetzinga said. "Against a tough team, she made adjustments, got better, and gave us a chance to win."
 
In the second game, Concordia-Irvine scored four in the bottom of the fourth and four more in the bottom of the fifth, breaking open what had been a 1-1 game. Destinee Lopez (1-2) was charged with five runs, but only one of those was earned.

"Destinee pitched strong, and deserved more support in game two as well," Van Wetzinga said.

MSU Denver jumps right back into action against quality competition Saturday, facing California Collegiate Athletic Association favorite Chico State (Calif.) at noon and then facing Central Washington at 2:30 p.m.

"The best thing is that it's really early in the season with a ton of softball to still be played," Van Wetzinga said. "There's a lot of opportunities to get better and go to where we're capable."