DENVER – Katie Maney drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning of Saturday's opening game as MSU Denver split a college softball doubleheader with St. Mary's (Texas).
 
After winning the opening game, the Roadrunners fell 8-2 in the nightcap at the Assembly Athletic Complex.
 
"Game one was a good softball game, and it really could've gone either way, but I was proud of how we competed and got the win," MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "But we didn't carry over the good performance from game one to game two."
'
In the opener, Sarah Norton pitched three no-hit innings, but St. Mary's (11-3) hit two homers as part of a three-run fourth inning and took a 3-1 lead.
 
But MSU Denver countered immediately in the bottom of the fourth, with a two-out RBI single by Emily Shreves and a two-out, two-run double by Maney to take the lead.
 
St. Mary's tied it with a run in the top of the sixth, but once again the Roadrunners answered in the bottom half of the inning, with a two-out rally that Maney capped with her run-scoring single up the middle.
 
"I really liked how we competed in game one," Van Wetzinga said. "We put together some tough at-bats and found different ways to put pressure on them."

The resilient offense made Audrey Burt (2-0) the winning pitcher after she worked four innings in relief of Norton, allowing one run on two hits.
 
"Audrey did a great job in relief and was able to give us some big innings against a disciplined lineup of hitters."

In the second game, St. Mary's scored four first-inning runs and scored single runs in each of the next four innings to keep MSU Denver at bay.
 
Maney led off the bottom of the first with her third homer of the year, but the Roadrunners didn't score again until the fifth, on an RBI double by Jaiden Geist.
 
"We weren't sharp on the defensive side and when you play a quality opponent like St. Mary's they're going to expose you and that's what happened," Van Wetzinga said. "Unfortunately we weren't able to put together tough at-bats to answer back enough on the offensive side either.

"Our team needs to understand that when you play good teams, you can't take anything for granted and need to play with focus and competitiveness every inning."
 
Maney finished the day 4-for-7 with four RBIs.
 
MSU Denver is back in action at the Assembly Athletic Complex on Sunday at 11 a.m. against another Texas team, St. Edward's. The Hilltoppers, 6-1 swept a Saturday doubleheader at Regis.

"Tomorrow is a new day with another good team, so I'm looking forward to our team responding and playing tough," Van Wetzinga said.