DENVER – New Mexico Highlands rallied for eight fifth-inning runs to turn around a game that had been dominated by MSU Denver, and the Roadrunners were forced to settle for a split of a Sunday doubleheader.
 
MSU Denver clinched a series win with a 6-4 victory in the opening game, but was unable to sweep the four-game set as Highlands won the nightcap 9-6.
 
"That's kind of the story of our season so far," MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "We're inconsistent and we have to learn how to stay consistent and finish."
 
Pitcher Sarah Norton, a dominant winner in relief Saturday when she struck out nine while yielding two hits in four scoreless innings, was even better through four innings Sunday, taking a no-hitter into the fifth before Highlands rose up and rallied.
 
Norton was tagged for four runs and Julia Heitz was unable to stem the tide while allowing four more.
 
MSU Denver struck for two runs in the sixth, but the Cowgirls got a run against Audrey Burt in the seventh.
 
"They stayed aggressive and they took advantage of good pitches to hit," Van Wetzinga said. "They were up there taking some hacks."
 
In the opener, but Katie Maney and Rebecca Gonzales were 2-for-3, with Maney launching her eighth homer of the season. Shelby Robb drove in two runs.
 
Destinee Lopez (5-3) pitched four innings for the win, and Burt worked three innings for the save – her third of the season is tied for second on the program's single-season save list.
 
In the second game, MSU Denver was cruising with a 4-0 lead on a Hannah DiFabio homer, an RBI single by Maney, ad a pair of run-scoring singles by Doughty.
 
"We needed to do more earlier," Van Wetzinga said. "I know we had all the energy and fight at the end of the game, but having that earlier in the game would have probably put it away."