DENVER – Let's just say MSU Denver was ready to play.
 
After nine pitches, the Roadrunners had hit for the cycle (single, double, triple and homer) and led 4-0 against Adams State.
 
MSU Denver finished off the opener, shortened to five innings due to the mercy rule, with an 8-0 win, then cruised to a 7-2 second-game victory to sweep the doubleheader Friday at the Assembly Athletic Complex.
 
"We needed that," MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "It's been tough producing offense consistently. It was nice to see our hitters come out and trust what they're doing, come out ready to attack and swing with intent."
 
Said catcher Jaiden Geist: "That was exciting. We've been waiting for that to come, especially after last weekend. We executed and it was super fun. That's our team, and that's how we should play."
 
MSU Denver, which had lost six of its last eight games, started off the final weekend of the regular season the right way, improving to 33-20 overall and 21-15 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Roadrunners clinched one of six spots in next week's RMAC Tournament and could conceivably climb as high as fourth in the final regular-season standings pending Saturday outcomes.
 
Friday's early outburst went this way:
 
Rebecca Gonzales hit the second pitch she saw for a double to right center. Hannah DiFabio hit the second pitch she saw for an RBI triple to right field. Kami Grammerstorf hit the first pitch she saw for an RBI double down the left field line. Then Geist dropped a two-run homer over the right field fence on the third pitch of her at-bat.
 
It seemingly took almost long to read the above paragraph as it did for the events to play out on the field.
 
After Audrey Burt doubled on the next pitch, Adams State made a pitching change. The Roadrunners tacked on two more runs on a sacrifice fly by Katie Maney and an RBI single by Ari Valdez to lead 6-0 after one inning.
 
"I love to cheer for my teammates and I love to see them get hits," pitcher Sarah Norton said. "I'm the loudest one in the dugout most of the time, so I was excited to see them do well."
 
Norton (11-6) who didn't need nearly that much support. She allowed only two hits – on a wind-blown double and an infield single – while striking out four in a five-inning complete-game shutout.
 
"We did have a lot of good defensive plays behind me and Jaiden was doing a lot behind the plate," Norton said. "I felt pretty good, but our defense has been very strong lately and that was great to see."
 
Said Van Wetzinga: She was really efficient. She threw quality strikes and let her defense make plays. I was happy to see her attack. Right from the get-go she was very sharp."
 
Norton got further offensive support from DiFabio and Geist, who launched solo homers in the second and fourth innings, respectively.
 
By going 2-for-3, DiFabio was 2-for-3 put together a 14^th multi-hit effort in her last 21 games – she's batting .408 over that stretch.
 
And Geist, while producing her first career two-homer game, now has 27 RBIs in her last 18 games. Geist has seven homers for the season.
 
"She's putting it together," Van Wetzinga said. "She's a really strong, physical kid and we want to continue to develop her. When you have someone like that in the middle of a lineup, it makes a big difference. She's strong and sometimes it's not that hard for her to hit the ball out of the park."
 
Said Geist of her two-homer game: "I was just thinking, have fun and relax. I was thinking base hit, and I think the wind may have helped a little bit."
 
OK, so let's talk about the wind. It was pretty much a steady 25 mph all day, with gusts that were much stronger.
 
"We've gone through some pretty crazy weather this season," said Norton, who appeared on the verge of being blown out of the pitcher's circle once in a while. "Snow and rain, but nothing like this.
 
"There were a couple of times that I stepped on (the pitching rubber) and had to step off, because it was a lot. But we figured it out."
 
To hear Van Wetzinga, maybe the first rule about playing in the wind is, 'Don't talk about playing in the wind.'
 
"We talked to the outfielders about being aware of it when the ball was in the air, but other than that, sometimes if you spend a lot of time talking about something it becomes a thing," she said. "I think everybody here could tell it was windy, so be aware of it when the ball is in the air, otherwise let's go play."
 
In game two, Adams State hit a two-run homer in the top of the first, but Burt (11-7) was in control the rest of the way and MSU Denver answered with two in the bottom of the first, two in the third and three in the fifth.
 
"We hit a lot of balls hard all day," Van Wetzinga said. "Even the second game we had a little bad luck, hitting balls hard but just right at them. It was fun, up and down the lineup, to see our girls step up and have a good day offensively."
 
Kami Grammerstorf was 3-for-3 with three stolen bases and three RBIs, and Rebecca Gonzales was 3-for-4 to cap a 5-for-7 day.
 
"She wasn't real happy with her performance last week, but I could tell this week that she had turned the page," Van Wetzinga said of Gonzales. "She was sharp and had a real intent with her hitting this week. At the top of the order, to have her find her way on base, that matters. It helps the younger players behind her."
 
The regular season concludes with Saturday's 11 a.m. doubleheader, which features the Senior Day ceremony between games.