DENVER – When it comes to writing a script for a perfect Senior Day, well, this one was pretty good.
 
Destinee Lopez and Julia Heitz turned in dominant, complete-game pitching performances in their last appearances at the Assembly Athletic Complex – the only run scored against them was unearned – as MSU Denver swept Adams State 5-1 and 8-0 on Saturday to wrap up the regular season.
 
Lopez is a fifth-year senior who has gone from infrequently-used reliever to dependable cog to an all-conference first-team performer. Heitz had a brilliant freshman season, but battled control problems and was rarely used for two years before putting together an excellent bounceback season in 2022.
 
Considering their journeys to Saturday's final act, MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga took a long pause and tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to control her emotions.
 
"It's just really cool," she said, finally.
 
Lopez (9-3) pitched a seven-inning, five-hitter, with two walks and three strikeouts in the opener.
 
"It felt great to be out there and not worry about the little things that I've let bug me in the past," Lopez said. "It felt good to go out there and do well, and give a performance that my team behind me deserves."
 
Heitz (4-4) pitched a three-hitter, with no walks, while striking out three. The game was shortened to five innings due to the eight-run rule.
 
"It felt really good," Heitz said. "And the thing that helped me the most was just staying calm. I went out there with nothing but peace in my mind. I knew this might be my last time to pitch, and that it was the last time we'll be playing on this field together.
 
"I had a lot of emotions that I was able to bring in, and I was able to stay calm and throw strikes. And when I throw strikes, I get good results."
 
Also honored in the between-games ceremony was second baseman Ari Valdez, a four-year starter and the team's inspirational leader.
 
"You know when Ari is on the field," said Van Wetzinga, again trying to keep her emotions in check. "You'll never doubt her effort, how much she's into something, or that she's all-in."
 
When not trying to put careers in perspective, everyone was all smiles Saturday, as the Roadrunners completed a four-game sweep to improve to 35-20 overall and 23-15 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Unofficially, the Roadrunners appear to be the fourth seed for the six-team, double-elimination RMAC Tournament that starts Thursday.
 
Though both Heitz and Valdez could use another year of eligibility due to the NCAA's COVID-19 exemption, they are electing to move on as graduates.
 
"I'm proud of myself," Valdez said. "Looking back, coming all this way, I made it through four years here. I've met some really great people and made some really good memories. I just really love everybody here. This is a place I'll forever cherish."
 
Said Heitz: "I did think I was going to cry, but I didn't. But it doesn't feel like it's real. It hasn't sunk in yet. It feels like I'm still going to come out and be here next weekend."
 
Lopez is in graduate school after receiving her degree last spring.
 
"It's exciting," she said. "I don't know how to describe it. I'm going to miss my teammates, but I'm also happy with the work I've done and I'm ready to move on (from softball)."
 
While outscoring the Grizzlies 13-1 for the day and 28-3 for the weekend, MSU Denver's non-seniors also showed their support in multiple ways on the field.
 
"We wanted to have their backs, especially our pitchers," true freshman shortstop Hannah DiFabio said. "Offensively, defensively, whatever it takes. Ari was a big part of that in the infield, too. We wanted to win for them all weekend, and we did."
 
DiFabio showed her support with a second-game grand slam that doubled the lead to 8-0 and capped a 3-for-3 game. She was 4-for-6 Saturday, 7-for-13 for the series, and now has 15 multi-hit efforts in her last 24 games.
 
"I told myself, as a joke, when I stepped into the box that, 'I'm just going to hit a grand slam,'" DiFabio said. "And it actually happened."
 
While batting .419 in the last 24 games, DiFabio has upped her average to .365 with team bests of 11 homers and 44 RBIs. DiFabio scored four runs on the day to give her 45 for the season, breaking Amber Roundtree's 2008 program record of 41 runs by a freshman. She's three hits short of teammate Rebecca Gonzales' 2019 record of 69 hits by a freshman, and two homers short of Laney Sheppard's 2019 record for homers by a freshman. She's also broken Nancy Kogle's 1988 record of 118 total bases by a freshman.
 
"She's really athletic, and she's good at softball," Van Wetzinga said, with a matter-of-fact shrug. "She just needs to remember that. Sometimes she overthinks it."
 
Defensively, DiFabio was just one of several stars – left fielder Emily Shreves, center fielder Kami Grammerstorf and right fielder Katie Maney all made spectacular diving catches.
 
"Even though the last couple of weekends we didn't get the results we wanted, our defense has been ascending," Van Wetzinga said. "We've been making some great plays, especially in the outfield – they're running balls down and breaking hearts out there. It's been fun to watch."
 
That made the pitchers' jobs even easier.
 
Said Valdez: "It was awesome. … for us to click behind them (defensively) and to give them the offensive support they needed to feel confident about their pitching."