CONROE, Texas – MSU Denver scored first, but NCAA Division II No. 3 Texas-Tyler bounced back and earned a 4-1 win over the Roadrunners on Saturday at the DII Spring Invitational Kickoff.
The Roadrunners had opened the day with their second straight win to start the season, with a 9-6 victory over Texas Woman's.
Against Texas-Tyler, Aaliyah Arrellano doubled home
Jaiden Geist, who had led off the top of the second inning with a double, to give MSU Denver the early lead.
But Texas-Tyler tied the game in the bottom of the second, then added three more in the fourth and held on.
Arellano and
Alexia Boring each had two of the Roadrunners' seven hits, and
Audrey Burt (1-1) allowed four runs (three earned) on just six hits while striking out four in her second straight complete game.
In the opener,
Kami Grammerstorf was 4-for-5 and
Hannah DiFabio was 2-for-3 as the Roadrunners built 9-2 lead through six innings, then held off Texas Woman's, which scored four in the seventh.
"Offensively, we are doing a nice job of getting runners on base," Van Wetzinga said. "I want to see us take the next step and have more quality at bats to capitalize more often on those opportunities.
"We need to stick with our plan at the plate and not be passive. I want our hitters to be ready to attack."
After taking a 2-1 lead after the first inning, the Roadrunners surged to a commanding 7-1 advantage with a five-run second that included an RBI single by
Audrey Burt and two-run single by
Jenna Medhus (who scored on the play after a throwing error).
Medhus made her first collegiate pitching appearance and worked into the seventh before Texas Woman's rallied for its four runs, but
Cheyenne Prieto, another true freshman, came in to record the final out – needing just one pitch – for the save.
"Both Jenna and Audrey pitched really well today," Van Wetzinga said. "They did a great job of limiting damage when the other team had opportunities. They threw some big pitches in big situations."
MSU Denver wraps up the tournament Sunday, with games at 12:15 p.m. MST against Oklahoma Christian and 2:30 p.m. MST against Angelo State (Texas). Oklahoma Christian received votes in the preseason national top 25 poll, while Angelo State is ranked 18
th.
"I like where we are at right now," Van Wetzinga said. "We've got two tough opponents tomorrow, so I hope we can clean us some things and continue to get better."
