CONROE, Texas – MSU Denver battled two teams considered among the best in the country in Division II softball on Sunday, falling 6-0 to Oklahoma Christian before a close 4-3 loss to Angelo State (Texas).
Oklahoma Christian received votes in the preseason Top 25 national poll, while Angelo State is ranked 18
th.
The Roadrunners finished their five-game stay at the DII Spring Invitational Kickoff at 2-3, with the other loss coming Saturday to third-ranked Texas-Tyler.
"We saw some good competition this weekend," MSU Denver coach
Annie Van Wetzinga said. "We had some good moments and moments we need to learn from and get better.
In the tournament finale against Angelo State, MSU Denver pulled within 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out, two-run single by
Audrey Burt to cap an inning that was set up by singles from both
Miah Hartvigsen and
Kami Grammerstorf.
Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth, the Roadrunners scored again on Grammerstorf's infield single that scored Hartvigsen, who reached on another single.
Burt was 3-for-4 at the plate and pitched a complete game, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out a career-high 10.
"Audrey gave us a really strong outing in our last game," Van Wetzinga said. "She kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win. Overall, our pitching staff was solid this weekend. They gave our defense chances to get outs and kept us in games."
MSU Denver was unable to get untracked in its first game against Oklahoma Christian, managing just three hits.
"Our hitters saw some tough pitchers, but as a young team we need to learn how make adjustments sooner at the plate," Van Wetzinga said. "We lacked consistency, which made it tough to string hits together."
Jenna Medhus took a one-hit shutout into the fourth inning, but the Eagles scored three in the fourth and three in the fifth against relievers
Cheyenne Prieto and
Maddy Wilson.
Burt hit .500 for the tournament (8-for-16) and shared the team lead with five RBIs, while also going 1-2 in the circle with a 3.98 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings. Grammerstorf also hit .500 (7-for-14), while
Alexia Boring hit .462 (6-for-13).
The Roadrunners stay in Texas for more key regional doubleheaders Wednesday at St. Edward's and Thursday at St. Mary's.
"It's a solid start to the season, but we need to continue to take steps in the right direction," Van Wetzinga said. "We have two tough opponents this week where we need to be sharp defensively and find consistency with our bats."