DENVER – In 14 innings of softball on Sunday, MSU Denver held the lead after two innings.
But that was good enough to pick up a split of a doubleheader against Fort Lewis since they were the final two innings of that game. After dropping a close opener 4-1 when the Roadrunners just couldn't get their offense going, they finally broke loose for six runs in the bottom of the sixth of the second game and held on for a 9-7 victory at the Assembly Athletic Complex.
"We needed one that very much," shortstop
Hannah DiFabio said.
DiFabio, who hit in tough luck most of the day, lined a two-run triple over the head of the right fielder to put MSU Denver ahead for good at 6-4, then an RBI single by
Miah Hartvigsen and a two-run homer by winning pitcher
Maddy Wilson gave the Roadrunners additional breathing room.
They needed most of it, after a seventh-inning error led to three unearned runs. Fort Lewis had two runners in scoring position and the go-ahead run at the plate before MSU Denver escaped to improve to 24-9 overall and 20-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
"They're scrappy," MSU Denver coach
Annie Van Wetzinga said of Fort Lewis. "They're aggressive and they put the ball in play. We have to finish."
The Roadrunners matched a season high with four homers in the nightcap, including a pair by true freshman
Jenna Medhus. The solo shots came in the third and fifth innings, and came after the Roadrunners had fallen behind 4-0.
Medhus, who leads the team innings pitched, has batted infrequently since starting seven of the first nine games in the batting lineup. But she was ready when her named was penciled in for game two.
"We hit a lot during the week, so it's trusting all the work that I've put in," Medhus said. "Even though I haven't hit in games a lot, I still do a lot of work in practice."
Said Van Wetzinga: "It's been a bit of a slow go, and sometimes with freshmen it can be tough like that, and she's got a lot on her plate with pitching and hitting. But she's strong, and she's athletic, and when she puts it together, she's capable of that.
"It was nice to see that, but I can't say that I'm shocked, because we know it's there. We've seen it."
After Medhus' second homer, Hartvigsen delivered an RBI double to make it 4-3 heading into the sixth.
Aaliyah Arellano led off the decisive inning with a game-tying homer before DiFabio eventually came through with her two-run triple.
"I couldn't find a hole before that," DiFabio said. "Finally, nobody caught it."
Said Van Wetzinga: "That was a clutch hit. We needed that to bust it open and put us ahead. We were finally able to string something together. We had been too disjointed all day … a good at-bat, then a weak grounder or pop-up. It's a matter of connecting tough at-bats. Sometimes you hit it right at them, but it still sends a message.
"The second game, even though it took a while to get going, you could see us having tougher at-bats."
The opening game actually began five minutes before its scheduled noon start time and, since Fort Lewis had all the runs it needed in just a couple of minutes when the second batter of the game hit a two-run homer … you could say it was over before it started.
Pitcher Amiee Shanks took a no-hitter into to the fifth inning and settled for a five-hit, complete game.
"Their pitcher did a really nice job, and that's what we were anticipating – a lot of outside low pitches," Van Wetzinga said. "She's a ground-ball pitcher. But we came out flat and I wanted us to compete better. Our message was that sometimes you're going to get beat – it happens in athletics. But how you compete is a big deal. It's a choice.
"I want us to do a better job of that tomorrow."
The teams are scheduled to play at 11 a.m. doubleheader Monday.
