DENVER – Things are set to get serious in RMAC softball.
 
Colorado Christian, MSU Denver, Colorado Mesa and Regis have run away from the rest of the league through six weeks of conference play.
 
Now, those teams will start playing one another.
 
For MSU Denver (24-9 overall, 20-2 for second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference), that stretch starts this weekend with a four-game series at Colorado Mesa (20-11, 18-5 for third).
 
Doubleheaders in Grand Junction, Colo., are scheduled for Saturday at noon and Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
"We've been pretty consistent this year," MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "Now, for the next month, we're playing the top teams. It'll be interesting to see if we can keep our consistency and our competitiveness."
 
Colorado Christian is ranked 12^th in Division II and is 24-0 in league play, but faces Regis (17-7 RMAC this week) and still has series to play against MSU Denver and Mesa. Mesa still has Regis, Colorado Christian and fifth-place Colorado School of Mines (12-10) to play. Regis plays CCU, Mesa and MSU Denver.
 
And the Roadrunners' upcoming schedule after this week includes CCU, Regis and Mines.
 
The Roadrunners' 20-2 league mark includes single-game losses to seventh-place Chadron State as part of a 3-1 series win and to sixth-place Fort Lewis in a doubleheader split (the rest of the series was canceled due to weather).
 
But now the other four teams in the league's top five – as well as eighth-place New Mexico Highlands – are on the schedule to complete the regular season.
 
"The players know who's coming up, but we have talked about it," Van Wetzinga said. "We're going to be playing the top of the conference over the last month of the season. When we've had moments in our other games where we weren't sharp, we were still usually able to come out on top. Consistency matters. Being able to perform when someone is coming at you is important.
 
"We haven't talked about picking it up, but we've talked about expecting it to be hard, so accept it and push through it. … I don't know how many wins or losses we'll have, but I want our team to go out there and believe in themselves and compete hard."
 
The Roadrunners had a hard time with Mesa from 2017 until last season, losing 16 straight in the series. But, after being swept at Mesa to open league play in 2022, the Roadrunners won twice at Mesa in the RMAC Tournament last season, dashing the Mavericks' hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
 
"It was a big deal to show just how far our team had come over the course of the season," Van Wetzinga said. "It showed them what they were capable of doing and the level of softball they were capable of playing.
 
"I think our returning players understand that, 'Yeah, we can and we should be playing like that.' Same with going down to Texas (a tough nine-game road trip) this season and going toe-to-toe with teams … including a team that played for the national championship last year, and we're toe-to-toe with them."
 
Colorado Mesa is coming off a 3-1 series loss at Chadron State and will no doubt be looking to get back on track this weekend.
 
"They have athletes over there, they're well-coached, and they're playing at their place," Van Wetzinga said. "I think people undersell the consistency that program has had. It's impressive."
 
Offensively, MSU Denver has gotten players throughout the lineup on track over the course of the season, and ranks third in the RMAC with a .323 batting average. Miah Hartvigsen leads the way at .405.
 
"We've had some people grow and we've gotten more consistent," Van Wetzinga said. "Grinding out at-bats is the biggest thing. Make pitchers work. The more they have to throw, the more the edge goes to the offense. And when you get a good pitch to hit, you've got to put a good swing on it. You can't let the opportunity slip by."
 
The Roadrunners also have a four-pronged pitching staff, with Jenna Medhus (9-2, 2.34 ERA), Cheyenne Prieto (6-1, 2.63), Audrey Burt (5-5, 4.07) and Maddy Wilson (4-1, 4.30) all capable of stepping up and delivering.
 
"It's kind of like our offense," Van Wetzinga said. "They do what they need to do. When they don't try to do too much, we're really good. I like our pitchers because they complement each other. And having somebody new step up each week, that's a good thing. As you get deeper into the season, it's more about using your whole staff. And that's what I see we might need."