DENVER – The MSU Denver softball team opens league play this weekend by hosting Black Hills State.
 
Doubleheaders at the Assembly Athletic Complex have been pushed back and are now set for noon Sunday and 11 a.m. Monday.
 
MSU Denver is off to a 5-5 start while playing a non-conference schedule filled with quality regional competition. And, after a slow offensive start during the season's opening tournament, the Roadrunners found their groove last weekend.
 
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Week Hannah DiFabio had three homers and five RBIs while batting .412 (7-for-17), scoring nine runs and stealing three bases, Genevieve Bower batted .583 (7-for-12), Kami Grammerstorf hit .533 (8-for-15) with four stolen bases and Aaliyah Arellano hit .500 (5-for-10).
 
As a team the Roadrunners hit .390 in the five games.
           
"We had a lot of girls have bust-out weekends," MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "Our offense started to look like what we're capable of. They needed that, to take a little pressure off. And when you have high expectations for yourself, sometimes it can be tough.
 
"You want things to happen right away, and out of the gates (in the season opener) we faced a really good pitcher from Washburn, and that can rattle your confidence a little bit."
 
Van Wetzinga has a number of offensive options, even if they aren't in the starting lineup. Roadrunners' pinch hitters are 5-for-21 for a .238 average, and have had multiple other productive at-bats.
 
"I've been really happy with our pinch-hitters," Van Wetzinga said. "I would assume that around the country, the success rate of pinch-hitters is pretty low. But ours have been doing a great job of being prepared, which means they're locked in watching the game in the dugout. They've gone in and put together a competitive at-bat almost every time."
 
In the circle, junior Audrey Burt, sophomore Cheyenne Prieto and freshman Natalie Romero have all had excellent outings as starters.
 
"Our big message is the consistency," Van Wetzinga said. "Pitching is tough, but at the same time when you roll someone out there, you've got to know kind of what you're going to get. Obviously some days you are going to be sharper than others, but we've got to have an idea. At the end of the day, we want the pitcher to keep us in the game."
 
Black Hills State, picked tied for 11^th in the 12-team in RMAC in the league's preseason coaches' poll, is off to a 1-4 start.
 
"Black Hills, like any other team, has players who can do things and will hurt you if you don't show up ready to go," Van Wetzinga said. "They have an experienced pitcher who's been around for a while, and when she's on, she can be tough."