DENVER – Kami Grammerstorf is MSU Denver's Sultan of Speed.
The Roadrunners center fielder, who already has an ongoing school record of 65 consecutive stolen bases without being caught stealing that dates to her freshman season, is within five thefts of the program's all-time record of 75 steals set by Colissa Bakovich from 2014-17.
She could potentially break the record this weekend in a four-game series at New Mexico Highlands, with doubleheaders scheduled for Saturday at noon and Sunday at 11 a.m.
If not, the Roadrunners return home for a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday against Fort Hays State (Kan.), with first pitch at the Assembly Athletic Complex set for noon on Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day, and the mark could be in jeopardy that day.
"It's exciting," MSU Denver coach
Annie Van Wetzinga said. "I'm really happy for Kami, and I'm proud of her. She's earned it. Colissa was very fast and a great baserunner, and Susie Oury (69 steals from 2012-15) is up there, too, along with
Shelby Robb and
Hannah DiFabio on our current team. They're all very fast and great baserunners. But I've coached a lot of speed kids, and Kami is the fastest and the best baserunner.
"She gets great reads and she's super confident. And the biggest thing has been watching her grow as a player and a leader. I've been really proud to watch her grow as a person."
Grammerstorf is batting .350 and has an RMAC-best 10 stolen bases in 14 games this season, upping her career marks to a .347 batting average and 71 steals.
She's just one of the catalysts in an MSU Denver offense that hit its stride in a four-game sweep of Black Hills State last weekend, as the Roadrunners batted .455 (46-for-101).
Beyond Grammerstorf, the Roadurnners have multiple red-hot hitters in
Genevieve Bower (RMAC-leading .500 batting average), DiFabio (.415 with an RMAC-leading five homers to go with 15 RBIs and seven stolen bases), Robb (.410 with 14 RBIs and nine stolen bases),
Miah Hartvigsen (.405) and
Miki Berg (6-for-7 in the Black Hills State series).
"You could tell we settled in and had much tougher at-bats," Van Wetzinga said. "The first day of the series we took advantage of some good pitches to hit and hit balls hard, but the second day the pitchers were better at spotting their pitches and I would have liked to see us adjust sooner, but we found a way to score a lot of runs in different ways, using our speed and stringing singles together."
In the circle,
Cheyenne Prieto and
Natalie Romero both had solid outings and
Jenna Medhus – the 2023 RMAC Co-Freshman of the Year – got her first extended work of the season, appearing in relief three times and allowing just one run in 6 2/3 innings.
"We're taking it slowly with her, making sure she's healthy and ready to go," Van Wetzinga said. "We want to make sure she's gotten the practice and bullpen time, as well as facing hitters in practice, that you need. She's feeling good."
MSU Denver, on a five-game winning streak, is 9-5 overall and 4-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
New Mexico Highlands is 5-4 overall and 1-3 in the RMAC, and Van Wetzinga is hoping her team can rely on its experience in its first league road trip of the season.
"I want us to go down and have the same focus and energy and team approach as we did last weekend," she said. "We'll have to get out of our comfort zone on the road, and Highlands is always scrappy. They have good athletes and they'll provide more of a challenge because they can do a little more.
"It's a challenge to show up for four games in a row against the same team, and hopefully that's where our experience and maturity will step in."
Meanwhile Fort Hays State, picked to finish eighth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, is 6-2 heading into a six-game weekend tournament. The Tigers sport an impressive 1.30 team ERA.
"Fort Hays had a good year last year when we split with them," Van Wetzinga said. "And it does look like they are pitching well. It will help prepare us for our series with Regis (March 2-3) and keep us sharp."
