DENVER – The pitching was there, and the defense usually was, too.
 
Now, during the second weekend of the season, the MSU Denver softball team is looking to get its offense untracked.
 
It won't be easy, since the Roadrunners are playing host this weekend to St. Mary's (Texas) and St. Edward's (Texas), teams that finished last season in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
MSU Denver plays host to St. Mary's on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., to St. Edward's in an 11 a.m. doubleheader on Friday, and to St. Mary's again in a doubleheader on Saturday at noon.
 
"We have two quality Texas teams coming in," MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "Sometimes it's hard to get Lone Star (Conference) teams to travel north to us, but we have good relationships with both of these coaches and programs. We're excited to host them and get in as many games as we can. These teams are talented and well-coached."
 
MSU Denver went 2-3 last weekend at the D2 First Pitch Invitational, despite batting just .189 with only two extra-base hits.
 
"The biggest thing glaring is that our bats have to get going," Van Wetzinga said. "It wasn't so much baserunners, it was team offense – situational hitting, moving runners, stringing hits together. We've got to be able to battle. We had too many strikeouts. I think we started to press and then hitters started trying to do too much.
 
"We saw a lot of good pitching out of the gate. And that can be tough, but we've got to work through that better. We have too much talent and experience to have the results we did."
 
One of the wins was a potentially huge 2-0 victory over eighth-ranked Texas-Tyler, which won last year's regional tournament and advanced to the eight-team NCAA Championships.
 
"What the Tyler win shows is what we're capable of," Van Wetzinga said.
 
Senior outfielder Shelby Robb had a team-best four RBIs while batting .357 and leading the team with four stolen bases.
 
"Shelby Robb is doing typical Shelby Robb stuff," Van Wetzinga said.
 
The Roadrunners' offense also got a lift from catcher Genevieve Bower, a part-time player last season behind Jaiden Geist who matched her 2023 total with four hits last weekend while batting .400.
 
"Genevieve Bower came out swinging, which was really nice to see," Van Wetzinga said. "We don't lose a whole lot with her defensively at catcher, so I want to get her those (offensive) opportunities. She's capable of hitting like that. Like anybody, you just have to get in a good groove, trust it and take advantage of it when you get the opportunity."
 
The Roadrunners were strong in the circle, with a 2.55 ERA, with junior Audrey Burt (1-1, one save, 3.32 ERA) and freshman Natalie Romero (1-1, 1.27) leading the way.
 
"I was really happy with our pitching, especially Audrey and Natalie," Van Wetzinga said. "They were consistent and threw well – and obviously Audrey came up with a really big performance against Tyler, shutting them out and going a full seven against a traditionally really good lineup. And then she came in during a tight situation against Texas Woman's and closed it out.
 
"Natalie, as a freshman, threw with a lot of maturity, toughness and steadiness. She's not afraid."
 
Both St. Mary's (3-4) and St. Edward's (1-4) also played in the same tournament as MSU Denver and have also struggled slightly offensively, with St. Edward's in particular having offensive numbers similar to MSU Denver's.
 
"There was good pitching there," Van Wetzinga said. "And typically, pitchers have the edge at the beginning of the year. It's harder to strike people out later in the season – they've gotten better, figure out how to foul things off and battle.
 
"It's a good tournament, one of the best in the country, so it's not shocking that the numbers for a lot of teams are down."