CHADRON, Neb. – MSU Denver rallied to score the tying run in the top of the seventh inning and then added the game-winner in the top of the eighth on Sunday to defeat Chadron State 5-4 in the first game of a doubleheader to break the program-record winning streak with its 18
th in a row.
Then the Roadrunners extended the mark to 19 in a row with an 11-2 victory in the nightcap, which was shortened to five innings due to the eight-run rule.
"It's very cool," MSU Denver coach
Annie Van Wetzinga said. "There's been a lot of good teams in the history of Roadrunner softball. For this team to break the win-streak record is pretty special. They're a special group."
The previous program record of 17 in a row was set by the historic 2010 team that was 53-6 and reached the semifinals of the Division II National Tournament. That team's streak was from April 10 through May 2.
MSU Denver, now 23-5 overall, is 16-0 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, already three games better than Colorado Christian, which is ranked No. 9 in the country. The Roadrunners are now off to their best start in league play in program history as well – last year's team started 15-0.
"I'm really proud of this team," Van Wetzinga said. "Getting the first win today wasn't easy. Their pitcher was mixing (pitches) well and we had a lot of hard hits right at them."
Shelby Robb stayed red-hot with a three-run homer in the third inning, but Chadron State rallied and took a 4-3 lead into the seventh.
Aaliyah Arellano led off the inning with a single, and then pinch-runner
Lexi Gephart moved up to second on a sacrifice by
Jaiden Geist, then scored on
Katie Maney's clutch RBI single. Maney was 3-for-3 in the opener, 4-for-5 for the day and 8-for-12 with six RBIs during the four-game series sweep.
In the eighth, Robb led off with a single, moved to third on
Miah Hartvigsen's ground out, and scored on
Jenna Medhus' single.
Natalie Romero (4-1) pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings for the win in relief of Medhus, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out four.
"Jenna had some tough luck and Natalie came in and shut it down to finish," Van Wetzinga said. "Both worked hard in the circle to keep us in it until our offense could break through late.
"We had great team offense to get runners on, move them into scoring position, and then Katie and Jenna came up with huge hits for the tying and winning hits. Those were really mature, clutch at bats."
Robb, who had six hits in two games Saturday, had two hits – including a homer – in each game Sunday to extend her hitting streak to 14 games, during which she is batting .622 (28-for-45). For the season she actually went down (slightly) Sunday while staying at .506 (44-for-87) after going 4-for-8. For the series she batted .588 (10-for-17) with 11 RBIs.
She hit her second three-run homer of the day in the first inning of the second game, getting the scoring parade started again.
Miah Hartvigsen and
Genevieve Bower were both 3-for-3, with Bower driving in three runs.
Maddy Wilson (5-1) pitched a five-inning complete game, allowing two runs on six hits, with one walk and three strikeouts.
MSU Denver will look to continue its streak in a four-game series at CSU Pueblo scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
