DENVER – One of the hottest-hitting teams in Division II softball is headed off to face a team that kept its offense somewhat in check last season.
 
MSU Denver, which leads the country in hits (237) and doubles (57) while ranking fifth in runs (171), ninth in batting (.365) and 12^th in slugging percentage (.566), plays a four-game series at Chadron State, with doubleheaders set for Saturday at noon and Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
"We're really balanced," MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said. "We have a lot of pieces. It's not just about who starts the game. We have other people we can put in the game to help us out. We can try different lineups. That's what makes us special. It's not the same people every weekend that you hear about – hitters or pitchers, different people step up."
 
MSU Denver (19-5 overall, 12-0 and first in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) has matched last year's team for the second-longest winning streak in program history at 15 games. The record is 17 in a row, by the 2010 team that reached the semifinals of the national tournament.
 
Last year's long winning streak was snapped by … Chadron State. The Eagles captured the final game of the series 9-6 and were also beaten in low-scoring games of 3-1 and 1-0.
 
"Last year their pitchers did a nice job of hitting spots and wouldn't give you a lot of great pitches to hit," Van Wetzinga said. "You have to take what they give you and not try to do too much with it.
 
"I expect low-scoring games. Their pitchers are really consistent. Now we go on the road, and like every other weekend you're playing four games against a team that also has pride and wants to win, and it can be a battle."
 
Individually, MSU Denver has gotten high-quality production from many of the same players who have been two-, three- and four-year starters.
 
Shortstop Hannah DiFabio is tied for the national lead with 12 doubles and is 12^th with 62 total bases. Left fielder Shelby Robb is fourth nationally with 11 doubles, and leads the RMAC in batting (.486) and hits – she's eighth nationally with 34. First baseman Miah Hartvigsen ranks third in the league in on-base percentage (.545).
 
"Maturity and experience," Van Wetzinga said. "When you have those two things, you don't make anything too big or too small. You show up and be who you are, and you work together. We have really good team chemistry this year, and that's important. It's talent, experience and maturity."
 
Chadron State is only 5-17 overall, but is a solid 5-7 in league play. The Eagles opened the season with 10 games in Florida and lost their first two league games, dropping to 0-12, before recovering nicely. Their ERA is 4.43 overall, including 3.22 in RMAC games.

"That's always tough, especially when you're a Northern team," Van Wetzinga said of their season-opening road trip. "My guess is they hadn't been outside much, if at all, before that. They've been doing better in conference, playing a lot of low-scoring games."
 
MSU Denver also has a chance to match, or exceed, last year's team's mark of 15 straight wins to start league play. The 2017 team was 14-0, and the 2010 team 13-0, in other fast starts to RMAC activity.
 
"What feels good is how they're playing and that they're playing together," Van Wetzinga said. "First place and our record in conference is just the result of that.
 
"Up and down the lineup we're having really solid at-bats. In the past maybe we've felt like, 'Hey, if these one or two people aren't on, we might be in trouble,' but we're not in that space anymore. The biggest thing is that we've been really steady and consistent with our approach. We've seen different types of pitchers try to attack us in different ways, and for the most part we've been good at working through any adjustments that we have to make."