GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – After a thrilling first-round victory earlier in the day and a quick start in the second round, the MSU Denver softball team was unable to sustain the momentum and dropped an 18-5 decision Thursday night against 10^th-ranked and second-seeded Colorado Christian in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
The Roadrunners drop into the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament, and will face Colorado School of Mines in a 12:30 p.m. elimination game on Friday.
 
Third-seeded MSU Denver (41-17) rallied for four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat sixth-seeded CSU Pueblo 6-5 in its first game on Thursday.
 
Then, against Colorado Christian, Shelby Robb and Miah Hartvigsen slugged back-to-back homers in the top of the first to give the Roadrunners a quick 3-0 lead.
 
"I was proud of our hitters and how we came out attacking," MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said.
 
But Colorado Christian, which received a first-round bye, scored 11 first-inning runs to take control. Nine of the runs were unearned after MSU Denver made back-to-back errors.
 
"It doesn't matter who we play … if we don't get tough pitching and solid defense behind our pitchers, you're not going to win in the postseason," Van Wetzinga said.

MSU Denver got two runs in the fourth inning on a homer by Genevieve Bower.

Should MSU Denver win its game Friday against Mines it would play again Friday at 5:30 against the winner of a 10 a.m. elimination game between 24^th-ranked and top-seeded host Colorado Mesa and CSU Pueblo.

"Tomorrow is a new day and it's a double-elimination tournament for a reason," Van Wetzinga said. "I look forward to our team turning the page and coming out attacking tomorrow on both sides of the ball."