The MSU Denver Roadrunners closed out their home Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference softball series against Chadron State College on Sunday, winning games three and four in the series to improve to 26-13 (14-8 RMAC).
The Eagles dropped to 6-30, with a 5-19 RMAC record.
Chadron State grabbed an early lead, then fell behind, but it nearly recovered its deficit late, falling just short 7-6 in the morning game.
CSC freshman Aliyah Rothstein was the first to reach base on a bunt with one out in the first inning. The speedy outfielder crossed home plate on the next at-bat, when Paige Propp doubled her in.
The Roadrunners answered, with the aid of a CSC fielding error, when pitcher Audrey Burt doubled home three unearned runs with two outs showing to make it 3-1.
The Eagles took one run back in the third on a Jessie Henchenski double, but once again, the MSUD side answered, with three more runs on four base hits, making it 6-2.
Following a one-run fifth for the Roadrunners, CSC second baseman Addison Spears hit her second home run of the day in the sixth, and pinch-hitter Paige Edwards collected an RBI on a groundout, but it was one too few for the Eagles, who went down one, two, three in the seventh.
Burt improved to 9-5 for MSUD, while Destinee Lopez earned her first save of the season in two innings.
CSC’s Tia Kohl fell to 2-14.
In the afternoon contest, CSC pounced again in its first at bat, scoring three runs on five base hits.
However, MSUD piled up runs in five of six innings, on its way to an 11-3, six inning game.
The Roadrunners scored on multiple-run home runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. The final one was a walkoff, three-run shot by Kami Grammerstorf.
Sarah Norton earned the win for the Roadrunners, improving to 8-3 on the season in a six-inning complete game, while CSC’s Gabby Russell dropped to 1-5.
Chadron State is back at home on Saturday, April 9, hosting Adams State University in a four-game series.