DENVER, Colo. –  The Black Hills State University softball team fell to MSU-Denver (18-19, 13-8 RMAC) and Dixie State (24-8, 18-7 RMAC) in the opening day of the conference tripod, on Saturday afternoon.
 
Game 1: MSUD 8, BHSU 5
The Yellow Jackets (9-18, 6-13 RMAC) jumped on the board in the first after the top three batters loaded the bases with no outs.  Dominique DiManna stepped up to the plate to hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Samantha Schoen before a throwing error brought in Katelyn Odle, giving BHSU a 2-0 lead.
 
Freshman Crystal Amaral kept the Green and Gold's momentum going, knocking her first career homerun over the left center fence in the second inning.  BHSU held the Roadrunners in the bottom of the inning as DiManna threw the runner out at home from right field for the final out.
 
MSU-Denver added a run in the fourth to cut BHSU's lead before breaking away with a grand slam by Laney Sheppard, giving the Roadrunners the lead.  MSUD tagged on three more runs to take advantage of an 8-3 lead. 
 
Pinch hitter McKayla Perry led off the top of the seventh with a double to right center for the Yellow Jackets.  Three straight singles by BHSU bridged the Roadrunners lead to 8-5, but BHSU was unable to continue the comeback as MSUD took the conference win.
 
Julia Heitz (6-5) earned the victory for the Roadrunners, allowing three runs (two earned), in 5.1 innings, while Kylee Burnside recorded the save.  Alex Wiley (3-7) received the loss, allowing five runs (five earned). 
 
Caitlyn Graves and Kindall Bethke led the Green and Gold with two hits each, while Schoen, Odle, and Wiley each totaled a hit.
 
Game 2: DSU 3, BHSU 1
For the second time of the day, the Yellow Jackets jumped on the board in the first inning.  After loading the bases, Alex Wiley singled to the pitcher to bring in Kindall Bethke from third to take a 1-0 lead over Dixie State.  The Trailblazers responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double by Bailey Gaffin to tie up the game before adding another two runs in the third to take a 3-1 lead over the Yellow Jackets.
 
BHSU's defense held Dixie State over the next three innings to keep the Trailblazers lead to two.  Caitlyn Graves led off the top of the seventh with a walk to put a runner on base for the Green and Gold.  Unable to keep the bats going, the Yellow Jackets would ultimately fall, 3-1.
 
Carissa Burgess (14-3) earned the win for Dixie State, allowing one run, four hits and striking out five through seven complete innings.  Crystal Amaral (6-5) recorded the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) and four hits in six innings.
 
Kindall Bethke led BHSU with two hits and one run, while Samantha Schoen also recorded one hit.
 
The Yellow Jackets will be back in action tomorrow afternoon to take on the Trailblazers and Roadrunners to complete the weekend series.  First pitch against Dixie State is slated for 1 p.m.