DENVER, Colo – Black Hills State softball traveled out to the Mile High City for a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon against MSU Denver, dropping both games to the Roadrunners 6-1 and 11-3.
 
The Yellow Jackets (4-14, 4-14 RMAC) finished the day with 9 hits and 4 runs between both games, but a heavy-hitting MSU Denver tallied 19 hits through the day that gave them 17 runs.
 
Game One (L, 6-1)
Shayla Tuschen pitched all seven innings of game one and held eight strikeouts and only surrendered two earned runs while on the mound in the first game.
 
The Yellow Jackets started this game strong as they held MSU Denver to zero runs and only one hit through the first three innings. At the bottom of the first, a Shylee Moxey walk and second-base steal got things started for BHSU, with Kayla Lee walking on the next at-bat to put two on bases for the Yellow Jackets. 

A Tuschen grounder, however, led to a double play that pinned Moxey on third base. Facing two outs, Ashlynn Pauwels cracked a single to center field that sent Moxey home to give BHSU an early 1-0 lead before their side retired. 
 
The Roadrunners, however, took control of the game after a three-hit frame at the top of the fourth gave them three runs to take the lead. Both sides were quiet heading into the sixth, where MSU Denver capitalized on a left-field double to send two runners home to expand their lead to 5-1.
 
Holding BHSU to zero hits for the remainder of the first game, MSU Denver's Shelby Robb hit a left-field home run to secure the final run of the match, giving the Roadrunners the 6-1 victory in the first.
 
Game Two (L, 11-3)
Gianna Haley and Taylor Klein led BHSU in game two with a pair of hits and a single run each, with Taylor recording an RBI. Sydney Barner recorded the third run for BHSU and a walk in her game two performance.
 
The Roadrunners tallied two runs in each inning to lead 8-0 at the bottom of the fourth. The Yellow Jackets fought valiantly in the bottom of the fourth, however, as a Haley walk led to two stolen bases to set her up on third, where a Taylor Klein left-field single set up the Haley score.
 
Following a Mikayla Johnson single, a walk allowed Shylee Moxey to lock in another run for BHSU while a sacrifice hit from Kayla Lee allowed Klein to reach home plate, bringing the score to 8-3 before the side retired.
 
BHSU was held to two earned hits for the remainder of the game while the Roadrunners secured three runs of their own on five hits, bringing the final score to 11-3 to end the afternoon.
 
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets return to the field tomorrow morning to kick off another double-header against MSU Denver with both games slated for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.