LAKEWOOD, CO- The Cougars returned to All Star Park on Thursday after three straight series away from home to take on RMAC rivals MSU Denver. Led by shutdown pitching and opportunistic hitting, CCU surged to victories of 8-0 in five innings and 7-0 to blank the Roadrunners and make it 32 straight wins.

GAME ONE
Kat Hanson continued her torrid hitting with a leadoff double in the first, and she would come around to score on an RBI groundout from pitcher Felesha LePenske. A second inning surge saw Sarah Dollerschell notch an RBI single, Peyton Marvel scored on a wild pitch and Hanson singled home Dollerschell for an early 4-0 advantage. 

The pitching from LePenske remained excellent, and another big inning for the bats in the fourth put the game out of reach. Hanson tallied another RBI with a single, and Elyse McMullin was able to bring two more home after a single and MSUD error. LePenske put her team in mercy-rule territory with one more run-scoring base hit to make it 8-0, and an incredible double play turn by McMullin in the fifth ended the game in favor of the Cougars in just 59 minutes. 

LePenske improved to 14-0 in the circle with a complete game shutout with five strikeouts and just three hits allowed, and she and Hanson powered the offense with a pair of RBI each.  

GAME TWO 
Arriana Wright gave her team a jolt in the first as she worked the count full and found a pitch she liked, blasting the ball deep over the center field fence for a 2-0 lead. Dollerschell picked up a sac fly in the second, while Hanson doubled home Paisley Williamson to extend the advantage to 4-0.

Lisa Liddell got the start in the circle and blanked the Roadrunners, tossing a complete game for the eventual victory. Her team helped her out with more insurance runs in the fifth on a two-run homer from LePenske, and Hanson capped the scoring with an RBI single in the sixth to seal the 7-0 victory for CCU. 

Hanson was nearly perfect at the plate in the two games today, going 5-6 with four RBI to improve her season batting average to an unheard of .518. Wright and LePenske continued to do damage with their two-run homers, while Liddell picked up win #10 on the year with a complete game effort. 

The Cougars will look for the series sweep tomorrow, April 3 as they host the Roadrunners in another doubleheader at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. MDT.