Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Photo Gallery

DENVER, Colo. - Metro State swept Colorado State-Pueblo at home on Friday in baseball, winning game one 9-7 on a walk-off home run by pinch hitter Evan Claus (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado H.S.) and game two 6-5.  The Roadrunners improved to 14-14 overall and 11-6 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while CSUP fell to 15-15 overall and 9-8 in the RMAC.

Game One
Late inning struggles nearly cost Metro State an excellent start from Jake Draeger (Oak Grove, Minn./St. Francis H.S.), but Claus' long ball saved the game.  Draeger allowed four runs in 5.1 innings, but just one through the first five innings.  CSU-Pueblo scored in the top of the first after a leadoff double by Mark Sayas.  But Draeger responded with four straight scoreless innings, allowing the offense to take over.

Metro State scored one in the bottom of the third after a leadoff single by Jacob Trimble (Danville, Ill./Schlarman H.S.) to tie the game.

The Roadrunners scored five times in the fourth to lead 6-1.  Four straight batters reached with one out as the first run was forced in when David Kaplan (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty H.S.) was hit by a pitch.  After a passed ball scored a run and a strikeout, Eric Lopez (Hayden, Ariz./Hayden H.S.) hit a two-run single up the middle and Chris Redding (Northglenn, Colo./Northglenn H.S.) ripped a triple to right-center to score Lopez.

Bradshaw Perry (Aurora, Colo./Cherokee Trail H.S.) scored on a passed ball in the fifth to stretch the lead to 7-1.  But the ThunderWolves got to Draeger in the sixth with four runs to cut the lead to 7-5.

After Metro State went scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, CSUP added two unearned runs against reliever Ross MacDonald (Las Vegas, Nev./Bonanza H.S.).

Cody Henry (Thornton, Colo./Legacy H.S.) hit a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh.  After a fly out to center by Jordan Stouffer (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain H.S.), Claus drilled 2-2 pitch over the right-center field wall to win the game.

It was his second pinch hit homer in two games as he hit a pinch hit home run in the ninth inning on Thursday.

Henry led the offense with two hits.

Game Two
Metro State turned to Nate Van Bibber (Littleton, Colo./Douglas County H.S.) to make his first career start in game two.  The junior transfer came through with six innings, while allowing three earned runs and striking out three.

The Roadrunners jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first as David Fox (Lakewood, Colo./Faith Christian H.S.), whose 19-game hitting streak came to an end in the first game, laced an RBI triple to right-center and Stouffer followed with a double to left-center.

The ThunderWolves answered with two unearned runs in the top of the second.

Stouffer put Metro State back in front with a solo home run with one out in the third and the Roadrunners added another in the fourth on a base hit by Everett Altman (Wheat Ridge, Colo./Wheat Ridge H.S.).

Metro State stranded a Fox in the fifth after a one-out double.  But Redding hit a two-run double with two outs in the sixth, scoring Henry and Lopez, who reached on consecutive walks earlier in the inning.

Van Bibber ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing the first three batters to reach, before giving way to Tony Weber (Elizabeth, Colo./Elizabeth H.S.).  Weber got a ground out that scored the second run of the inning, cutting the lead to 6-4.  But he allowed a base hit by Austin Roff that cut the lead to one.  MacDonald came on for the final two outs.  After surrendering a base hit, he got a flyout and a strikeout to end the game for his third save of the season.

The two teams will meet again at Metro State on Saturday for one nine-inning game beginning at noon.