Box Score Box Score

DENVER - Metro State suffered an 8-4 loss at home to New Mexico Highlands University in the Thursday opener of a four-game series between the two schools.  With the win, the Cowboys improved to 21-9 overall and 14-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while Metro State falls to 9-18 and 6-15.

After a scoreless first inning, Highlands jumped on the scoreboard first with a lead off solo home run by Eric Maupin in the second.  The Cowboys added to their lead with a five-run fourth inning and pushed it to 7-0 with a run-scoring double steal in the fifth inning.  With one run in the seventh inning, Highlands concluded their scoring and increased the lead to 8-0.

The bats finally came alive for the Roadrunners in the eighth inning as they used five straight hits to earn back three runs, sparked by an RBI double from Alex Schrupp (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit H.S.).  Metro State added one more run later in the inning with a two-out Gavin Purvis (Albuquerque, N.M./Cibola H.S.) single, trimming the lead to 8-4.

After placing two Roadrunners on base in the ninth, the New Mexico Highlands countered with a pitching change bringing in Oscar Almeida to earn the last out and the save. 

Alex Schrupp (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit H.S.) led the way offensively for Metro with three hits and Baca finished with two. Defensively, Erik Cammall (San Diego, Calif./St. Augustine H.S.) had a busy day with seven assists and a bases loaded, diving catch in the third inning.

Justin Arceneaux (Chino, Calif./Don Antonio Lugo H.S.) was saddled with the loss, allowing seven runs on nine hits in five innings of work.

Metro State will continue their series with New Mexico Highlands with a double-header on Saturday.