DENVER - Metropolitan State University of Denver earned a 9-0 win over Sioux Falls on Sunday to earn a three-game sweep over the Cougars at The Regency Athletic Complex. The Roadrunners improved to 5-4 this season, while USF dropped to 0-3.

Julian Garcia (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge H.S.) pitched six shutout innings, scattering four hits and striking out nine. Kris Lalk (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain H.S.) tossed two scoreless innings and Josh Moore (Grand Junction, Colo./Grand Junction H.S.) struck out two in a perfect ninth inning as the trio combined on the shutout.

Jake Thurston (Centennial, Colo./Grandview H.S.) and Trent Maloney (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County H.S.) each went 3-for-4 at the plate. Thurston scored twice and drove in two runs and Maloney also scored twice, while driving in one.

The game was scoreless until MSU Denver struck for four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Hunter Donaldson (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge H.S.) doubled to left-center, scoring Maloney for the first run of the game. Thurston had a two-run single up the middle and Jeff Levett (Parker, Colo./Chaparral H.S.) added a run-scoring single later in the inning.

Maloney's leadoff triple in the seventh led to a two-run inning and a 6-0 lead. MSU Denver added three more in the eighth, highlighted by back-to-back RBI doubles from Mitch Gibbons (Franktown, Colo./Ponderosa H.S.) and Darryl Baca (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.).

The Roadrunners will open conference play in two weeks at Colorado School of Mines.