Denver — The Metropolitan State University of Denver baseball team lost 8-3 to MSU-Billings in Sunday afternoon's final game of the four-game series.  The Roadrunners fall to 1-6 on the season and the Yellowjackets improve to 6-3.

Sophomore Jared Roley (Littleton, Colo./Heritage H.S.) made his second pitching appearance of the season for MSU Denver, and his first start.  Roley struggled early, giving up three walks and a run in the top of the first.  Roley pitched three innings for the Roadrunners with a total of eight walks and eight runs allowed, seven of which were earned.

Down 8-0, MSU Denver scored its first run in the bottom of the fourth to make it an 8-1 ballgame.  The run was the result of an RBI sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of junior Jake Ekman (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge H.S.), scoring sophomore Hunter Donaldson (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge H.S.).

The Roadrunners would not score again until the eighth inning, when they scored two runs to make it an 8-3 ballgame.  Sophomore Cale O'Donnell (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain H.S.) lined a double with two men on, scoring junior Jake Thurston (Centennial, Colo./Grandview H.S.) from second and advancing junior Derek Stimpson (Colorado Springs/Doherty H.S.) to third.  In the next at-bat, Donaldson hit a sacrifice fly to center plating Stimpson from third.

Senior left-handed pitcher Cameron Stroup (Arvada, Colo./Arvada West H.S.) came into the game for MSU Denver in the top of the fourth inning, replacing Roley on the mound.  Stroup pitched five innings of shutout baseball, allowing only three hits and one walk while tallying three strikeouts.

MSU Denver will open its next home series on Friday, February 26 at noon against Sioux Falls at the Regency Athletic Complex.