Denver— The Metropolitan State University of Denver baseball team played a doubleheader against Regis University on Saturday afternoon at the Regency Athletic Complex. MSU Denver lost the first game 1-0, and won the second game 4-0 to split the doubleheader and improve to 2-1 on the weekend's series. MSU Denver is now 11-14 on the season and 7-8 in the RMAC, and Regis is now 11-16 on the season and 5-10 in the RMAC.
Sophomore
Javi Vega (Chula Vista, Calif./Castle Park H.S.) took the mound for the Roadrunners in game one of the doubleheader, making his sixth start and sixth appearance of the season. Game one proved to be a pitcher's duel, with both teams going scoreless through the first six innings. Vega pitched six and one-third innings, allowing seven hits and one unearned run with two walks and three strikeouts.
The Roadrunners mounted some offense in the bottom of the sixth inning, with junior
Jake Thurston (Centennial, Colo./Grandview H.S.) leading off the inning with a double to right field. Thurston moved to third on a grounder from sophomore
Hunter Donaldson (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge H.S.), but was stranded 90 feet from home.
In the top of the seventh inning the Rangers responded with some offense of their own, putting a runner on third and scoring the sole run of the game on an MSU Denver error. The 1-0 lead would prove to be enough for Regis to take game one of the doubleheader, with Vega taking the tough loss to fall to 3-2 on the season.
Junior lefty
Ryan Baca (Loveland, Colo./Loveland H.S.) started for MSU Denver in game two of the doubleheader, making his third start and tenth appearance of the season. Baca pitched masterfully, not allowing a hit until the sixth inning. Baca pitched the full seven innings in a complete game shutout, allowing no runs on only three hits with no walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts to earn his first win of the season, improving to 1-4.
The Roadrunners got things moving early in game two, plating a run in the bottom of the first frame. Junior
Reilly Mau (Longmont, Colo./Longmont H.S.) reached first after being hit in the back by a pitch, before junior
Andrew Paust (Parker, Colo./Ponderosa H.S.) ripped a double to right-center to score Mau and give the Roadrunners a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth inning the Roadrunners mounted some more offense to extend their lead to 2-0. Donaldson led off the inning with a single, and advanced to third on a fly ball and a ground out. In the next at-bat junior
Marcus Bean (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain H.S.) singled to score Donaldson from third.
In the bottom of the fifth inning the Roadrunners added to their lead, scoring two more runs. After recording two quick outs, MSU Denver mounted a two-out rally. Senior
Jeff Levett (Parker, Colo./Chaparral H.S.) drew a walk on four straight balls, and then advanced to third on a double from Mau. Donaldson followed up with another double down the third base line to score Levett and Mau to put MSU Denver up 4-0. MSU Denver held on to the 4-0 lead to win the second game of the doubleheader.
MSU Denver will complete the four-game series against Regis Sunday at noon at the Regency Athletic Complex.
