Denver – The Metropolitan State University of Denver baseball team defeated New Mexico Highlands 6-2 in game one of a four-game series on Friday afternoon to move to 3-2 in RMAC play. The Cowboys fell to 2-3 in conference. 

Junior Beecher Strube (Casper, WY/Kelly Walsh High School ) took the mound for the Roadrunners.  Strube retired nine of the first ten batters that he faced holding the Cowboys scoreless through till the seventh inning.

MSU Denver outhit the Cowboys 2-1 in the first two innings, but it wasn't until the bottom of the third that the Roadrunners made a break through.  Senior Jake Thurston (Centennial, Colo./Grandview H.S.) started off in the inning hitting a single through the left side.  Senior Jake Ekman (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge H.S.) was then walked. Junior Hunter Donaldson (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge H.S.) then followed hitting a bomb out of the park for a three run home run, putting the Roadrunners up 3-0.

With a scoreless fourth inning for both sides, the Roadrunners would make it back on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. Junior Donny Ortiz Jr. scored the first run on a wild pitch, following with Thurston scoring on a wild pitch.  A single from Junior Sean Kennedy (Aurora, Colo./Grandview High School) would send the last run of the inning home, with Donaldson scoring his second run of the game.

The last of the scoring would come in the top of the seventh inning with the Cowboys putting two of the board off two hits to cut the Roadrunners lead to 6-2.

Junior Jordan Smith (Aurora, Colo./Cherokee Trail H.S.) and Senior Josh Moore (Grand Junction, Colo./Grand Junction H.S.) ended the game at pitcher for the Roadrunners holding the Cowboys to a scoreless eighth and ninth inning.

MSU Denver will take on New Mexico Highlands in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 11 at The Regency Athletic Complex.  First pitch is scheduled for 12 noon.