Denver, Colo.- The Metropolitan State University of Denver's baseball team faced the UCCS Mountain Lions and the Regis Rangers on Sunday, April 9. The Roadrunners won the first game against the Mountain Lions 6-2. The Roadrunners lost the second game against the Rangers 13-5. The Roadrunners fall to 16-18 overall and 12-12 in the RMAC.
 
In the first game the Roadrunners faced the UCCS Mountain Lions with the Roadrunners having a strong start in the bottom of the first. With senior Jake Ekman (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge H.S.) on third base and senior Trent Maloney (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County H.S.) on second, junior Sean Kennedy (Aurora, Colo./Grandview High School) hit a home run to bring the score to 3-0 for MSU Denver.
 
The Mountain Lions answered back in the top of the third when Regis Ranger, Martinez doubled to center field and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Zach Hall then hit one to center field bringing Martinez in to score.
 
The Roadrunners continued to extend their lead over the Mountain Lions in the the fourth inning when Ekman singled to first base and then stole second. Maloney then singled and advanced to second on the throw while Ekman scored. With Maloney on third, junior Cale O'Donnell (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain H.S.) singled down the right side as Maloney scored. MSU Denver ended the fourth inning with a 5-1 lead over UCCS.
 
In the bottom of the sixth inning the with senior Jake Thurston (Centennial, Colo./Grandview H.S.) on base Maloney singled down the right side as Thurston scored. The Roadrunners finished out the sixth inning with a score of 6-1 over the Mountain Lions.
 
In top of the eighth the Mountain Lions attempted to make a comeback. With Mallon on first base and Ludwig on third, Bryan Chapin doubled to left field advancing Mallon to second base and bringing Ludwig in to score. The Mountain Lions left the top of eighth inning with three runners on base and trailing the Roadrunners 6-2.
 
The Roadrunners held off the Mountain Lions to end the game 6-2.
 
In the second game the Roadrunners faced the Regis University Rangers.
 
Regis had a strong first inning. Fabricant hit a double to left field to lead off for the Rangers. Logan Heflebower followed hitting a home run to bring the score to 2-0. With Christian Bitar on third, Andrew Bryniarsk on second, and Geordy Smith on first, Chris Kobar doubled to center field while Bitar, Bryniarsk, and Smith scored. The Rangers ended the top of the inning with a 5-0 lead over the Roadrunners.
 
Senior Jake Thurston (Centennial, Colo./Grandview H.S.) hit one out of the park to lead off the first inning for the Roadrunners. He brought the score to 5-1 with the Rangers still leading.
 
In the top of the second inning Heflebower doubled to right center and then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Josh Newell singled to center field bringing Heflebower home to score. With Bryniarsk on second and Garrett Skillings on first, Smith hit a double bringing Bryniarsk home to score. Smith then scored on a Roadrunners error. The Rangers extended their lead to 8-1 over the Roadrunners.
 
In the top of the third with Fabricant on base, Newell hit a home run to further extend the Rangers lead to 10-1 over the Roadrunners.
 
In the bottom of the third inning with junior Donny Ortiz Jr. and Thurston on base, Ekman flied out to center field and brought Ortiz Jr. home to score.
 
The Roadrunners continued to strike back in the bottom of the fourth inning. With O'Donnell on second, Donaldson doubled to center field bringing O'Donnell in to score. The Roadrunners entered the fifth inning still trailing the Rangers 10-3.
 
MSU Denver continued to climb back in the top of the bottom of the fifth. With Ekman on second base, senior Marcus Bean (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain H.S.) singled up the middle and brought Ekman home to score. This brought the score to 10-4 with the Rangers still in the lead.
 
Regis put up two runs in the top of the seventh to extend their lead over the Roadrunners to 12-4.
 
In the ninth inning Newell hit a homerun to further extend the Rangers lead over the Roadrunners to 13-4.
 
The Roadrunners would not back down in the ninth inning when Maloney hit a double down the right field line to bring Thurston in to score however that would not be enough as the Rangers earned the 13-5 win over the Roadrunners.
 
The Roadrunners will travel to Greeley, Colo. on Friday April 14 where they will face University of Northern Colorado at 12 p.m.