DENVER – MSU Denver coach
Ryan Strain has added four transfers to the baseball roster at the semester break and all have been cleared to play this season.
Catcher
Matt Malkin (Broomfield, Colo./Monarch) and right-handed pitchers
Carter Akerfelds (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge),
TJ Egloff (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) and
Gannon Reiswig (Austin, Texas/Vista Ridge) will all be on the roster this weekend when the Roadrunners travel to California for a three-game series with Cal State San Marcos to open the season.
"We're excited to add the four guys we've added, especially when you've got three guys who are going to help our pitching staff and then a guy (Malkin) from the University of Alabama who started several games in the SEC," Strain said. "That's a big deal for us."
Malkin, 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, is a senior from Broomfield, Colo., and Monarch High School who played junior college ball before spending last season at Alabama. He appeared in 33 games for the Crimson Tide, starting 26, while hitting .263 with four homers, 17 RBIs and a .753 OPS. He appeared in 16 league games, starting 13, with hitting .224. He homered in back-to-back games against Alabama-Birmingham and Texas A&M.
As a sophomore at Paradise Valley (Ariz.) Community College, he set single-season school records for homers (10), RBIs (51) and doubles (20) and he also holds the career records in those categories with 20, 83 and 27, respectively. He's third all-time for Paradise Valley with 116 hits. He is a former high school teammate of Roadrunners pitcher-outfielder
Logan Soole (Louisville, Colo./Monarch), a preseason All-RMAC pick.
"He and
Taylor Petersen (Gilbert, Ariz./Highland) (from LSU), two guys who have played in the SEC, are playing for us," Strain said. "There aren't a lot of teams in the RMAC who can add that to the roster."
Akerfelds, 6-2 and 185, is the nephew of former major league pitcher Darrel Akerfelds. The sophomore from Littleton, Colo. (Dakota Ridge HS) posted a 6.59 ERA with 18 strikeouts while allowing only five hits in 13 2/3 innings pitched last season for Iowa Western Community College. As a senior at Dakota Ridge, he was 4-3 with a 3.88 ERA while striking out 66 in 57 2/3 innings.
Egloff, 6-5 and 230, is a junior from Brighton, Colo., who played two seasons at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, where as a sophomore he struck out 16 in 8 1/3 innings despite a 7.56 ERA. He struck out 24 in 13 2/3 innings as a freshman while posting a 4.61 ERA. He was primarily a position player as a high school senior, hitting .361.
Reiswig, 6-4 and 205, a junior from Austin, Texas, was 3-2 with a 6.95 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings last season at Panola (Texas) College. As a freshman for the Ponies he was 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 26 innings.
"All four of those guys should have major roles for us," Strain said. "Matty will compete to play a lot of innings behind the plate, and the three pitchers will be counted upon to get extensive innings. All four should be impact guys for us this spring."
The Cal State San Marcos series starts Friday at 2 p.m. MST. Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. MST, with first pitch Sunday at noon MST.
MSU Denver, 22-28 overall last year, including 18-16 and tied for fifth in the RMAC, was picked to finish tied for fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference by league coaches.
