DENVER – If last weekend is any indication, the MSU Denver baseball team appears to be in pretty good shape at the catcher position.
 
That, of course, is an understatement.
 
In a three-game sweep of Sioux Falls (S.D.), Matt Malkin (Broomfield, Colo./Monarch) went 8 for 14 with three homers and 11 RBIs. And his cohort, Draven Adame (Lamar, Colo./Lamar), was merely 5 for 9 with one homer and nine RBIs, including hitting for the cycle and driving in eight runs in the series finale.
 
"It's a pretty good spot for us," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Ryan Strain said with a wry smile. "When you have Draven, who has caught as many games as he has, and Matt coming in at semester after catching two years in junior college and starting a lot of games in the SEC, we felt good about the position.
 
"It's a matter of figuring out when to play them, and with the designated hitter spot it allows both of them to be in the lineup – especially when they are hitting well."
 
Both will have their chances again this weekend when Lubbock Christian (Texas) comes to the Regency Athletic Complex for a three-game series that includes a noon doubleheader on Saturday and a noon single game on Sunday. The Chaps are 28^th among teams receiving votes in the NCBWA poll, which makes them the highest-ranked team any Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference team will play this weekend.
 
Despite the damage done, neither Malkin nor Adame was named the RMAC's Offensive Player of the Week. (Really, it's true).
 
Neither cares.
 
"We got the wins, which is the most important thing," said Malkin, who was the player the MSU Denver athletics communications staff nominated (schools can nominate only one).
 
Both said their weekend production was probably the best of their careers.
 
"I've had good weekends before, but nothing to that extent," said Adame, whose cycle was the first in school history. "Hitting for the cycle, that's something completely different."
 
Said Malkin of comparable weekends: "I've been close, but not quite."
 
Both Adame and Malkin are seniors. Adame joined the program last year as a transfer from Lamar (Colo.) Community College. Malkin joined the program at the semester break – last year he was a part-time starter at Alabama of Division I's rugged Southeastern Conference.
 
Though Adame is the Roadrunners' returning starter, he welcomed the idea of competing for playing time with Malkin.
 
"With him coming in, I knew I'd have to push myself to be a better player," Adame said. "And it's actually nice. Last year I caught almost all the games, and having someone who can split the games, even play more than me, that's great. If he deserves it, then he deserves it. As long as we win, that's all that matters."
 
Said Malkin: "The competition makes us better. Shoot, if we're going to fight like this for the rest of the year, I can't wait. But I think we'll both be in the lineup quite a bit, at least for right now."
 
Malkin's road to MSU Denver is an interesting one. After playing at Monarch High School in Louisville, Colo., the right-handed hitter starred for two seasons at Paradise Valley (Ariz.) Community College, drawing the attention of Alabama. He hit .263 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 33 games, starting 26 times for the Crimson Tide.
 
But, he said, he and others were told they were being released after the team's final game of the season.
 
"That was a little bit of a punch in the face," Malkin said. "It's a business, and that's the way things roll."
 
Said Strain: "That's the landscape of Division I baseball right now – especially when there are coaching changes – and there are so many transfers just in general. When a kid isn't recruited by a new coach, usually after a year the new coach will start making different decisions."
 
Malkin spent last semester at NAIA Oklahoma City before transferring close to home and joining the Roadrunners.
 
"Oklahoma City seemed like a good fit, but in the end it wasn't for me," Malkin said. "They had a spot, and I'm trying to be a pilot and they have a good aviation program here. It's been a long road, and it's nice to be at home."
 
An added bonus is that Malkin has been reunited with Roadrunners star left-handed pitcher Logan Soole (Louisville, Colo./Monarch), a long-time summer and high school teammate.
 
"He's been spiking that curveball for years," Malkin said, laughing.
 
Strain remembered Malkin as a solid defensive catcher in his high school days, but when he stepped onto the Regency Athletic Complex for a workout, he'd noticed things had changed.
 
"He's got a good swing, and he's extremely strong," Strain said. "He doesn't have to hit the ball that well and it's going to go – especially at elevation.
 
"When I saw him hit for the first time, and two of his first five or six swings went off our scoreboard to the opposite field, everybody on our team was kind of looking at each other wondering, 'Who the heck is this guy?'"
 
Malkin said it took time for him to grow into his power, which started to happen in junior college when he grew two inches and stepped up his weight training.
 
"You get a little stronger as you go," he said. "It's a long road. Not everything is given to you. I've put a lot of hours into my swing, a lot of hours into catching, a lot of hours into baseball.
 
"I had long arms and long legs and I kind of had to work out the kinks over the years. I stopped looking like a baby deer out there."
 
Obviously, Malkin is looking like more than just a strong defensive addition.
 
"I think he has a chance to be a real force offensively," Strain said. "If you can hit in the SEC, you're probably going to be able to hit in the RMAC. But it's a different type of hitting. You're going to see different types of pitchers, and that's my concern for anybody who transfers here – getting used to how you're being pitched. In the SEC you're going to see 90 (mph)-plus (fastballs) all day long, but here you're going to see a lot of guys who will try to pitch backwards (throw off-speed pitches in situations where hitters typically get fastballs), change speeds and try to get him out of his comfort zone.
 
"There aren't going to be very many guys who are going to be able to throw the ball by him. He's used to seeing that. So they're going to try to keep him off balance, and a lot of times that can be harder to hit. In the SEC or pro ball, you know you're going to get a pretty good fastball. Here, he may go a whole at-bat and not see a lot of good pitches to hit."
 
Strain said Malkin has brought more than just his bat into the program.
 
"He brings a presence," Strain said. "He has a confidence in himself. He can lead. All those things, not just his physical ability, have been a big plus for us."
 
The Roadrunners' top two catchers have developed a good relationship even though they are in some ways competing for playing time.
 
"If there's anybody who can handle it, it's Draven," Strain said. "Because he understands what we're trying to do with the program. My job is to try to get the best 35 players we can get. And then we coach them up. And if we do those things well, then it makes the third part of the job – managing the team – extremely difficult, because I'm going to have to make some tough decisions. It's that way with several positions on our team right now.
 
"But Draven saw that there was a good player coming in, and it doesn't mean he isn't going to play. He's going to bust his tail. He's the returning starter and he's not going to give up the position without a fight. He's handled it really well. He and Matt have handled it well together. Part of that is Matt being able to handle it the right way, too. He didn't come in here acting like he knew everything. He's worked for it. He respects Draven and Draven respects him. That's made it a pretty easy transition."
 
Strain thinks that having Malkin available will lead to increased offensive production from Adame, who tailed off and wound up at .253 last season after hitting nearly .300 until the final month of the season.
 
"I think last year, he got worn down down the stretch," Strain said. "He was swinging it pretty well early. Catching three games every weekend, sometimes more, that's tough to do. If there's one person who can, it's him, and he's not going to complain. This year, though, for the most part, if we play four games, we'll have each of them catch two and they'll both have a chance to DH. It will keep them fresher, and they'll be ready to go."
 
Strain said he was thrilled to see Adame hit for the cycle because of the hard work he's put in to make himself into an excellent hitter.
 
"When he got here a year and a half ago, he had a swing with some flaws that needed to be fixed," Strain said. "He was very strong, with a great work ethic, and he competed at the plate harder than anybody, but the mechanical part of his swing needed work. I don't think I've seen anybody – in my playing career or my coaching career – make as many adjustments as he has. If you looked at his swing then compared to now, you wouldn't even think it was the same guy.
 
"That's why one of the coolest moments in my coaching career is to see someone make that many adjustments to make himself a good hitter (and hit for the cycle). His swing is locked in. It looks good. He's not just getting hits – he's taking good swings. That's a testament to him listening and working hard."
 
Said Adame: "A lot of it is just confidence. Coming into this year, my senior year, I decided I'm not going to go out poorly. Go out, play the game. I tell myself, 'I'm a good player.' I've always been able to hit the ball pretty well, but this year it feels like things are starting to come together."
 
As if offense wasn't enough, both catchers are strong defensively, too.
 
"They're both pretty good against the running game," Strain said. "They both throw it well. Teams are probably going to be more reluctant to run on them."
 
It seems unlikely Malkin and Adame will be able to put up the same numbers against Lubbock Christian as they did against Sioux Falls. The Chaps (7-3) are picked to finish second in the Heartland Conference after going 34-20 overall last season.
 
"It's going to be a good challenge," Strain said. "We've talked to several coaches who think they have a chance to be the best (Division II) team in Texas. So it's a big deal. We went down there last year with a completely different team and they beat us up a little bit. It's a big challenge that will let us know where we're at, and it will definitely get us ready for league play."
 
MSU Denver traveled to Lubbock Christian last season and suffered a four-game series sweep.
 
"Lubbock is a really good team," Adame said. "But I don't think they're unbeatable, and I think we've got a better team this year."