LAS VEGAS, N.M. – When it rains hits, it pours runs. When it pours runs, wins are easier to come by.

That was the formula for success on Saturday for the Metropolitan State University of Denver baseball team, which pounded out 20 hits in a 25-8 road win over New Mexico Highlands.

Zach Walsh (Austin, Texas/Vista Ridge) and mighty Matt Malkin (Broomfield, Colo./Monarch) both put up massive stat lines, as Walsh was 3-for-3 with three runs and seven RBIs while Malkin went 5-for-6 with three runs of his own and six RBIs. Draven Adame (Lamar, Colo./Lamar) knocked in three, going 2-for-4 and scoring four times, while Chase Anderson (Littleton, Colo./Columbine) scored thrice and had two hits and two ribbies in six at-bats. Zach Paschke (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) and Cade Peters (Stockton, Calif./St. Mary's) each crossed home plate four times, making it a whopping six Roadrunners who scored at least three runs each.

Malkin's numbers continue to impress, as the senior slugger is now hitting a team-leading .421 on the year. His totals of eight homers and 27 RBIs each rank second in the RMAC, while he leads the league with an .895 slugging percentage. Meanwhile, Malkin's OPS has climbed to an otherworldly 1.347.

The Roadrunners (9-7, 3-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) took advantage of six errors from the Cowboys, (7-10, 0-5 RMAC), as 10 of MSU Denver's 25 runs were unearned. Even with errors from the opposing defense, though, the hits still have to come in order to produce runs – and Saturday, they did.

MSU Denver wasted no time in getting to New Mexico Highlands starting pitcher Kyle Bedsole, as leadoff man Paschke singled up the middle to start the game and No. 2 hitter Anderson promptly doubled him home. After a walk and two fielder's choice plays resulted in another run, designated hitter Adame homered to left to bring in Peters. It was the third dinger of the season for Adame, who is second on the squad with 16 RBIs for the season.

The Roadrunners led 4-0 after one and tacked on another run in the second, as Paschke brought Walsh home on a sacrifice fly after Walsh doubled and moved to third on a groundout. Highlands showed some fight in the bottom of the frame, scoring four runs on MSU Denver hurler Austin Stone (Arvada, Colo./Faith Christian).

The Red & Blue got those four runs back immediately in the top half of the next inning thanks in part to a solo homer from Malkin (No. 8 on the season) and RBI doubles from Walsh and Jake Kistaitis (Omaha, Neb./Millard West). Walsh added MSU Denver's ninth run on a wild pitch.

Bedsole's day was done, but the MSU Denver offense was not. The Roadrunners added four more in the top of the fourth to take a 13-4 lead, taking advantage of an inning-opening error with a string of RBI hits.

The game really blew open in the top of the fifth, however, after the Cowboys scraped across another run in the bottom of the fourth. A combination of errors, hits and wild pitches pushed across two runs and loaded the bases for Walsh, who delivered MSU Denver's first grand slam of the season on a drive to left to put the contest out of reach at 19-5. It was the second roundtripper of the year for the MSU Denver infielder, who is tied for third on the team with 13 RBIs for the year.

Highlands got two back before another RBI hit from Malkin, who doubled home Paschke in the top of the sixth to make it 20-7.

Another inning-opening error opened the floodgates once again in the top of the eighth, as Anderson knocked in Paschke with an RBI double. A single from Logan Soole (Louisville, Colo./Monarch) advanced Anderson to third and put two ducks on the pond for Malkin, whose monster day continued with a two-run double down the left-field line.

Walsh, no stranger to bases-loaded situations on Saturday, later worked a walk to force Malkin home. The Roadrunners added one more on an RBI fielder's choice from Ty Lightley (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge), and the damage was finally done. Highlands scored once more in the bottom of the eighth for a 25-8 final.

Stone got the win, spreading 11 hits across five innings while giving up seven earned runs. He surrendered zero bases on balls while striking out three Cowboys to improve to 2-2 in 2019. Nick Ulmer (Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek) was solid in relief to continue the successes of the MSU Denver bullpen, giving up just one run in three innings, while Hunter Hogoboom (Arvada, Colo./Pomona) took care of the ninth with two punchouts in a scoreless frame.

With Malkin at the center of the offense, MSU Denver has registered 38 runs in its last two games and is averaging an incredible 13.2 runs per game in its last six contests, winning four of them.

The Roadrunners will look to continue their offensive momentum into a Sunday doubleheader against the Cowboys. First pitch for game one is scheduled for noon MT in Las Vegas.