DENVER – How good has MSU Denver slugger Matt Malkin (Broomfield, Colo./Monarch) been this season?
 
Pretty darn good.
 
"The consistency that he's had over the last month has been as good as anybody I've ever coached," said Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Ryan Strain, a long-time NCAA Division I assistant. "He just continues to have good at-bats.
 
"He's done a nice job, for the most part, of taking what they give him. He hasn't expanded the (strike) zone and gotten himself out much. Guys who are hitting home runs at the pace he's hitting them, they start trying to hit a home run every at-bat. But he hasn't done that. He's taken his singles and doubles when he gets them, and if he gets a good pitch, he's usually ready to hit it."
 
Heading into this weekend's four-game series at Adams State, Malkin has homered in five straight games and in eight of his last nine. He had four homers and 12 RBIs while hitting .611 (11 for 18) as the Roadrunners swept a four-game series at New Mexico Highlands last weekend.
 
Malkin leads NCAA Division II in both home runs per game (0.61) and RBIs per game (1.83) while ranking second nationally in slugging percentage (.986). With 30 games left in the regular-season, Malkin is on pace for 28 homers and 85 RBIs, numbers that would obliterate the school's single-season home run record of 17 and approach the single-season RBIs record of 89. He's batting .435 (eighth in the RMAC) while sharing the league lead with 11 homers and leading the league with 33 RBIs.
 
"The nice part for him is that the guy in front of him (Logan Soole (Louisville, Colo./Monarch)) is a pretty good hitter, and the guys behind him are pretty good hitters," Strain said. "So you've got to pick your poison. If they don't pitch to him, then hopefully the guys behind him are going to drive in some runs."
 
Soole got back on track last weekend as he hit .571 (8 for 14) with three home runs, eight RBIs, seven runs scored, two walks and three stolen bases in three starts as a hitter. He also pitched a seven-inning complete game in which he allowed two runs (one earned), seven hits and two walks while striking out seven.
 
"Things just weren't clicking for him (the previous) weekend," Strain said. "That's the first time I've ever seen him in that kind of funk. It was nice to see him bounce back. He threw the ball as well this weekend as he's thrown it all year."
 
MSU Denver (12-7 overall, 6-2 RMAC) stands in third place in the RMAC. The Roadrunners have already split a series with CSU-Pueblo, which has moved into fourth place.
 
This weekend's series with Adams State (6-16, 3-5 for seventh place) is the second of four straight weekends against teams with sub.-500 records in league play.
 
"We're in a good spot, but we've got to continue to win games," Strain said.
 
By traditional metrics, MSU Denver leads the league with in hitting, pitching and defense, with a team batting average of .335, a team ERA of 3.61 and a team fielding percentage of .971.


"If we're disciplined at the plate, throw strikes on the mound and make plays on defense, I think we'll be fine," Strain said. "And we've done some pretty good things in those areas."
 
But Adams State is no pushover, and strange things can happen at 7,500 feet of elevation. The series starts with Friday's 3 p.m. game.
 
"They're better than they were last year, and last year I thought they had some tough breaks," Strain said. "They battled us. They'll be scrappy and they'll play hard."