DENVER – Metropolitan State University of Denver baseball is on a roll.

The Roadrunners won their eighth and ninth consecutive games on Saturday, defeating Adams State (6-19, 3-8 and 7^th Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference ) on both ends of a Saturday doubleheader. MSU Denver (15-7, 9-2 and 2^nd RMAC) triumphed 9-5 in game one before winning game two by a 13-3 count.

"It took us a game and a half to get going a bit," coach Ryan Strain said Saturday. "We played a lot better defense than we did yesterday. That was the key. We pitched well, played good defense and came up with some big hits. We play fast, we run a lot and we made them make mistakes. We were able to punish them when they made them."

Jake Kistaitis (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) got the Roadrunners going in the first game with an RBI double in the second, but the floodgates opened in the fifth when Draven Adame (Lamar, Colo./Lamar) and Zach Walsh (Austin, Texas/Vista Ridge) hit back-to-back homers as MSU Denver opened up a 6-1 lead.

Chase Anderson (Littleton, Colo./Columbine) doubled in Aaron Germani (Littleton, Colo./ThunderRidge) in the sixth before Matt Malkin (Broomfield, Colo./Monarch) did what Matt Malkin (Broomfield, Colo./Monarch) does, launching his 14^th home run of the season to right center to put MSU Denver up 9-2.

It was Malkin's seventh consecutive game with a home run, a streak that was broken in the second game of the doubleheader. Malkin was just two games shy of tying the NCAA Division II record for most consecutive games with a roundtripper. He now has 14 home runs and 38 RBIs on the season, both of which lead the RMAC, and has hit 11 dingers in his last 12 games.

Adams State rallied in the final two innings, scoring three times to make it 9-5. That was the final, however, as Cade Crader (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) notched three punchouts in the seventh despite giving up two earned runs to seal the deal for the Roadrunners.

Logan Soole (Louisville, Colo./Monarch) was impressive on the hill in the opener, spreading seven hits over six innings and striking out a whopping 10 Grizzlies while walking just two. Anderson, Malkin and Walsh each recorded two hits in the victory.

Though the Malkin magic was muted in the second game, the rest of the batting order was there to continue the momentum.

"I got on them pretty good in the middle of the first game," Strain said, "talking about that guys have to step up and do some things behind (Malkin) as well. There are good players all around him. If somebody's not having a great game, they need to step up and do some things. I feel confident all the way up and down our lineup that guys each day can have a good day. Matt has been the catalyst."

Malkin was 0-for-5 in the second game, but every other Roadrunner in the starting lineup had at least one hit as the offensive roll continued. Adams State took an early 2-0 lead, but MSU Denver scored three in the second and five in the fourth to build an 8-2 advantage.

The Roadrunners took advantage of six Adams State errors, piecing together strings of singles along with the occasional extra-base hit. After two more runs in the fifth made it 10-3, Logan Soole (Louisville, Colo./Monarch) added a two-run jack in the sixth before Andrew Chavez's (Denver, Colo./Cherry Creek) RBI double in the seventh secured a 13-3 final.

Not to be lost in the offensive outpouring was a good start from John Badgett (Arvada, Colo./Arvada West), who went four strong while giving up three earned runs and striking out five. Eric Cox (Aurora, Colo./Cherokee Trail) tossed two scoreless innings in relief, while Zach Sundine (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) shut the door with a scoreless inning of his own.

"It was nice to see Badgett come out and give us a good start," Strain said. "He got his opportunity today. He settled down after he gave up a couple runs in the first inning and pitched really well."

Adame was 1-for-2 with three runs scored in the second game, while Anderson was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Zach Walsh (Austin, Texas/Vista Ridge) was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, and Germani, Soole and Zach Paschke (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) each drove in two runs. MSU Denver notched 12 hits on the day, with 10 different Roadrunners each recording a base hit.

MSU Denver is now in sole possession of second place in the RMAC with a 9-2 conference record, while the Roadrunners are 15-7 overall.

The Roadrunners look for the sweep and their 10^th consecutive win overall at Adams State tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for noon MT in Alamosa.