DENVER – MSU Denver mashed homers at a record rate last season, with its 79 round-trippers setting the school's single-season standard.
 
Gone from that group are All-American Matt Malkin (25 homers) as well as all-region pick Draven Adame and slugging first baseman Jake Kistaitis.
 
As the Roadrunners prepare to open their season with a 2 p.m. game Friday at Fort Hays State (Kan.) to start a four-game series, they are a little bit different but also a little bit deeper.
 
"With the guys we brought in, this team has more depth," third-year coach Ryan Strain said. "There's more pitching depth, and we're a lot more athletic than we've been. The power will be interesting to see because we lost three pretty good power guys, but there's some guys in the lineup who can hit for power who are new and some guys who had single digits in home runs can definitely jump up to double digits.
 
"This is the most talented group we've had from 1 to 36, but who's going to step up and be the RMAC Player of the Year (like Malkin)? We need one of those."
 
Any discussion of MSU Denver's hitting or pitching heading into the 2020 season starts with Logan Soole.
 
A former minor league outfielder who is allowed to play at the Division II level because (among other reasons) he didn't sign with an agent, Soole has starred as a hitter, pitcher and outfielder in two seasons with the Roadrunners, earning All-America second team honors from one organization last year.
 
The talented left-hander holds the school's single-game record for strikeouts by a pitcher (14) and shares the school mark for RBIs by a hitter (eight). He has the best career ERA in program history (2.91) and would have won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference ERA title last season but he was 8 1/3 innings short of qualifying. For the season he was 5-2 with a 2.27 ERA on the mound and batted .334 with 15 homers, 45 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.
 
Strain said the plan is to keep Soole fresher this season, since he was unable to pitch late last year. So Soole will likely start in the bullpen and will spend more time as the designated hitter rather than in center field.
 
"He's obviously a really good player, and we've had to continue to try to figure out the best ways to use him while keeping him away from injury as much as possible," Strain said. "He's been banged up the last two years at certain times, because we ask a lot of him and being a two-way guy is difficult. He's learned some things that help him take care of his body, and we've learned some things about what we can do to help."
 
The Roadrunners' season-opening starting rotation of Austin Stone (5-6, 6.04 ERA last year), Gannon Reiswig (redshirted in 2019), Zach Sundine (1-4, 6.61) and Cade Crader (1-1, 4.08) may not be the same by the end of the season as several pitchers are being brought along cautiously. Same goes for bullpen roles.
 
"We have some guys we are counting on this year who probably won't pitch much the first weekend or much at all early on," Strain said. "We just hope we can do a good job of managing the staff so that we're strong down the stretch. The last two years, whether it was injuries or lack of depth, we've just kind of run out of gas on the mound."
 
One of those making a comeback is sixth-year senior Javi Vega, who is tied for fourth in program history in strikeouts (167) while compiling a record of 13-10 with a 4.96 ERA despite twice qualifying for medical redshirts. He was 1-0 with a 1.77 ERA in four starts last year before being injured.
 
Strain said Vega is coming along nicely and could be used out of the bullpen early in the season.
 
Also looking for late-inning relief work are Eric Cox (1-2, 3.80) who shared closing duties last year and earned two saves, redshirt freshman Tyler Schultz, and senior Ty Lightley, who started nearly every game last season at either third base or second base but also pitched in high school.
 
"Position players always say they can pitch," Strain said, laughing. "But he (Lightley) has a good arm. We were missing a lot of guys in the fall, so we decided to give some guys a chance because we just needed guys to pitch in the fall so we could scrimmage. So we had two or three try it, and he's the only one who has stuck in that role.
 
"He's going to get his opportunities, especially early. And he's had success at it."
 
Division I transfers Jimmy Dobrash (Louisiana), Austin Alarid (Texas-Rio Grande Valley) and Conner Nantkes (Washington State) all figure to make an impact on the mound, as does junior college transfer Brandon Moore and swingman Carter Akerfelds (1-0, 7.33). Also in the mix are redshirt freshman Gabe Austin and two players coming back from injury, Branden Dehority (3-3, 5.89) and Tyler Phillips (redshirt).
 
"We have a lot of pitching depth, the most we've had since I've been here," Strain said. "I really like our guys. However you would rank our guys, whoever you would rank as our last guy, I think you could put him in a game and we'd be fine with it."
 
Pitching depth figures to be critical again as MSU Denver – picked to finish fifth in the RMAC in the league's preseason coaches' poll – once again closes the regular season with four games each against the teams picked to finish ahead of them.
 
"All conference games are important, but the strength of our schedule is in the back half, and we have to make sure that we have our best guys at that point," Strain said.
MSU Denver had led the RMAC for much of the regular season last and had compiled a school-record 14-game winning streak before the late slide to fifth place (19-17 in RMAC play) and 28-24 overall.
 
When the Roadunners were hot, much of the damage was being done by the offense, and right in the middle of that was outfielder Chase Anderson, who earned All-RMAC second team honors while hitting .330 with seven homers and 37 RBIs. He had an 18-game hitting streak during the season, batting .478 (38-for-78) on that tear. He's already been named preseason all-region second team by one outlet.
 
"Chase had a great year last year and he's in even better shape this year," Strain said. "He's stronger, he's faster, his bat speed has increased. I think he has a chance to take another step this year. He's a good player who loves playing, and he plays hard."
 
Second baseman Zach Walsh (.308, nine homers, 39 RBIs) finished the season strong and shortstop Zach Paschke (.295, 13 stolen bases) returns after being an everyday starter as a true freshman. Dylan Nelson (injury redshirt) and Cade Peters (.242, 4, 24) are battling for the first base job, with redshirt freshman Cody Schultz making a run at third base. Jacob Moyer is also in the mix for infield at-bats after hitting .438 in seven games last year before taking an injury redshirt.
 
"We have a lot of flexibility," Strain said. "We can give people some rest. Guys can move around, too."
 
Since Soole figures to be spending less time in center field, it makes the emergence of Owen Reynolds (.261 in 46 at-bats last year) timely.
 
"Owen is a really talented kid," Strain said. "Athletically, other than maybe Soole, he may be one of the most talented kids on the team. He can run. He can throw. He's got power. He can do it all. Last year he just couldn't produce the way he needed when he got in the lineup. But he's done a really good job last summer and fall and he's played well. He's a good outfielder who gives us some range out there, and if he can hit like he has, that would be a nice boost for us."
 
Anderson will spend some time in right field this year after playing left last year, and junior college transfer Spencer Gendreau has impressed as a potential left fielder or designated hitter.
 
Brice Martinez, who can play the infield as well as the outfield, is one of several talented freshmen for whom Strain is looking to find at-bats. That includes first baseman Jon Zakhem.
 
Meanwhile, Fort Hays State was picked to finish last in the 12-team Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, a difficult league. The Tigers were 3-40 overall and 2-31 in the MIAA last season.
 
The series also includes an 11 a.m. doubleheader Saturday and an 11 a.m. single game on Sunday.
 
Strain hopes that a mild January has helped MSU Denver prepare for the start of the season.
 
"Fortunately we've had good weather, and that's really helped," Strain said. "Last year we didn't get nearly as good weather. We've been able to be outside just about every day. It's always tough for any sport to get going again, but it's especially tough with the timing that's needed in baseball. We've been able to get a lot done."
 
If everything comes together, Strain is hopeful the Roadrunners can push into the RMAC's top four, which includes Division II national runner-up Colorado Mesa, Division I-bound Dixie State, pitching-rich Colorado School of Mines and an experienced UCCS.
 
"We obviously lost three pretty good position players," Strain said. "We didn't really lose a whole lot from the pitching staff, most of it is back. This time of year it's kind of a guess, you don't know who is back and who is playing well (for other teams).
 
"The league is tough. You've got to be ready to play every day. And it's all going to come down to how we pitch. If you can pitch, you give yourself a chance to win."