DENVER – Like an artist on canvas, MSU Denver pitcher Cade Crader painted a masterpiece.
 
The Roadrunners' senior right-hander pitched eight shutout innings in an 11-0 win over Emporia State (Kan.) on Sunday, allowing just four hits and no walks while striking out a career-high nine.
 
"The biggest thing is that I just knew what my pitches were going to do," Crader said. "I could throw something, let it go, and know that it was going to do what I wanted – the changeup was going to sink and run and my cutter would dive across. Whatever it was, I had confidence that I could throw it and it would do what it needed to do."
 
And, for the most part, he had confidence that Emporia State hitters wouldn't be able to square his pitches up, because they didn't really know what was coming.
 
"His offspeed pitches are really good, and that's probably what gives guys the most trouble," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "His arm angle and action are the same on his offspeed pitches as they are on his breaking ball. So some of his pitches are unhittable, because they think it's a fastball until they swing and miss."
 
Because of his dominant performance, which also gave MSU Denver a lift since it was the Roadrunners' first win of the season, Crader has been named MSU Denver's Student-Athlete of the Week. He was also named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Pitcher of the Week.
 
"Obviously it's never happened to me, so it's fun and exciting," Crader said of the awards. "But I've already started focusing on my next start."
 
That will come at 11 a.m. MST Sunday at Central Oklahoma in the final game of a three-game series. Other games are Friday and Saturday, at 2 p.m. MST.
 
Crader, who fought to overcome injuries late in his sophomore season and for most of the early part of his junior year, has opened 2020 in late-season form. Because of Crader's fitness, Strain had considered using him as a reliever who could pitch on multiple days in a series before ultimately putting him in the starting rotation.
 
Crader was efficient Sunday and was strong from start to finish in his 111-pitch outing.
 
"Our trainer (T.J. Schmidt) has done a lot for us," Crader said. "He's the one who has helped me get my body ready. Besides that, it's been focusing on fitness, making sure I was in the weight room between fall practice and the winter break.
 
"I wouldn't have anticipated (working eight innings and 111 pitches early in the season). It's hard to go that many pitches, even late in the season. But my body was ready and then the adrenaline of the game, you don't really even feel it."
  
Strain said he likes the idea of being able to turn to Crader in the final game of a series, particularly since RMAC series are set up for nine-inning games on Sunday.
 
"I think this is a good fit for him," Strain said. "It'll depend on when other (rehabilitating) guys come back and if our first three are pitching well. He's a pretty tough Sunday matchup for most teams. The Sunday game means just as much as the Friday game, and he's done really well.
 
"To have a guy who can go 100 pitches and get you deep into games on Sundays, that's big."
 
Crader also made a start in the season-opening series at Fort Hays State (Kan.) and allowed three runs (all unearned) in six innings.
 
For the season, he is one of 71 qualifying pitchers in NCAA Division II who has yet to allow an earned run. He's fourth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (17:1), and ranks 44^th in walks per nine innings (0.64), 74^th in WHIP (0.79), 98^th in strikeouts (17) and 168^th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.9). In the RMAC, he's tied for first in ERA, and is first in walks per 9, second in WHIP, fourth in strikeouts and eighth in strikeouts per 9.
 
Crader and pitching coach Mark Vig both cited the influence of sixth-year pitcher Javi Vega, one of the Roadrunners' pitchers on the comeback trail, for his role in helping teammates.
 
"Having Javi on the team and in our program has been a unique experience because he was an older guy with experience when I first got here, but I have gotten the opportunity to play with him and get close to him for all four of my years here," Crader said. "Over that time, I have learned a lot about pitching in general, such as mechanical things or different pitch grips and feels, and those are great, but the biggest thing was how to be a competitor and the mindset you should have not only when pitching but when doing anything in life."
 
Strain likes the way Crader's competitiveness comes across.
 
"He can throw the ball to both sides of the plate," Strain said. "He doesn't have to just go away. He can attack hitters. A lot of guys who are similar pitchers tend to stay on the outer half all the time. What's helping him is that he gets ahead, and then he can throw any pitch in any count.
 
"His fastball moves and he's got other pitches, but his fastball looks like it's coming harder. Guys move up in the box to try to get to other pitches, and then he runs a fastball right by them. He knows how to pitch and he's very competitive."
 
Crader said his competitiveness comes with some self-encouragement.
 
"I try to instill confidence in myself," he said. "I try to think that I'm better than they are and just go after them and attack them. Because there are times when I try to get too fine, try to get to the corners, and that's when I start walking guys and start struggling."
 
This weekend, Crader and the Roadrunners will face what is expected to be the best of the three Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association teams they will face in non-conference play. MSU Denver (2-6) was swept by Fort Hays State, a team that is obviously much better than its last-place prediction in the preseason poll, before earning a split with Emporia State, picked fifth.
 
Central Oklahoma (6-2) was picked second in the MIAA behind only Central Missouri, which is ranked eighth and fourth, respectively, in the national polls.
 
"I'm looking forward to it," Crader said. "It's going to be a good early test for us. This will show us where we're at and where we need to be by the end of the season."
 
Said Strain: "They are very good on the mound, they play very good defense and their hitting numbers are good. They've played some good teams. They don't beat themselves. They are the kind of team that's built the way we're trying to build our team here.
 
"Building the schedule, I wanted to play as many good teams as we could. One reason is to help get in the mix in a regional, but you also want to play against the best to get yourself ready for the season."
 
MSU Denver continues to build its way into the season, as several of its top pitchers are still rounding back into form following injuries and either haven't pitched or have seen only limited action.
 
Still, the Roadrunners have a solid 4.45 ERA that ranks fourth in the RMAC and 89^th in Division II.
 
"That's the exciting part, that we do still have guys who are working back into it," Crader said. "We've had a lot of guys who have already had really good showings. I feel like we have a guy for every situation, close game, lefty on lefty, whatever it is, we have a guy who can pick us up and do what we need them to do."