DENVER – The Metropolitan State University of Denver baseball team has been on the wrong end of too many close games this season.
On Saturday, the Roadrunners finally ended up on the right end of a close contest.
Tied 5-5 with Sioux Falls in the seventh inning of the second game of Saturday's doubleheader,
Zach Walsh put a charge into a pitch and sent it far beyond the left field fence at the Regency Athletic Complex to give MSU Denver a 7-5 lead.
The Roadrunners (5-9) would hang on to a 7-6 win in game two after beating the Cougars (1-5) by a 14-4 score in game one.
"I just saw a hanging curveball and I was a little out in front of it but I still kept my hands in enough to drive it out," Walsh said of his go-ahead homer, which was his third dinger of the season.
None have been more important, however, than the one that sealed a sweep over the Cougars, giving MSU Denver a full head of steam heading into conference play next weekend.
"It's just a good feeling when you get the win at the end of it," Walsh said about emerging victorious in a close game.
"Zach has as good of bat speed as anyone on our team," Strain said about Walsh, who scored four runs and had three RBIs in Saturday's doubleheader. "He's really talented. I think he can really be in a force in our league."
The homer from MSU Denver's everyday second baseman capped a big rally in the seventh inning of game two as the Roadrunners came from behind to steal the win. Sioux Falls led 5-2 going into the seventh, but
Zach Paschke scored
Owen Reynolds on a double before
Chase Anderson connected on an RBI infield single.
Strain gambled on a double steal attempt with Anderson on first and Paschke on third, and it paid off as the Cougars attempted to get the out at second while Paschke raced home. That made it 5-5 for Walsh, who sealed the deal.
Eric Cox took the hill for the final two innings, working out of trouble to get the save. He relieved
Conner Nantkes, who picked up the win after getting two outs in the seventh.
Cade Crader got the start in game two, striking out eight in four innings of work while giving up five hits and three earned runs. He was relieved by
Carter Akerfelds, who went 2 1/3 innings and struck out four while giving up two earned runs.
It was all MSU Denver in the opener, as the Roadrunners roughed up Sioux Falls starter Andrew Maslowski and reliever Jackson Olson for six earned runs each. MSU Denver put up an eight-spot in the third inning and followed that with five more in the fourth, forcing Saturday's 10-run rule to go into effect as the Roadrunners picked up a 14-4 win in seven innings.
Austin Stone got the start in the opener and pitched four innings, striking out three while giving up five hits and three earned runs.
Jimmy Dobrash was effective in relief, working a three-inning save while giving up just one hit and one earned run.
Brice Martinez had another big day at the plate in the leadoff spot, going 5-for-9 with two doubles while scoring three of MSU Denver's 14 runs in the opener. Reynolds continued his consistent contribution at the plate as well, recording two hits in each game while scoring four runs on Saturday. He had two RBIs in the opener and swiped a bag in each game.
Backstop
Andrew Chavez showed out in game one, going 3-for-3 with a double and 3 RBIs.
Possibly the most encouraging performance at the plate, however, was from Paschke. The sophomore shortstop has struggled at the plate so far this season, but went 3-for-6 on Saturday with a run and an RBI in each contest. He had two key doubles in game two in addition to a walk and a stolen base.
"I told our guys after the first game today that you've got to be ready to play every day, every game, every inning," Strain said. "It doesn't matter how many runs we scored in the first two games."
The Roadrunners were ready, and that resulted in a sweep of Sioux Falls.
"We practiced really hard this past week and we brought it out to the field and showed it," said Walsh.
MSU Denver will start Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Play with a three-game set at CSU-Pueblo, which will take place Friday through Sunday.
"Hopefully this will give us some momentum going into conference play," Strain said.
