DENVER – The No. 18 MSU Denver baseball team rode the emotional rollercoaster over a 24-hour span.
 
Perhaps emotionally drained from the tension, drama and exhilaration of Cade Crader's unprecedented perfect game against CSU-Pueblo on Saturday, the Roadrunners may have been a bit lethargic in dropping Sunday's opening game against CSU-Pueblo 4-3.
 
But then they came right back and produced their most prolific offensive game of the season in a 25-4 win over Colorado Christian.
 
"I was worried about a hangover yesterday, because that's what coaches do, worry about stuff like that," Strain said. "It was so emotional. You perfect-gamed them. You won by 13 runs. With 18- to 23-year olds, it's hard to keep them locked in and say, 'we've got to be ready to go.'
 
"But they (CSU-Pueblo) made some good pitches when they needed them. We had plenty of opportunities. We had the right guys up in the right spots, and the ball just went to the wrong place or we struck out. But that's baseball. And then I was proud of how our guys basically washed it in 30 minutes (between games). That's really hard to do when you lose a close game like that, especially with how well we pitched."
 
Obviously, the opener produced the most drama.
 
After 4 ½ scoreless innings, MSU Denver catcher Colin Stone supported his brother – starting pitcher Austin Stone – with a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth.
 
But then CSU-Pueblo's Logan Gibbons, the ThunderWolves' starting pitcher, supported himself with a game-tying homer in the top of the sixth.
 
Then MSU Denver's Niko Piazza homered in the bottom of the sixth for a 2-1 lead.
 
But CSU-Pueblo's Kodee Martin delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh and Gibbons – who had shifted to designated hitter –added a two-run homer as the ThunderWolves took a 4-2 advantage.
 
Piazza's second homer got the Roadrunners within 4-3 in the eighth, CSU-Pueblo closer Johnathan Ramirez kept the Roadrunners at bay to earn his third save of the season.
 
It was MSU Denver's second loss of the season, both by one run to CSU-Pueblo.
 
"For some reason, we weren't able to come up with the big hits in that first game, and the second game everything we hit fell in," Strain said. "But I was really proud of the guys. Having a tough loss, after an emotional win yesterday, and then to turn around 30 minutes later – we really put it on them with 25 runs and had a dominant game offensively."
 
MSU Denver (18-2 overall, 14-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) scored early and often against Colorado Christian in the second game, with six in the first inning, four in the second inning and eventually four in their next-to-last at-bat and six in their final at-bat.
 
The Roadrunners scored at least one run in all eight innings they went to the plate while matching their highest run total since getting 31 against Mary (N.D.) on March 1, 2019.
 
"You've always got to be happy when you win three out of four," Strain said. "I'd be a lot more happier if we would have won four, especially with the amount of runs we scored – we put up 57 and gave up 12. If you had told me we'd do that before the weekend started, I would have said that we won all four. But baseball is a weird game."
 
Piazza followed up his 2-for-5, two-homer opener by going 3-for-7 with a double and three RBIs in the nightcap. Chase Anderson was 3-for-4 with a homer in the second game, extending his season-opening hitting streak to 20 games and his overall hitting streak dating to last season to 21.
 
Zach Paschke went 2-for-4 with five RBIs in the second game, while Jake Williams and Dylan Nelson joined Anderson in hitting second-game homers.
 
And then there's the pitching.
 
While no one topped Crader – which is, literally, impossible to do – first-game starter Stone and second-game starter Jimmy Dobrash combined to pitch 11 innings while allowing 11 hits and two runs (one earned).
 
"Stone and Dobrash were great," Strain said. "The whole pitching staff was all week. Those four starts we got (including Logan Soole's on Friday) were tremendous, and that's why I'm a little bit frustrated that we didn't come away with four wins, especially with the offense we have.
 
"But if guys keep throwing the ball like that, it gives us a chance in every single game."