DENVER – In a near carbon-copy of Saturday, MSU Denver swept a doubleheader from Adams State by winning a close nine-inning game before flexing its might in a seven-inning second-game win.
The Roadrunners won Sunday 6-4 in the opener and 19-2 in the nightcap, improving to 25-7 overall and 21-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Saturday's wins were 6-3 and 13-0.
MSU Denver coach
Ryan Strain was concerned going into the series that the Adams State pitching staff could befuddle his team with a steady diet of off-speed pitches and lower velocity fastballs.
That came to fruition. At least to a point.
"It surprised me that we didn't handle some of the slower-speed pitching," Strain said. "We just didn't make adjustments fast enough. They saved their best pitcher for the last game, and that's who we hit the best – he was an upper 80s guy, so more at hitting speed. But those other guys, we've got to do a better job adjusting."
Still, a win is a win, and the Roadrunners got four this weekend.
"You've got to find ways to win, and ultimately it doesn't matter if you win by one run or if its by 17 runs," Strain said. "You've got to find a way, and we did."
Reichle Arcilise (3-1) moved back into the starting pitching rotation in the second game and worked four strong innings to qualify for the win in the seven-inning game, allowing one run on two hits with two walks and five strikeouts. The lone run came on a first-inning homer. The freshman has a 2.08 in 26 innings this season.
"He was good," Strain said. "It looked like the guy guessed right and stepped up in the box on the (homer). But Reichle pitched really well, and the big part is that when we had a big inning (three in the first inning, nine in the second), he came right back and put up a zero. That allows you to keep the momentum."
Adams State didn't have a hit after the second inning, and Strain got some much-needed work for several relievers – including an eye-popping sixth inning from
Brandon Moore.
"It was great to get guys in the game, especially some guys who hadn't pitched much recently," Strain said.
Leadoff hitter
Chase Anderson had a monster three-run homer off the left-field light tower that made it 12-1 in the second, and No. 2 hitter
Caleb Albaugh had a three-run blast of his own, to left center, in the fourth.
Anderson was 4-for-7 for the day, while Albaugh was 3-for-9 and No. 3 hitter
Bill Ralston went 4-for-7 with four RBIs.
On the mound in the opener,
Jimmy Dobrash improved to 6-1 after working seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out seven.
Gannon Reiswig pitched an impressive eighth, and then
Eric Cox picked up a save for the second straight day to give him six for the season, tied for sixth most in program history for a season.
MSU Denver has next week off before reconvening for a four-game home series with Regis (16-6, 12-6) from April 30 through May 2.
"I'm hoping the break will be good for some of our starting pitchers," Strain said. "We just haven't been real crisp the last three weeks. It's a long season and they've been throwing a lot, so this bye may be coming at a good time. We can get them fresh, hopefully, because we have a big series with Regis coming up after the bye."
