DENVER – Two of the best pitchers in MSU Denver baseball history made their final home starts on Friday, and they pitched like, well … two of the best pitchers in MSU Denver baseball history.
 
Logan Soole twirled a nine-inning, complete-game five-hitter in the 5-2 opening-game win over Regis, and then Cade Crader powered through the first six innings of the second game, allowing one run on three hits in a 6-1 victory.
 
"It was impressive," MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "They both looked really good. They were sharp. That's a good-hitting team, and they really did a great job against them."
 
The runs against Soole came without an RBI – the Rangers scored on a first-inning wild pitch and a ninth-inning passed ball. The left-hander walked one and struck out five in his first appearance since April 9. He lowered his program-best career ERA to 2.94.
 
"I got my bullpens in, and I've been doing a lot of work with (athletic trainer) TJ (Schmidt)," Soole said. "He's really been taking care of me. I've been living in the training room trying to get healthy again. I want to be healthy for the (postseason) tournament."
 
Crader took advantage of a little extra rest, too, since the Roadrunners had last week off and played for the first time in 12 days Friday.
 
The right-hander walked two and struck out eight before yielding the mound to Eric Cox for the seventh inning because – well, maybe you're just supposed to change pitchers once in a while. Crader is on track for the best single-season strikeout per nine inning rate (13.1) in program history and now has 167 career strikeouts – tied for sixth in program history.
 
"We've had quite a few consecutive weekends, so it was nice to have that week off late in the season," Crader said. "I'm not as young as I once was and it takes me a little longer to recover. Having that week off, especially before having some big games, was pretty nice."
 
Meanwhile, 10 of the 11 runs the 21^st-ranked Roadrunners scored came with two outs, including a streak of four consecutive run-scoring hits in the sixth inning of the opener, when they broke a 1-1 tie and took a 5-1 lead.
 
"The two-out hitting was really good," Strain said. "We got big hits when we needed them and we strung them together when we needed."
 
Eight of the nine starters got hits in the opener and the one who didn't, cleanup hitter Niko Piazza, hit a two-run homer with two outs in the first inning of the second game.
 
"That was big," Strain said. "It got us going. He's dangerous out there."
 
Piazza added a two-out, RBI single in the fifth inning of the second game for a 4-1 lead, then Bill Ralston delivered a two-out, two-run double in the sixth to make it 6-1. Ralston was 3-for-5 with three RBIs for the day.
 
MSU Denver will hold a ceremony before Saturday's 1 p.m. opening game of a doubleheader to honor 12 seniors in the program.
 
The group includes Soole and Crader.
 
"It's going to be bittersweet," Soole said. "I've really enjoyed my time here, getting to spend it with the guys and Coach Strain."
 
Said Crader: "It was fun to come play under the lights and get one last start in. But I'm going to miss it. I'm not looking forward to (Saturday) necessarily. It kind of hurts knowing that this is the last time."