GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Round One went to top-ranked Colorado Mesa.
 
Andrew Morris took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, and the Mavericks (19-2 overall, 16-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Confererence) scored at least one run in six consecutive innings to pull away for a 15-3 victory over No. 18 MSU Denver (21-4, 17-4) on Friday in the first of a four-game series.
 
"Their guy (Morris) pitched well," Strain said. "He really did. He was 90-94 (mph) the whole time and had a feel for his breaking ball and just kept us off balance. We hadn't seen an arm like that this year. I would've liked to have competed harder and gotten better swings, because we had some pitches to hit, maybe get on base and make him pitch from the stretch and get him uncomfortable.
 
"Because when guys with good arms get comfortable, it's tough to get going."
 
Logan Soole, one of MSU Denver's stalwart starting pitchers, was nicked for four runs in the second inning, then had to leave in the third inning.
 
"They got some hits that found holes early, and once Logan went out for some reason it took the air out of our guys for a few innings," Strain said. "And that was all it took, because then we got behind by too many runs."
 
Pinch-hitter Cade Peters broke up the no-hitter with an infield single. Eventually the Roadrunners pushed across three runs in the ninth on three hits -- one of them a two-run homer by Bill Ralston -- against a Maverick reliever.

Morris struck out 15.
 
"I was hoping that once we got through the lineup for the first time that we could adjust to the velocity, but we just couldn't tonight," Strain said.
 
The series continues Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
 
"Baseball is a game where you have to have a short memory," Strain said. "I told our guys we have to clear this quickly, because we're a lot better team than we showed tonight. They have a good team – they're No. 1 for a reason, they've got a lot of good players. But tonight should have no bearing on tomorrow if we don't let it affect us."