EMPORIA, Kan. – Like any fisherman, or hunter, MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain was left lamenting the one that got away on Monday.
 
The Roadrunners had leads of 4-0 in the third inning and 6-4 in the seventh, but were forced to settle for a doubleheader split and a series win at Emporia State (Kan.) after losing the second game 10-6.
 
MSU Denver won the seven-inning first game 18-9 to take a 3-0 lead in the four-game series.
 
"We got down early in the first game (5-0) and we kept battling back and swinging away, and I'm really proud of that," Strain said. "And I'm proud of the way we fought in the last game, too – we had the bases loaded at the end. But we gave away too many at-bats during the game when we shouldn't have, and gave them too many opportunities to hang around when we had a chance to put them away.
 
"That's the frustrating part. We've got to have that killer instinct and if we get a chance to sweep someone, we have to finish it off."
 
The series win puts MSU Denver at 6-4 for the season.
 
In the seven-inning opener, the Roadrunners scored nine runs in the top of the seventh to break open a tie game.
 
"Guys just kept having good at-bat after good at-bat," Strain said. "And we got a couple of big home runs."
 
Caleb Albaugh was 2-for-5 with a three-run triple that tied the game 6-6 in the fourth, Chase Anderson drove in six runs, including four on a seventh-inning grand slam that pushed the lead to 15-9, Zach Schuler was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in the seventh that accounted for the game's final runs, and Blake Mattey was 3-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs.
 
Albaugh finished the series 10-for-17 (.588) with a double, a triple, a homer and seven RBIs, Anderson was 7-for-17 (.412) with a triple, two homers and seven RBIs and Schuler was 7-for-15 (.467) with two homers and seven RBIs.
 
"Those three (Anderson, Albaugh and Schuler) swung well all weekend, and it was good to see Mattey get some good swings," Strain said.
 
Brandon Moore (2-0) was the opening-game winner, with 2 1/3 innings of no-hit relief, striking out three.
 
"He was really good," Strain said. "Especially when we scored that many runs (in the top of the seventh) and he was able to go back out and get another zero in the seventh. That was big for him. It's good to have him down there in the bullpen with some confidence."
 
In the second game, MSU Denver had to settle for a sacrifice fly on Cam Yuran's deep drive to the deepest part of the park in the third inning, making the lead only 4-0 instead of 7-0.
 
Austin Stone was solid in five innings, allowing four runs, but Emporia State tacked on six runs, two of them unearned, over the last four innings against the bullpen.
 
"We had all the momentum in the world," Strain said. "Both times we scored, they scored right away (in the bottom half of the inning). That just can't happen, and then we gave away some at-bats when their pitching was getting thin."