DENVER – Austin Stone made sure MSU Denver had a chance to bounce back from a disappointing Saturday, and Zach Schuler made sure the Roadrunners' good mood extended into the week.
 
Stone twirled six two-hit shutout innings in the opening game, then Schuler hit his second homer of the day – a two-run shot for a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning – as the Roadrunners swept Sioux Falls (S.D.) 11-1 and 7-4 while making  Ryan Strain the fastest coach to 100 victories in program history.
 
On 1980s Throwback Day, in which the Roadrunners donned powder-blue jerseys based on those worn by the program's 1980s team and welcomed back some two dozen alumni from the era, Stone – as usual – pitched like a 1980s era Greg Maddux.
 
"After a game like yesterday (the Roadrunners lost the second game of a doubleheader 15-8), especially when the team is kind of down, pitching and hitting, coming out and giving us a good start – whether it's a zero or just a couple runs – as long as we can get a win it's big for the rest of the day," Stone said.
 
Said Strain: "We needed that from Stoney big-time. He works fast and gets after it. I think we've been missing that veteran presence after losing three of our four starters and he really hadn't been able to start the first few weeks. He filled it up, and they really didn't have anything for him. That gave us some momentum."
 
Stone, who earned his 12^th career win, is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 15 innings this season as he builds his pitch count after a late start to the preseason.
 
"They went with a lineup that was left-right, left-right, and they did it both days, so we had a good understanding of what they could and couldn't hit," Stone said. "So I went heavy changeups to the lefties and heavy cutters in on the righties, and it worked."
 
The offense provided plenty of support, and Schuler was part of that, homering in the third inning to make the lead 6-0 as part of an 18-hit attack. The 10-run rule was put in place for the nine-inning game and was enforced in the eighth.
 
In the second game, behind four shutout innings from Tyler Phillips and Bill Ralston's two-run, first-inning homer, the Roadrunners looked to have smooth sailing for the seven-inning game.
 
But the Cougars struck for a run in the fifth and then three in the sixth against the MSU Denver bullpen to take a 4-2 lead.
 
But, in the bottom of the sixth, Caleb Albaugh drew a leadoff walk and scored on Ross Smith's triple, then Schuler launched his go-ahead homer to left field.
 
"I got down to two strikes and my main goal was to just put the ball in play," Schuler said. "In that moment you have to relax. So I took a deep breath and I got the pitch I wanted."
 
Schuler, who was 5-for-6 for the day and 6-for-12 with four RBIs for the series, seems to have secured a spot in the lineup at first base. After playing in just two of the first six games of the season, he's started the last eight while posting a batting average of .500 for the season (17-for-34) with four homers and 11 RBIs.
 
"He's swinging it really well," Strain said. "We needed someone to step up at first base, and he's done that. Hopefully he can keep it going. That's a nice addition to have behind the three guys returning (Chase Anderson, Albaugh and Ralston) and Ross Smith is doing nothing but barreling up balls, even though his batting average may not show it."
 
Said Schuler: "I'm proud of myself. I was injured in the fall, couldn't throw a lot and couldn't swing a lot, and I was a little skeptical about what was going to happen. But I just kept working hard and everything is going well now."
 
Also contributing offensively were Albaugh (5-for-8 on the day), Smith (3-for-8 on the day, 6-for-15 for the series), Ralston (4-for-7 on the day) and Cam Yuran (3-for-6 on the day, 6-for-12 with seven RBIs for the series).
 
With that kind of firepower, falling behind in the next-to-last inning of the nightcap isn't necessarily a problem.
 
"It's weird with our team sometimes, it's almost like we need the other team to score to get going," Strain said, smiling and shaking his head. "I'd prefer not to do that. But their pitcher did a good job. He was elevating a lot of fastballs and for our guys it must have looked like a beach ball, because they kept swinging at it and kept flying out."
 
Strain is now 100-78 in his fifth season at MSU Denver (the 2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19).
 
"You think of all the players and coaches who have been with us," Strain said. "I'm excited to get 100 wins and proud of being the fastest one to get there. Our players congratulated me, and I appreciate that, but I told them our goal now is to get to 200 faster than we got to 100."