ALAMOSA, Colo. – MSU Denver scored in each of the first seven innings, Tanner Garner homered twice, and Bill Ralston drove in seven runs Thursday in a 21-12 victory over Adams State that really wasn't as close as the final score indicated.
 
The Roadrunners (24-15 overall, 13-8 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) led 15-2 after 3 ½ innings and 21-5 after 7 ½.
 
Adams State (6-25, 3-19) scored a run in the eighth and sixth in the ninth.
 
"It was a good day," MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "And obviously it was a really good day offensively. We swung the bats really well, had good at-bats pretty much all the way through the game, especially the first seven innings."
 
Ralston, third in NCAA Division II in homers coming into the weekend, blasted his 18^th of the season – a three-run shot – in the first inning. He now stands alone in second place on MSU Denver's single-season home run list behind only Matt Malkin's sublime 25-homer season in 2019.
 
Ralston was just getting started, though. He followed up with a three-run double in the second – he'd driven all of the Roadrunners' runs to that point as they led 6-1.
 
With the MSU Denver single-game record of eight RBIs in sight, Ralston had two runners in scoring position when he batted in the third, and produced an RBI groundout for his seventh run batted in.
 
Ralston grounded out with a runner on first in the fourth inning. He led off the sixth and struck out, but had one more chance at the record in the seventh with the bases loaded – but he was called out on strikes.
 
Strain began substituting freely at that point and Ralston was pulled for a defensive replacement.
 
Not to be outdone, Garner was 3-for-4 with two homers and five RBIs.
 
Chase Anderson, Zach Schuler and Colin Stone each had three hits, while Anderson, Cody Schultz and Blake Mattey each had two RBIs.
 
MSU Denver's 21 hits were its third highest total of the season, and the Roadrunners had six doubles among their 10 extra-base hits.
 
Brad Helton (3-1) pitched five innings for the win, striking out seven, and Clayton Burke turned in a strong three-inning relief effort.
 
"We pitched well enough early to keep them off balance," Strain said. "We didn't finish it really well, but we had a big lead and we were able to get out of there."
 
The series continues with a Saturday doubleheader scheduled for noon.
 
"It was a good overall day," Strain said. "I was happy that we were able to get all the position players in the game, and it's always good when you can do that. Now we need to go out and get them tomorrow."