DENVER – That's one way to break a long losing streak against an opponent.
 
MSU Denver erupted against Nos. 6 and 7 Colorado Mesa in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday for an 18-4 victory, collecting 19 hits – including four by Cody Schultz – and getting homers from Schultz, Bill Ralston and Cam Yuran.
 
It snapped a 15-game skid against Colorado Mesa, dating to May 7, 2017. It matched the Mavericks' worst loss since a 19-4 defeat to Utah on March 4, 2000. No Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference team has beaten Colorado Mesa by as much since New Mexico Highlands collected an 18-4 win on March 6, 2010.
 
"Our guys played well," MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "We pitched well and we got going offensively. I was really proud of how the guys played in the first game, and in the second game, we played better than what the final score indicated."
 
Colorado Mesa bounced back to win the second game 11-2, and – combined with a 9-8 win in Friday's series opener – leads the series 2-1 heading into Sunday's 1 p.m. finale at the Assembly Athletic Complex.
 
MSU Denver took an early 2-0 lead with second-inning runs against the Mavericks, but Mesa tied the game with two runs in top of the fourth.
 
Then MSU Denver responded with seventh in the bottom of the fourth, six more in the fifth and three in the sixth.
 
Schultz was 4-for-5 and also added a double and stolen base to his two-run homer in the fifth that made it 11-4. He's hitting .556 (10-for-18) with two homers, six RBIs and four stolen bases in five games since returning to the starting lineup.
 
"Cody is a tough, tough kid," Strain said. "He reminds me of myself a little bit – sometimes you've got to calm him at down because he gets going a little too fast. But at no point in the whole time he's been here have I ever questioned his competitiveness. He plays with an edge, plays with passion. He's very talented, he's worked on his swing, and when he's on base, he's a complete pest.
 
"He had a tough stretch early in the year and some other guys started hitting, and he was out for a while. But he never complained, continued to play hard, and he got his opportunity and took advantage."
 
MSU Denver took the lead for good on Colin Stone's two-run double in the fourth, and added on with a sacrifice fly by Caleb Albaugh and an RBI single by Zach Schuler before Yuran launched a massive three-run homer off the scoreboard in right center for a 9-2 lead.
 
Colorado Mesa hit two solo homers in the top of the fifth, but MSU Denver responded with the homer by Schultz, an RBI double by Ross Smith, a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch of Yuran, a run-scoring wild pitch, and an RBI single by Tanner Garner in the bottom of the fifth to make it 15-4.
 
Ralston tacked on a three-run homer in the sixth for the game's final runs.
 
Seven MSU Denver starters had at least two hits. Yuran was 3-for-4 with four RBIs, while Stone and Ralston each drove in three.
 
Austin Stone, Colin's brother, was solid in keeping Division II's best offense (in terms of batting average) in check, allowing four runs on seven hits in five innings to improve to 3-1. Brandon Moore pitched a dominant inning of relief, striking out the side, and Conner Nantkes finished up with a scoreless inning.
 
In the second game, Mesa hit four homers – including two by Caleb Farmer – to back Blake Rohm (4-1), originally a Virginia recruit, who retired the first 10 Roadrunners in order and worked six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits.
 
Ever the competitor, Strain isn't taking solace in taking one from the Mavericks.
 
"It's extremely difficult to come from behind and continue having good at-bats," he said of the second game. "And then stuff just doesn't go your way. We smoked two balls one inning and their shortstop made a couple of great plays. In baseball, momentum is huge. We had it all going into the game, but we gave it back to them."