LA MIRADA, Calif. – Jet lag? Bats left at baggage claim?
 
Whatever the case might have been, the MSU Denver offense arrived for the second and third games of its four-game series with Biola (Calif.), as the Roadrunners put up 24 runs on 26 hits Friday in a doubleheader sweep of 9-5 and 15-4.
 
Biola won Thursday's opening game 12-2.
 
"I was real happy with how the guys played today," MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "Yesterday was a tough day – we just didn't play very hard, didn't compete the way I thought we should have. I challenged them a little bit after the game and I thought they responded."
 
Jake Williams homered in each game as part of a 4-for-7 day and Tanner Garner was 5-for-7 with a three-run, second-game homer.
 
Leading 9-2 after 6 ½ innings of the nine-inning opener, the Roadrunners needed last-out help from closer Eric Cox to escape a bases-loaded jam. Cox needed just two pitches to record his second save of the season and the 21^st of his career – he needs three more to become the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's all-time leader.
 
In the seven-inning nightcap, MSU Denver scored eight runs before making the first out of the game (and scored the ninth run on the first out) and had little trouble closing it out. Williams' three-run homer made it 4-0 in the first, and Garner's three-run homer made it 14-4 in the fifth.
 
"We hit the ball hard," Strain said. "We had a lot of hits, but we also hit the ball really hard."
 
Both Andrew Hayes and Reichle Arcilise picked up victories to improve to 2-0.
 
Hayes started the opener and pitched five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts. He's now pitched 8 1/3 innings, and has a 2.16 ERA with 11 strikeouts.
 
Arcilise entered the second game after the Roadrunners gave up four in the first and pitched two scoreless innings, giving him 4 1/3 scoreless for the season, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out four. Arcilise has fanned 10 already in 2023.
 
Lefty Zane Covey struck out three in two innings, and Clayton Burke added a scoreless frame as the Roadrunners improved to 5-1. The game was called due to darkness after 6 ½ innings.
 
"We got another really good pitching performance from Hayes that got us started off right in the first game," Strain said. "And I'm proud of our bullpen. They put up some big zeroes in the second game to give us a chance to win that one."
 
The series concludes Saturday with a noon MDT game.
 
"That's a good team that doesn't give in," Strain said. "They play hard and it's a challenge for us."