DENVER – The MSU Denver baseball team, ranked Nos. 21 and 26 in the two major Division II polls, is set to settle in for what it hopes is a successful eight-game homestand.
Four-game series against Adams State and Colorado Christian await, and it starts with Adams State coming to the Assembly Athletic Complex for doubleheaders Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at noon.
"It'll be nice to play at home again these next two weekends," MSU Denver coach
Ryan Strain said.
MSU Denver (30-8 overall, 15-5 for second place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) has actually played more games away from home (22) than at home (16) to this point.
This weekend carries the extra benefit of Saturday's Military Appreciation Day and post-game Fireworks Night, as well as Youth Day. The entire weekend is also Alumni Weekend.
"It's a jam-packed weekend, and hopefully it's a good time for everybody," Strain said. "There's going to be a lot of energy."
Adams State comes to town at 10-23 overall and 5-11 in the RMAC, but the Grizzlies have picked up victories against both Regis and Colorado School of Mines in league play, and the Roadrunners will be guarding against any potential letdowns.
"They've got some guys who can swing the bats," Strain said. "They've played some games tough against some teams. They can score. They haven't pitched as well, and we really want to get on their starting pitching early – that's important every weekend against every team."
MSU Denver, which has won eight straight games and 14 of its last 15, is within reach of the program record of 30 wins, needing nine over the course of 12 regular-season games, plus the postseason, to get there.
"You've just got to keep winning," Strain said. "That's all you can do. You can't slip up, can't take a bad loss. There's some stuff on the horizon for our program that we can still reach."
The Roadrunners continue to send out perhaps the most lethal lineup in Division II, with the country's best batting average (.373), as well as national bests of 121 doubles, 500 hits, 444 runs and a .636 slugging percentage. MSU Denver is third in home runs with 72.
Among the mashers leading the way is
Ross Smith, the right fielder who leads the country with 25 doubles while batting .415 with eight homers and 55 RBIs.
"Ross is swinging the bat really well – along with a lot of other guys," Strain said. "You feel good when you're filling out the lineup card for sure."
Smith needs just three doubles to break Ross Gorman's single-season program record of 27, which the RMAC All-Century Team (1909-2009) member set in 2008.
"Let's hope he gets that," Strain said, laughing. "He's been a special player for us, and he's got a lot of special players around him.
In last weekend's four-game sweep at New Mexico Highlands, Smith batted .588 (10-for-17) with six doubles, one homer and 10 RBIs while scoring seven runs.
The league record of 32 doubles was set by Sam Christensen of Southern Colorado (now CSU Pueblo) in 2001.
"Ross has been really consistent," Strain said. "He's playing a really good outfield. He's a steady force in the middle of the lineup."
