DENVER – The MSU Denver baseball team, Nos. 19 and 20 in the major Division II rankings, swept a doubleheader against Colorado Christian on Friday to tie the program record with its 14
th straight win.
"To win that many games in a row is pretty impressive, because no matter who you're playing, you've got to play well, because that's how baseball is," Strain said. "Hopefully we can break it tomorrow."
The Roadrunners, 36-8 overall and 21-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, won the opener 8-3 and took the second game 12-5 to match the 14-game tear turned in by the 2019 team.
The Roadrunners play Colorado Christian again Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at noon. MSU Denver needs two wins to tie the program's single-season record of 38, set in 2008. With a winning percentage of .818, the team is also on track to surpass the 2021 team's program-record winning percentage of .773.
MSU Denver has won 20 of its last 21 games, and its last two losses have been by one run.
Division II's best offense unleashed five more home runs – shots by
Ross Smith and
Cam Yuran in the opening game, and clouts by
Zach Schuler,
Tanner Garner and
Zach Paschke in the nightcap – but Friday's storyline was pitching.
First,
Andrew Hayes (8-1) twirled his first career complete game in the opener, allowing three runs on nine hits in the seven-inning contest.
"Hayes pitched really well," Strain said. "It was huge for us that we got seven innings from him."
In the second game, a couple of potential post-season pieces revealed themselves, as
Brad Helton (2-0) showed flashes of his 2021 form, fanning seven while allowing one run on four hits in four innings, and then
Ryan DePew pitched an impressive relief inning, striking out one.
"Brad has great stuff," Strain said. "He's competitive, and I think sometimes he's too competitive and overthrows, and then he winds up leaving balls over the plate.
"DePew was tremendous. He's got great stuff. He's going to continue to get more chances in bigger situations. His fastballs had great life and were at the knees. And his breaking ball was really good. He's as good an arm as we've got in the bullpen."