DENVER – For the MSU Denver baseball team, ranked Nos. 19 and 13 in Division II and riding a 16-game winning streak, the stakes are raised this weekend.
 
The Roadrunners wrap up the regular-season with a four-game series at Colorado School of Mines, with a single game Friday at 6 p.m., a noon doubleheader on Saturday, and a noon single game on Sunday.
 
"They've been in a lot of games and lost a lot of close games where they just haven't been able to finish it off," MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "That happened to them against Mesa and Regis. We're going to have to play well. They're going to be better than some of the teams we've played the past few weeks."
 
Mines is 17-20 overall and 12-12 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
"Their stats are really good," Strain said. "They're hitting close to .330, and pitching is similar to us at about 6.00 ERA. They've got a couple of starters who have thrown the ball really well and they have a couple of guys in their lineup who can really hurt you."
 
MSU Denver is 38-8 and 23-5. The Roadrunners have tied the school's single-season win record in addition to compiling its program-best win streak.
 
And yet …
 
"We haven't played real well for a while," Strain said. "It's not that we've played badly at all. We've played good defense and we've pitched it pretty well. We've scored double-digit runs in most games. But we'll get out to a big lead and kind of coast a little bit. But we're continuing to win. We just want to keep them hungry."
 
Continuing to win on the mound has been Jack Slominski, the right-hander who is 9-1 and has tied the program's single-season record for victories.
 
"He's been a really nice addition," Strain said. "We lost some guys who had started for us last year. One emphasis for us was to get some guys who could step in and start for us. He does what you need to do to be successful in this league, and that's the he doesn't make his own messes. He had a great strikeout-to-walk ratio in junior college, and I know he has a few more walks than he'd like this year, but he's done a nice job of that.
 
"He's gotten us back into the dugout so we can keep the momentum going."
 
The Roadrunners are getting closer to full strength, too, as shortstop Caleb Albaugh returned to action last weekend and catcher Colin Stone continues to get healthier.
 
"That just shows you the depth of our team," Strain said. "We had a stretch where Stone wasn't playing much and Caleb didn't play for a bunch of games. Those are two big pieces to the lineup that we didn't have for a while."
 
Meanwhile, the Roadrunners continue to get used to life among the nationally-ranked.
 
"That's pretty good for a team that hasn't been ranked a ton over the years," Strain said. "It's a little bit of a popularity contest and I get it – how can you tell who's better when you don't play against each other much? We've gotten some more respect around the country. I'm proud of our guys and how they're playing, and they deserve it.
 
"But we've just got to keep winning, because all that doesn't matter. It's nice to get the recognition, but at the end of the day we're going to have make plays, make pitches, swing the bats and score some runs this weekend because Mines is going to want to go out and take it to us."