DENVER – If it's the first round of the RMAC Tournament, then MSU Denver must be playing CSU Pueblo.
 
And so it is that the Roadrunners, ranked Nos. 25 and 19 in the most recent national Division II polls, will be facing the ThunderWolves in Wednesday's first round of the double-elimination event in Grand Junction, Colo., for the third consecutive season.
 
"We know them pretty well," MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "We've played them a lot the past few years."
 
MSU Denver, 40-10 overall, is the second seed for the tournament and faces the fifth-seeded ThunderWolves (21-29) in an 11 a.m. game.
 
The teams have met 20 times in the past three seasons, with MSU Denver going 13-7 in those games, but only 8-7 before winning all five meetings in 2023.
 
And there's that first-round matchup in 2021 to remember. CSU Pueblo stunned the Roadrunners 10-7 that day, putting what was at the time the winningest team in program history on its heels.
 
This MSU Denver team, which is the program's all-time leader in wins and winning percentage (.800), will be seeking to avoid that potential upset. While three of the Roadrunners' wins against CSU Pueblo this season have been by an average of 14-2, the others were 11-8 and 4-3.
 
"They've got some solid arms on their pitching staff," Strain said. "I assume they'll go with (Zach) Pratt, who was the pitcher in the closest game we played against them. We'll have to play well for sure."
 
While teams such as third-seeded Regis, fourth-seeded Colorado School of Mines, CSU Pueblo and sixth-seeded Colorado Christian battled for position last weekend, MSU Denver had the weekend off and was able to give its players some rest and set its pitching rotation for the RMAC Tournament and a potential trip to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
 
The Roadrunners stayed sharp by playing eight-inning games – with full batting practice and pre-game infield – on Friday and Saturday.
 
"We got some rest," Strain said. "We gave them a few days off last week and gave them Sunday off. We should be rested and ready to go."
 
While winning the tournament is the obvious goal, the Roadrunners can possibly finish second (should host Colorado Mesa win) and still earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Form held in the first weekend of the Lone Star Conference Tournament, with that league's top four teams all advancing to the double-elimination portion of their tournament. A total of six teams are invited to the regional – the tournament champions from the RMAC and the Lone Star as well as the four highest-ranked remaining teams.
 
MSU Denver was tied for fifth with Lubbock Christian (Texas) in the most recent region rankings, and Lubbock Christian improved to 6-0 against region No. 7 West Texas A&M with two wins last weekend, which could sideline West Texas A&M.
 
But its better safe than sorry. And, if a darkhorse emerges as the RMAC champion as happened in 2021, MSU Denver could risk being squeezed out.
 
"Our guys are focused," Strain said. "They're a little frustrated with how we finished last weekend (a four-game split at Colorado School of Mines) and with how we played in Grand Junction (a 3-1 series loss) when we were there the first weekend of the (league) season.
 
"There's a lot of motivation for our guys to play well. We're every bit as good, or better, than the teams we're going to play, but it's baseball and you have to prove it. There are several teams in the tournament who know their season is over if they don't win the tournament, so you've got to play really well to beat them and hopefully we will this weekend."
 
That was the situation last year, when the Roadrunners – outside the top regional top six heading into the weekend – got the RMAC's automatic berth by winning it all, including a thrilling win over host Colorado Mesa in the championship game to earn their first-ever trip to the NCAAs.
 
"We have a lot of guys back who won the tournament last year," Strain said. "We played in some close, tight games. It was a lot of fun – it was even more fun since we won – and it was good baseball. We had good pitching, good defense and timely hitting."