DENVER – The MSU Denver baseball team is stuck in neutral after splitting a doubleheader on Sunday against Sioux Falls (S.D.).
 
But, sooner or later, the Roadrunners expect to get everything into gear.
 
"It's a weird feeling right now, but all I know how to do is to keep coaching, and we're going to keep playing hard, and good things are going to happen for us," MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "Because there's a ton of talent here."
 
MSU Denver surrendered eight first-inning runs to open the day and yet it still feels like it let one slip away after rallying within 15-12 in the first-game setback, scoring seven in the bottom of the seventh and final inning and leaving 12 runners on base.
 
In game two, the Roadrunners pitched well and had timely hitting for a 5-3 victory that puts them at 5-6 overall.
 
"Everyone is a little upset because we expect more than what we're doing," infielder Caleb Albaugh said. "We haven't really clicked the way we wanted."
 
Albaugh a senior and four-year starter, clicked when it was needed in the second game, delivering a go-ahead, two-run single in the bottom of the fifth inning. In the top of the fifth, MSU Denver was unable to turn what would have been double play and Sioux Falls eventually had a two-out, two-run double for a 3-1 lead.
 
"We had a chance for a double play and I felt like I tried to do too much on it," Albaugh said. "I needed to get those runs two runs back. Thankfully I did."
 
Albaugh, who played second base in the opener and shortstop in the second game, moved up from eighth in the batting order to his traditional No. 2 spot in the lineup on Saturday and made a case for staying there by going 3-for-9 with four RBIs Sunday. He's batting .333 for the season and .342 for his career – he's seventh in program history with 157 career runs and is 11^th in hits (195).
 
"He's a tough kid who plays hard, and he played through some injuries last year," Strain said. "Having him back healthy, he's starting to look like himself again."
 
Additional offense came Andrew Biddle, who was 5-for-8 and had a triple in each game, and Andrew Graham, who was 4-for-7 with a second-game homer.
 
And, after a rough first game for the pitching staff, Dylan Webber (1-0) turned in a strong first start in game two, picking up the win after allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits in five innings.
 
"He threw the ball really well," Strain said. "He just had the one bad pitch, and maybe we should have turned a double play right before that to get out of it. But they didn't hit the ball very hard against him. Ground balls, weak contact, didn't make his own messes."
 
Gabe Austin and Zane Covey combined to pitch a scoreless sixth, and Brady McLean retired the side in order in the seventh for his first save.
 
"Other than the first inning today, we pitched the ball pretty well all weekend," Strain said.