PUEBLO, Colo. – MSU Denver broke out in a big way Thursday, opening up a key series against CSU Pueblo with an easy 24-2 victory.
Cam Yuran blasted two of the Roadrunners' season-high five home runs while driving in six,
Zach Schuler had a home run and five RBIs, and
Cal Walsh had three doubles, a homer and four RBIs as part of a 24-hit barrage. Yuran, Jake Williiams and
Tyler Tobey all had three hits.
Meanwhile
Jack Slominski (4-3) kept the ThunderWolves at bay, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out seven in six innings.
The game was ended after the seventh inning due to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's 12-run rule.
"That just shows you what happens when Schuler, Williams and Yuran hit," MSU Denver coach
Ryan Strain said of his three All-Americans. "I hate to put pressure on them like that, but when they do, it puts pressure on the other team and allows our other guys to do their thing. And when you have good at-bats and put pressure on the other team, this is what it can look like.
"Then Jack pitches well and when we scored, he put up a zero – made them swing the bat. We made all the plays behind him … it was just a good day all around."
MSU Denver improved to 15-16 overall and 6-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while CSU Pueblo dropped to 17-12 and 6-7.
The teams play a doubleheader Friday at 1 p.m. before wrapping up the series with a single game Saturday at noon.
MSU Denver got off to a good start with a two-out, two-run single by
Andre Chacon.
"Dre's hit with two out was big," Strain said. "Those are the hits we haven't been getting. If we don't get that hit, maybe this game looks different. But after that, it started to look like it used to for us – maybe not scoring that many runs, but we got in good hitter's counts and made them pay, put together good at-bat after good at-bat and even most of our outs were hard-hit outs.
"And we did that against a pitcher who has one of the best ERAs in our league. I can't explain it."
Yuran is now third in program history with 38 career homers after moving past
Ross Smith (2022-23). He's also sixth in career runs (172) and tied for sixth with 349 career total bases.
After a slow start, Yuran is now 10-for-22 (.455) with four homers and 13 RBIs over his last five games.
"He's calmed it down a little bit, and he's gotten some hits to fall in," Strain said. "When you get some to fall in, you can build off that, and when you don't you can get in a rut. He's healthier than he has been, too."
MSU Denver will look to continue its ascent up the standings in the rest of the series.
"That was their best starting pitcher, but I told our guys that we put it on (Colorado) Mesa in the first game of that series and we didn't do anything after that," Strain said. "CSU Pueblo has pride and they'll bounce back and be ready to play. We've got to match their intensity, because it doesn't matter if you win by 20 or lose by 20, the next game starts at 0-0."
