DENVER – Looking for a script to follow for starting off a big baseball series?
 
Try this one: MSU Denver pitcher Jack Slominski carved a four-hit, complete-game shutout and his teammates supported him with solid defense and enough runs to end the game early as the Roadrunners took down league power and program nemesis Colorado Mesa 12-0 in eight innings Saturday at the Assembly Athletic Complex.
 
"It's always good when you're playing your first conference game to get a win," MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "And when you're playing a team that has won this league for however many years in a row, goes to regionals every year, and has been the standard for our conference … when you have 20 new guys who really don't understand what the competition is and how big these games are, this was good for our guys."
 
It all starts with the starter, and Slominski kept Colorado Mesa from getting going.
 
The senior right-hander allowed only singles, didn't walk a batter, and struck out eight. Mesa had one baserunner reach third all day, and one other reached second.
 
"He just filled up the zone," Strain said. "Four hits, and I'm not sure any of them were hit very hard – bloops and ground balls that got through. He did a nice job and we played good defense behind him.
 
"That's one of the best performances we've had since I've been here."
 
In fact it's one of MSU Denver's best performances ever against Mesa.
 
It's only the second time ever that the Roadrunners shut out the Mavericks – the other was the second meeting ever between the teams – on April 14, 1989. They've played 180 times since.
 
"The cutter and sinker were on, and I only sprinkled in the slider when I needed it," Slominski said. "When I can get the cutter and sinker on both sides of the plate, I get a lot of ground balls, a lot of early strikes.
 
"My stuff is good enough that if I go out there and execute I don't think it really matters who's in the box."
 
Slominski, who needed just 88 pitches to go the distance, set the tone by getting three ground-ball outs in the top of the first.
 
"The goal as a starting pitcher, when you're going out there first, is to get a zero," Slominski said. "And then every time we scored the first three innings, it was huge to come back and get those zeroes."
 
The Roadrunners put on the pressure with two in the first inning, three in the second and two more in the third.
 
"It felt a little bit like last year," Slominski said. "I pitched with big leads a lot last year. You get used to sitting around in the dugout. I don't complain when I get runs, that's for sure."
 
MSU Denver wrapped out 18 hits, including three by Jake Williams, who slugged a two-run homer out onto Rio Court in the sixth for a 9-0 lead.
 
It was Williams' 40^th career homer – five behind program record-holder Rusty Befus (1988-92) – but just his fourth of the season.
 
"I just keep swinging," Williams said. "That's what I've been taught, ever since I was little, that it will work itself out. I've been working with (coaches) Joe (Strain) and Matt (Malkin). Today I told myself to let loose and have fun."
 
MSU Denver (10-9) looked to have wrapped up the game via the RMAC's 12-run rule in the seventh inning, as a base hit should have scored Jesse Velders from second base. However, Velders' path to third was blocked by the Mesa third baseman, and even though they collided and went to the ground, Velders wasn't awarded an extra base for obstruction – perhaps teams should tackle baserunners in similar situations in the future.
 
No matter, the Roadrunners eventually walked it off in the eighth, when Velders' single drove in Zach Schuler and made it 12-0.
 
MSU Denver was feeling good after its first-game victory, but wants to make sure it keeps its focus on trying to get a series victory. The Roadrunners haven't done that against Mesa since 2011.
 
"We knew we had to come out strong, come out fast," Williams said. "They've been dominating us for quite some time, and it was about time we took that back. It was nice to have that energy with the guys. We talked to them all week about how this was a big week, so let's punch first."
 
Said Strain: "It's a good start, but one win doesn't do you a whole lot of good. They've got pride, and they're going to come out and get after it tomorrow."