DENVER – MSU Denver used a seven-run third inning to break it open and pulled away for a 15-4 victory Friday over New Mexico Highlands in the opener of a four-game baseball series.
 
"We pitched pretty well," MSU Denver coach Ryan Strain said. "They came out swinging, and they're better than they've been the last couple of years. We didn't make plays for Jack (Slominski) in the first inning, and we were kind of in slow motion offensively for the first couple of innings.
 
"I got after them for the energy level, and then we got the seven-run inning."
 
In the third inning, Cam Yuran's RBI triple broke a 3-3 tie, and the Roadrunners got run-scoring doubles from Zach Schuler and Tyler Tobey as well as RBI singles by Jesse Velders, Cal Walsh and Caleb Albaugh. Another run scored on an error, making it 10-3
 
MSU Denver (18-17 overall, 9-8 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) produced 18 hits, matching its third-highest total of the season.
 
"We had a tough stretch at the beginning (of the schedule), but we've got some good series coming up, and I think we can get hot," Schuler said. "We just need the offense to stay hot and the pitchers to keep doing what they're doing."
 
Schuler launched his team-high eighth homer of the season in the sixth.
 
"The second pitch, he left it over the plate," Schuler said. "I wasn't thinking too much, just took a good swing at it."
 
The homer was the 37^th of Schuler's career, moving him into a tie for fourth in program history with Ross Smith (2022-23). Teammates Jake Williams (42) and Yuran (38) are also in pursuit of the school-record 45 by Rusty Befus (1988-92).
 
Slominski (5-3) pitched seven strong innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits, with one walk while tying a career-high of 10 strikeouts.
 
Kai Inouye and Nolan Livsey each pitched a scoreless inning while fanning a combined three as the Roadrunners' staff recorded a season-best 13 strikeouts.
 
"We hit really well, and we pitched really well," Schuler said. "That was fun."
 
Highlands dropped to 7-24 and 3-10.
 
Leadoff man Andrew Biddle had four hits and scored three runs, while Velders had three hits and three RBIs.
 
On the career charts, Schuler moved into 12^th with his 41^st career double and into 10^th by scoring three runs to give him 148.
 
Williams was hit by a pitch for the 42^nd time, tying the program record set by Tim Uhls (2000-01).
 
And Caleb Albaugh, while also moving into a tie for 11^th in RBIs (143) and into third all-time in runs (179) by breaking a tie with Chase Anderson (2019-22), also became the program's all-time leader with 671 career at-bats – he passed program greats Reece Gorman (2005-08) and Befus.

Albaugh needs 26 hits to pass Befus for the program record of 247.
 
"Caleb has been a mainstay for us," Strain said. "He had really good years his first two years and fought through some injuries last year but still had a solid year. … He competes and is always going to give his best effort."
 
The series continues Saturday and Sunday, though the schedule has been altered due to expected high winds on Saturday. The teams will play a single game at 11 a.m. Saturday before playing a Sunday doubleheader, also at 11 a.m.