DENVER, Colo. — The MSU Denver Roadrunners put on an offensive clinic Sunday afternoon at the Assembly Athletic Complex, posting 32 runs on 33 hits in their two wins over the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys.
The Roadrunners improve to 17-15 overall and 9-5 in conference play.
Cam Yuran (3-for-4), Easton Amundson (3-for-5), and Gavin Schmeh (2-for-5) all tallied five RBIs in game one of the doubleheader, accounting for 15 of the 20 runs scored by the Roadrunners.
Yuran and Schmeh homered once, while Amundson went yard twice, nearly in the same spot both times. With those two homers, he extends his team lead to 17 on the season, which also ranks second in the RMAC.
On top of his two-run homer in the third inning, Yuran knocked in two more runs later in the inning on a single to right. Schmeh put his team up by double digits with a deep, long ball to right for a grand slam in the seventh.
Nolan Livsey was credited with his sixth win of the season in game one after tossing four innings, allowing six runs while registering four strikeouts.
Andrew Graham went up to the plate nine times on the afternoon and recorded just one out. He went 7-for-8 with six runs, four RBIs, and one walk. He had a pair of doubles in each game and raises his batting average to .452 on the year.
Dylan Webber got the start in game two and went four innings while allowing four runs and striking out five. He did not get a decision in this one. Carter Swan notched the win, striking out all four batters in his 1.1 innings of work.
GAME ONE (MSU Denver 20-8)
The Cowboys grabbed the first runs of the game in the first frame with a two-RBI double to the left-center gap.
Erubiel Ortiz got MSU Denver on the board in the bottom half with a solo shot to the left.
Andrew Graham found the right-center gap a few batters later to bring around one more run for his team, bringing it to a 2-2 tie after one frame.
NMHU went back out in front the next inning, putting up three runs thanks to a couple of base hits and a sac fly.
After a scoreless second for MSUD, Cam Yuran inched his squad closer in the third with a towering two-run big fly to right, making it a 5-4 game.
Easton Amundson repeated with a homer almost identical to Yuran's two batters later, putting the Roadrunners out in front 6-5. Gavin Schmeh slapped a single up the middle to bring around the seventh run for the Roadrunners.
Jesse Velders hit a ground-rule double to left to bring around the sixth run of the inning. Yuran knocked a two-RBI single to right to put his team up 10-5.
The Cowboys responded in the fourth with a run of their own. They notched another two in the fifth to cut the deficit to two runs.
Yuran continued his torrid day at the plate with another RBI single in the sixth to bring home Velders for an 11-8 advantage. Amundson hit his second towering shot, this time a three-run homer to put MSUD up 14-8. Vandine made it back-to-back homers two pitches later for a 15-8 lead.
Schmeh broke this one open even more with a grand slam in the seventh to put the Roadrunners up 19-8. Andrew Paolini hit a pinch-hit double and then scored on a wild pitch to end the game.
GAME TWO (MSU Denver 12-10)
Both teams went scoreless in the first two innings, and then the Cowboys hit a two-run homer in the third to kick things off.
They grabbed another run in the fourth with a solo shot off the first pitch in the inning.
Schmeh continued his stellar day at the plate with a two-RBI single for the Roadrunners' first runs of the game, then a Biddle sac-fly tied it up at three at the end of four.
The Cowboys jumped back in front in the fifth with a two-run homer for a 5-3 lead.
Velders inched his team closer the next frame with an RBI double, making it a one-run contest. Yuran tied the game up one pitch later with an RBI double of his own.
Graham put them out in front with a shot through the right side to score Yuran. Amundson hit a fly ball that was lost in the sun, leading to an RBI triple. Schmeh brought him home with a sac fly. Nathan Gutierrez registered a pinch-hit single for the ninth run for MSUD.
NMHU put up a five-spot in the sixth to take a 10-9 lead over the Roadrunners.
Graham brought the 10th run around for MSU Denver, with an RBI double down the line. Amundson ripped a single into right for another lead change in favor of the Roadrunners. Vandine made it a two-run lead with a double of his own the next at-bat.
Carter Swan closed the door in a nail-biting seventh inning with a bases-loaded strikeout to earn the doubleheader sweep.
UP NEXT
Head coach Ryan Strain and his squad will get another two games against the Cowboys tomorrow, with game one starting at Noon MT.
