DENVER — No. 25 MSU Denver dropped the opener of its non‑conference home‑and‑home with UCCS on Friday, falling 15–9 at the Assembly Athletic Complex. The Roadrunners move to 9–3, while UCCS improves to 8–7. The teams will meet again Saturday in Colorado Springs for a doubleheader to close the series.

MSU Denver struck first. After an early UCCS error, Noah Wicks ripped a two‑run double off the wall in the first inning to put the Roadrunners up 2–0. One inning later, Brayden Oram launched his second homer of the season, a solo shot down the left‑field line, extending the lead to 3–0.

UCCS responded with an eight‑run third inning, taking control 8–3 and forcing the Roadrunners to play catch‑up the rest of the way. A solo homer from Lathen Buzard in the bottom of the third kept MSU Denver within striking distance at 8–4.

Trailing 10–4 in the seventh, MSU Denver surged again.

Brooks Rasmussen drilled a three‑run homer to right to pull the Roadrunners within 10–7. Moments later, Wicks delivered his third straight double, driving in another run and making it a two‑run game at 10–8.

UCCS added two more in the eighth, but the Roadrunners answered again when Oram crushed his second homer of the game, a solo shot to center, cutting the deficit to 12–9. A late three‑run ninth by UCCS ultimately put the game out of reach.

Despite the loss, MSU Denver's top performers powered a 10‑hit outing:
• Brayden Oram: 2-for-3, two home runs, two RBIs, three runs
• Noah Wicks: 3-for-4, three doubles, three RBIs
• Brooks Rasmussen: 2-for-4, three‑run homer, three RBIs, one run

The trio combined for eight of MSU Denver's nine RBIs.

MSU Denver heads to Colorado Springs on Saturday for a doubleheader at UCCS, wrapping up the non‑conference matchup before returning to RMAC play.