DENVER – MSU Denver baseball ran into a tough Sunday at home, falling in both games of a doubleheader to the CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves.
The Roadrunners move to 32-10 overall and 20-4 in RMAC play following the sweep.
Game One: CSU Pueblo 14, MSU Denver 3
The opener got away from MSU Denver early as CSU Pueblo used a big middle stretch to take control and never looked back.
The ThunderWolves broke things open with a multi-run surge in the middle innings, creating separation that the Roadrunners couldn't recover from. MSU Denver showed flashes offensively but struggled to string together enough momentum against Pueblo's pitching.
Marques Abulhosn led the offense, going 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Jared Swarbrick added an RBI and a run. Lathan Buzard and Alek Martinez also contributed with multi-hit efforts.
One bright spot came late on the mound, where Kaden Straily delivered a dominant relief outing. Straily tossed the final three innings without allowing a baserunner while striking out three, stabilizing things after a difficult start.
CSU Pueblo's offense proved to be the difference, capitalizing on key scoring opportunities to secure the 14-3 victory.
Game Two: CSU Pueblo 12, MSU Denver 6
The Roadrunners came out swinging in game two and grabbed early momentum, but another big inning from CSU Pueblo flipped the game and ultimately sealed the doubleheader sweep.
MSU Denver struck first in the opening inning, highlighted by a three-run home run from Lathan Buzard to take an early 3-0 lead. The Roadrunners added another run in the second on an RBI single from Abulhosn to push the advantage to 4-2.
The turning point came in the third inning, when CSU Pueblo erupted for five runs to take a 7-4 lead. MSU Denver briefly responded, trimming the deficit to 7-5 and later 9-6 after a solo home run from Brayden Oram, but the ThunderWolves answered again.
A decisive three-run home run in the fifth inning stretched the lead to 12-6, putting the game out of reach and halting any Roadrunner comeback attempt.
Offensively, Buzard led the way with a 2-for-4 performance, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Abulhosn reached base three times with a hit and two walks, while Royce Vandine (2-for-3, walk) and Brooks Rasmussen (2-for-3, run) added strong contributions. Swarbrick, Noah Wicks, and Oram also chipped in offensively.
On the mound, Sam Coffman took the loss, falling to 3-1 after allowing seven runs in 2.2 innings of work.
Despite the setback, MSU Denver remains near the top of the RMAC standings and will look to bounce back quickly as the Roadrunners continue conference play in the coming week.
