COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — MSU Denver split its Saturday doubleheader on the road, riding a dominant opener before running into a late-game surge in the second game, moving to 34-11 overall and 22-5 in RMAC play.
GAME ONE: MSU Denver 8, UCCS 2
The Roadrunners set the tone early and never let up, backing a complete-game effort from Alejandro Maltos García. The right-hander improved to 5-1 on the year after tossing all seven innings, allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out five.
Offensively, MSU Denver wasted little time getting going. Brayden Oram opened the scoring with a solo shot in the second inning, and Brooks Rasmussen added an RBI single in the fifth to stretch the lead to 2-0.
After UC Colorado Springs briefly cut into the deficit, Lathen Buzard delivered the turning point. His two-run homer in the sixth pushed the lead to 4-1, and he struck again in the seventh with another blast to make it 6-1. That back-to-back power surge effectively put the game out of reach.
Michael Deitz added the finishing touch with a two-run homer later in the seventh, capping an eight-run, 12-hit performance. Buzard led the charge with two home runs and three RBIs, while Rasmussen chipped in a pair of hits and an RBI.
On the mound, Maltos García was in full control throughout, limiting traffic and shutting down any momentum swings to secure the win.
GAME TWO: UCCS 12, MSU Denver 6
The bats stayed hot in game two, but a disastrous fifth inning proved too much to overcome.
MSU Denver built steady momentum early, taking a 6-4 lead behind a balanced offensive effort. Brooks Rasmussen drove in three runs, Marques Abulhosn and Royce Vandine each added RBIs, and Brayden Oram paced the lineup with a 3-for-4 performance and two runs scored. Michael Deitz also reached base consistently, going 2-for-3 with two runs.
The Roadrunners appeared in control after plating three runs in the fifth to grab that 6-4 advantage, but the game flipped in the bottom half of the inning. The Mountain Lions erupted for seven runs, highlighted by a grand slam from Tyler Genrich that turned a tight contest into a 9-6 deficit in an instant.
That inning marked the decisive turning point, as MSU Denver's bullpen couldn't stop the surge. Michael Banderas was tagged with the loss, dropping to 2-3 on the season, while Jason Fink earned the win in relief for UCCS (2-2).
Despite tallying 13 hits, the Roadrunners couldn't recover from the big inning, ultimately falling 12-6.
MSU Denver showed both its firepower and resilience across the doubleheader, using timely hitting and dominant pitching to claim the opener before being undone by one costly inning in game two. The Roadrunners will look to secure the series when they wrap things up Sunday afternoon.
