March 22, 2008

The 21st-ranked Metro State baseball team swept a pair of Rocky Mounatin Athletic Conference (RMAC) games from crosstown rival Regis, Friday afternoon at Regis Field. The Roadrunners claimed the first game by a score of 11-5 and took the second game, 17-15.

Metro started the scoring in the first inning with a pair of RBI hits from Jake Palmer and Tyree Abshire. Pitcher Armando Casas kept the Regis offense at bay until the fifth inning when he allowed the Rangers five hits and four runs to tie the score at 5-5. The Roadrunners immediately responded in the top of the sixth by connecting for six runs of their own. Derek Colbert came in to earn the victory for the `Runners, recording the last seven outs of the game and allowing just one hit.

The second game of the doubleheader was almost a repeat of Thursday afternoon's slugfest with both teams piling on runs at will. The teams combined for 16 extra base hits, including 10 doubles. Regis started the scoring first, with nine hits and seven runs in the first two innings combined. Again the Metro offense responded with 17 runs in innings two-five. Jake Palmer highlighted the scoring with a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth inning. Regis attempted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh getting a three-run shot from Mike Khouri to close the score to 17-13. The Rangers managed two more runs, before Pete Klingsmith struck out Max Regalado to end the game.

The victories moved the Roadrunners to 23-4 and 15-0 in the RMAC. The two teams will complete the series with a 12 p.m. game on Saturday.