With cold winter days the norm and the basketball teams still several games away from tournament play, it's hard to believe that baseball season is under way. Yet last weekend the Roadrunners played two doubleheaders against the University of Nebraska-Kearney, coming away with a 3-1 record to kick off their season.

The team has been practicing since Jan. 11, and the cold, wet weather has made it difficult. "We've never had to practice inside as much as we have this year," said Head Coach Vince Porreco.

Now in his 11th year at Metro State, Porreco is hoping for steady growth from this year's team. "Our goal is to take it one game at a time," he said, "and to improve every single week so that we peak at the end of the season. The season will come down to how disciplined we are and how willing we are to make sacrifices."

Porreco, whose team finished 25-26 last year, guided the Roadrunners to its first-ever Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship in 2002. The Roadrunners have made the RMAC tournament in three of the past five years.

With a 3-1 start and a strong roster, the coach is confident the team will have a strong finish this year. "We have a tremendous amount of leadership and the team is really pulling together," Porreco said. Top seniors include pitchers Blake Eager, Caleb Salankey and Brad Swartzlander and infielders Adam Wolfinger and Paul Workman. "But we've also seen some of the new guys taking on the responsibility of being a leader," Porreco added. "Everybody's important and has a role on this team."

The Roadrunners take on Northwest Nazarene in two doubleheaders at 11 a.m. Friday and Saturday at the Auraria field. For more information go to http://www.mscd.edu/~runners/.