PUEBLO – The Colorado School of Mines baseball team had an early two-run lead, but could not hold off home-standing CSU-Pueblo as the ThunderWolves captured a 3-2, nonconference win over the Orediggers at Rawlings Field in Pueblo on Tuesday afternoon.
Mines (5-9, 2-4 RMAC) got a solid five innings out of sophomore Ben Gilman, who recorded eight strikeouts and scattered five hits over his five full frames of work. He allowed two earned runs and walked two and allowed just one extra-base hit during his outing.
Senior Blake Dunham (1-1) was credited with the loss after allowing one earned runs on two hits in an inning of relief.
Mines was limited to five hits during the afternoon, with Charlie Basil, Nate Olinger, Jordan Williams, Evan Brown and Matthew Pullos each recording a hit during the contest, but both Mines' runs came on RBI groundouts by Bobby Egeberg (0-for-3) and Travis Ramos (0-for-4).
The game opened with the game's starting pitchers, Gilman and Jeremiah Struble, holding both offenses at bay, but after Struble exited the game in the fourth inning, Mines was able to push a run across in the form of an RBI groundout by Egeberg that scored Olinger from third to take a 1-0 lead.
Mines added another run in the top of the sixth when Ramos grounded out to the CSUP (8-9, 4-4 RMAC) third baseman which scored Kyle Wallace from third.
The ThunderWolves responded in the sixth with a pair of runs after Scott Hoyt and Evan Kenebrew led off the inning with a single and double to put runners in scoring position with no outs. Freshman lefty Michael Tanner replaced Gilman on the mound and promptly got a strikeout. Dunham was then brought in, and a groundout and single up the middle both scored runners, tying up the game at 2-2.
CSUP took its first lead of the game in the home half of the seventh when Kenebrew singled to left field to score Mike Kneuppel.
Mines would be able to record one hit per inning in each of the final two frames, but no runs scored, allowing CSUP to take the 3-2 nonconference win.
Mines will return home to Jim Darden Field for a four-game series against Colorado Mesa this weekend. The series opener on Friday is set to begin at 4:30 p.m.
