GOLDEN – More strong pitching and an all-around effort at the plate allowed the NFCA No. 13 Colorado School of Mines softball team to defeat Black Hills State 6-1 in Sunday's nightcap in Golden and complete its third four-game conference sweep of the season.
Senior Ashley Goletz was workmanlike in the circle, throwing 63-of-89 (70.8 percent) pitches for strikes and scattering eight hits with one earned run, one walk and four strikeouts in 7.0 innings to improve to 11-3. Goletz is tied for fourth in the RMAC in wins and eighth in strikeouts with 59.
Macy Jones helped put the game out of reach in the sixth, driving in two with a deep triple to the fence in right center, extending her team-leading hitting streak to 10 straight. The senior speedster went 1-for-4 with the two RBI and became co-owner of the all-time RMAC and school record for triples, equaling Heidi Bauer (2002-04) with the 15th of her career and conference-best fifth of the season.
With wind gusts reaching upwards of 30 miles per hour, Mines executed small ball to perfection in the early innings, capturing a 2-0 lead after four with nearly identical sequences in the second and fourth frames. Junior Sami Springer led off each at-bat with bunt singles; sophomore Cassie Ford followed with sacrifice bunts down the first base side and senior Molly Thiebaut then plated Springer with RBI singles to centerfield.
Thiebaut ended the game 2-for-2 with two RBI, one run and one walk, while Springer was 2-for-3 with the two runs, pushing her hitting streak to a season-high five straight.
Junior Gianna Duncan was 1-for-3 with one RBI and a run scored, plating freshman pinch-runner Dana Gallegos with a single deep in the hole at shortstop in the sixth.
Senior Lauren Aberle notched the other RBI in the sixth, lifting a sacrifice fly to the second baseman in shallow rightfield that scored junior Melissa Marshall.
Winners of seven straight, the Orediggers (29-4-1, 20-2 RMAC) will look to make it 16 in a row at CSM Softball Field next weekend against New Mexico Highlands in the final home series of the regular season. Mines will celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Day on Saturday, April 13 and host its annual Senior Day on Sunday after the 11 a.m. contest of the twinbill.
