Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines split a doubleheader pair of 2-1 game at nationally fifth-ranked Colorado Mesa on Saturday, March 19 at Suplizio Field
In two intense pitcher's duels, Mines took game one of the doubleheader 2-1 in 11 innings before falling by the same score of 2-1 in the night cap.
Game One: Mines 2, #5 Colorado Mesa 1 (11 Innings)
Picking up right where they left off last night, game one of today's doubleheader featured another pitcher's duel between Mines' A.J. Valerio and Mesa's Matt Allen.
Colorado Mesa was able to get on the board first in the second inning when they found a little two-out momentum. After back-to-back singles from Greg Reynolds and Lane LaCrone, John Ballard deposited a single to right centerfield to send Reynolds home from second base.
After each team left a pair of runners on in the third inning, Mines tied the game up in the fourth when Connor Lambert got his first homerun of the season when he knocked a one-out, 1-0 pitch over the right field wall.
From there, Mines' Valerio and CMU's Allen were simply impeccable as both of them pitched the first 6.2 innings and both gave up only one run. After that the Orediggers' Nathan Smythe and the Mavericks' Nick Borowski kept both teams at bay as the game moved into extra innings.
After navigating around some real trouble in the ninth inning, Mines finally took over in the 11th inning. With two outs, Joe Popp knocked a single into right field that scored Cody Marvel in from third base.
Owen Pigati – who had entered in the ninth inning – worked around a leadoff walk and induced a double play in the bottom of the 11th to get the 2-1 victory.
Game Two: #5 Colorado Mesa 2, Mines 1
The second game of the doubleheader played out exactly like the first two games of the series – another classic pitcher's duel. This time between Mines' Nate Olinger and Mesa's Tanner Herdt.
Unlike the first two games of the weekend series, the Orediggers pushed across the first run of the game.
With an out, Cody Marvel reached first base on an error by CMU's second baseman, and Jace Selsor followed with a base hit. After a second out, Jack Bevan blasted a single up the middle to score Marvel and put CSM up 1-0.
From there, Olinger was locked in on the mound as he sat the Colorado Mesa lineup down in order three times, and only allowed lone hits in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.
Mines entered in the bottom of the seventh still up 1-0 with Olinger still on the mound, but it was then that Colorado Mesa finally found some offense. With a runner on second and third base, PJ Gonzalez tied the game with a sac fly to right field. After a walk, James Young III snuck a single through the middle of the infield for the 2-1 victory.
