Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Sonoma Toot hit home runs in each game and Colorado School of Mines received quality starts from both Hallie Smith and Maddie Rogers as they took two from UCCS to win their series.

The Orediggers (17-20, 15-15 RMAC) picked up two crucial conference wins as they blasted the Mountain Lions 13-4 in five innings to start the day before winning a 3-2 thriller to cap the series. The two teams split their opening doubleheader on Saturday.

Toot drove in three runs in each game going 4-for-6, including all three of Mines' runs in game two. Paige Noehring drove in four in game one. Smith struck out six in five innings to earn the game one win, while Rogers did not allow an earned run while tying her career high with seven K's in the nightcap.

Mines wore pink jerseys for the doubleheader in honor of StrikeOut Cancer, an NFCA initiative to raise funds for cancer research.

GAME ONE - Mines 13, UCCS 4 (5 inn.)
A monster nine-run first inning set the tone as the Orediggers blasted UCCS 13-4 in the opener.

A day after being shut out by UCCS starter Dani Fonseca, Mines plated nine against her to start the game before reliever Stephanie Chitkowski took over in relief. The scoring began with Toot's two-run bomb to left field, and after Mines loaded the bases, Pua Fujinaga, Dani Valerio, and Brielle Asato collected RBIs before Noehring cleared the bases with a three-run double. Noehring later scored on an error to set the lead at 9-0.

Kara Walling tacked on a two-run single down the leftfield line in the third before Toot singled in Noehring, but UCCS showed signs of life in the fourth as they pulled back a run on Makenna Smith's single. The Orediggers added an insurance run in the fourth when Noehring grounded out to score Katie Leiker, and Melissa Martinek's homer in the fifth wasn't enough to keep the game from a run-rule ending.

Smith was dealing to improve to 12-8, striking out six including four in a row at one point. Fonseca (6-6) was charged with the loss as Chitkowski allowed four earned in three innings of relief.

Mines' 13 runs matched their season high. Noehring (3), Walling (2), Toot (2), and Asato (2) recorded multi-hit games as Mines pounded out 14 hits in all; freshman Melissa Kaiser recorded her first career base knock with a pinch-hit appearance in the fourth.

GAME TWO - Mines 3, UCCS 2
Sonoma Toot drove in all three of Mines' runs, and some smart defense in the closing innings helped Mines hold on to beat UCCS 3-2 for the series win.

UCCS took a 1-0 lead in the third when Haley Smith singled in Nikki Hoffman, but Mines answered in the bottom half when Noehring singled, advanced on Walling's sacrifice, and came in on Toot's single up the middle.

Toot launched a two-run home run to left in the fifth, taking advantage of Noehring's lead-off single, to set the lead at 3-1, but UCCS battled back in the sixth. An error extended the inning and allowed Martinek to drive in Jordyn Cusimano, but Boston Ludlow threw out the potential tying run at home to end the inning with a 3-2 lead.

In the UCCS seventh, Fonseca and Smith reached before Hallie Smith relieved Maddie Rogers. Makenna Smith singled, but Fonseca was thrown out at the plate trying to stretch for the tying run; Hallie Smith then struck out Claire Nibbe and Katie Tourtillott with the bases loaded to end the game.

Rogers (5-11) matched her season and career high with seven strikeouts, battling into the seventh inning allowing no earned runs. Smith's save was her second of the season.

Noehring and Toot each recorded two-hit games as the pair combined to score all three runs. Walling, Kara Jones, Leiker, and Fujinaga also reached safely.

NEXT UP
Mines heads to Chadron State next weekend for a four-game series.