Mines at Fort Lewis (in Aztec, N.M.), Sunday, 12/2 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines at Fort Lewis (in Aztec, N.M.), Monday, 11 a.m./1 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

---

THE WEEKEND
The Orediggers (6-6) open RMAC play, albeit a day late, as they visit Fort Lewis (6-8) for four games to be played in Aztec, N.M. The series was originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday but has been pushed back to Sunday-Monday due to weather.

PRESEASON POLL
Mines was chosen second in the RMAC preseason coaches' poll, announced on Monday. The Orediggers (32-15 in 2017) earned 103 points in the poll to sit second behind Colorado Mesa, which earned 121 points and 11 first-place votes. MSU Denver (102), Regis (90), and Chadron State (80) round out the top five.

LAST WEEKEND
Mines got its home schedule off to a great start with a two-game sweep of Montana State Billings, 7-1 and 7-2. The Oredigger bats supported strong starts from Claire Stringfellow and Maddie Rogers as Megan Dickson drove in two and Mines stole five bases in game one, and Sonoma Toot and Loren Dempsey led the way in the nightcap with two-RBI games as Katie Leiker launched her second home run of the season.

LAST YEAR VS. FORT LEWIS
Mines swept the series from Fort Lewis in 2017, including a pair of run-rule games as scoring came in buckets for the Orediggers. Mines scored 10 or more runs in all four games, totaling 47 trips across home plate as the Orediggers hit .456 and slugged .796 as a team during the series.

KEEPING IT 100
Katie Leiker became the latest member of the Mines 100-hit club at Dixie State, joining two other current Orediggers. Sonoma Toot is Mines' active leader with 143 hits, followed by Pua Fujinaga (117) and Leiker (103). Boston Ludlow could be up next, sitting on 92 career hits entering the weekend.

MASHIN' TATERS
Through 12 games, Mines has bashed an RMAC-best 14 home runs, which is already more than halfway to the 2017 total of 20 and more than the 2016 team's 10. Leading the way is Clara Larson, who has an RMAC-best six, with Pua Fujinaga, Katie Leiker, and Megan Dickson also hitting two each.

FUJINAGA ON A ROLL
Senior third baseman Pua Fujinaga has had Mines' hottest bat to start the season as she is putting up some career numbers. Coming off a solid junior season that saw her slash .288/.331/.364, Fujinaga has taken it to another level in 2018 with a slash line of .414/.500/.655. Of particular note is her patience at the plate – her six walks through 12 games this season are already ahead of her five from 2017.

IN THE CIRCLE
The Oredigger pitching staff has been led so far this year by Claire Stringfellow and Maddie Rogers, who each rank in the RMAC top four in ERA at 1.38 and 1.58, respectively. Stringfellow (3-3) has a staff-best 16 strikeouts in 25.1 innings, while Rogers (2-1) has held opponents to .250 in three starts.

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will head to Denver to play an RMAC series at Regis starting on March 3. The Orediggers return home on March 10 to open up a series with UCCS.