GOLDEN, Colo. - Strong pitching and the ability to pounce on UCCS defensive mistakes helped Colorado School of Mines win two games to start their RMAC series.

Mines took the opener 7-3 before hanging on for a 2-1 win later in the afternoon. The Orediggers (12-10, 6-4 RMAC) received strong starts from Claire Stringfellow and Hallie Smith as they quieted the UCCS (8-14, 3-7 RMAC) bats in both games. 

GAME 1 - Mines 7, UCCS 3
Mines built a big early lead and never looked back as it took the series opener 7-3.

Claire Stringfellow cruised through the first half of the game, giving up a lead-off hit and then retiring 13 straight batters while Mines got out to a 7-0 lead on nine total hits. 

The Orediggers made it 3-0 in the first inning as Brielle Asato singled to lead off and later scored on a Clara Larson single, and Larson came across with Kara Jones when Megan Dickson doubled later in the inning. Loren Dempsey drove in Sonoma Toot in the third to extend it to 4-0, but Mines really closed the door with another three-spot in the fourth. Clara Larson tripled to plate Katie Leiker, and after a pitching change, Sonoma Toot doubled in two more runs.

UCCS chipped away with Rayle Glover's pinch-hit RBI single in the fifth and two runs in the sixth as Missy Martinek scored on an error and Alex Cook doubled in Whitney Weber. Mines brought on Sydney Marchando for the seventh and the freshman shut down the Mountain Lions in the non-save situation.

Stringfellow (6-3) struck out three allowing two earned. Marchando allowed one hit with one strikeout in the seventh. UCCS starter Cami Duffy (5-6) departed in the fourth giving up five earned while Taylor Reidhead allowed a run in 2.2 innings of relief.

Larson led Mines at the plate going 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI; Toot and Dickson also had multi-hit games while driving in two each.

GAME 2 - Mines 2, UCCS 1
A gritty complete-game effort by Hallie Smith guided Mines to a 2-1 win in the second game of the day.

Smith three-hit the Mountain Lions, carrying a no-hitter into the fourth as she threw 149 pitches and struck out eight. She prevailed in a pitchers' duel against Taylor Reidhead, who gave up only five hits and one earned run to the Orediggers.

Mines took the lead in the second as Pua Fujinaga grounded out with the bases loaded to bring Sonoma Toot across, while Smith worked out of trouble in several innings forcing UCCS to strand 10 runners through the first five innings.

An important insurance ran scored in the sixth for Mines as they took advantage of a defensive miscue. With the bases loaded, Fujinaga lined out to Reidhead, who threw to first base to try to double up Kylie Redding. Instead, the ball sailed to the fence and that let Sonoma Toot scored from third to lead 2-0.

UCCS made it interesting in their final at-bat as Alex Cook singled in Whitney Weber, but Smith induced a groundout to end the game as the Mountain Lions left the tying run on first.

In a game where Mines had only five hits, Dickson generated three of them as she went 3-for-3 with two doubles.

NEXT UP
Mines and UCCS finish their series Sunday at 11 a.m.