Mines at Regis, Saturday, 12/2 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines at Regis, Sunday, 11 a.m./1 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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THE WEEKEND
Mines heads across town to face local rival Regis for a four-game RMAC set beginning Saturday. The two will play a doubleheader at noon Saturday and finish the series with two on Sunday at 11 a.m.

LAST WEEKEND
Mines took three out of four from Fort Lewis to start off RMAC play with a 3-1 record. Mines won both games on Sunday, 13-2 (6 inn.) and 6-1 before FLC began Monday with a 4-3 victory. Mines ended the series strongly with a 13-3, six-inning win. Clara Larson led Mines at the plate going 10-for-19 with six RBI and six runs scored in the series while Kara Jones slashed .429/.500/.571 and Katie Leiker had a team-best .529 OBP. In the circle, Hallie Smith went 2-0 allowing three earned over 13 innings with Claire Stringfellow also picking up a win.

LAST YEAR VS. REGIS
Mines took three out of four from the Rangers at home last year with all four games being decided by three runs or less. After Regis beat Mines 3-1 in the opener, the Orediggers received a 3-0 shutout by Hallie Smith in game two before engineering a pair of comeback wins on Sunday, using a three-run sixth to win game three 4-2 and Katie Leiker's walk-off RBI single in game two won it 5-4.

MASHIN' TATERS
Through 16 games, Mines has bashed 16 home runs, which ranks second in the RMAC and is already nearly to the 2017 total of 20. Leading the way is Clara Larson, who has an RMAC-best seven, with Pua Fujinaga, Boston Ludlow, Katie Leiker, and Megan Dickson also hitting two each.

OUT FOR A STROLL
Another category in which Mines has vastly improved this season is walks. The Orediggers have an RMAC-best 59 walks this season, and their 3.7 walks per game rate is nearly double of last year's 1.9. The plate patience is led by Sonoma Toot and Megan Dickson, who are each second in the league with 10 walks, while Pua Fujinaga's seven ranks tenth in the RMAC.

LARSON PRODUCES FOR MINES
Sophomore Clara Larson was named Second-Team All-RMAC as a freshman in 2017, and she's shown no signs of slowing down this year. The shortstop has been one of the RMAC's most productive hitters this season, leading the league with 24 hits, 23 RBI, and seven home runs while also ranking in the top five in slugging (4^th, .877) and runs scored (2^nd, 20). She's also walked six times and had five stolen bases, and ranks in the NCAA D-II top 10 in RBIs and home runs while ranking as the seventh-toughest strikeout in the nation. In the field, she's committed only three errors in 70 chances at short, and leads the RMAC with 45 assists.

IN THE CIRCLE
Hallie Smith returned last weekend and had two solid outings at Fort Lewis, picking up a pair of wins as she threw a three-hit, one-run game on Sunday and a four-hit three-run outing on Monday. Claire Stringfellow lowered her ERA to a staff-best 1.24 as she won on Sunday without surrendering an earned run. Mines' three starters (Smith, Stringfellow, and Maddie Rogers) have held opponents to a combined .252 this season.

SCOUTING REGIS
The Rangers have an identical record to Mines, 9-7, but are 4-0 in RMAC play after sweeping UCCS last weekend. After starting the year 1-7 the Rangers have won eight in a row. Logan Losh (5-3, 3.35) was the 2017 RMAC Co-Pitcher of the Year, while at the plate Regis is led by Analece Apodaca (.451, 12 RBI) and Melissa Heronema (.360, 18 RBI). Like Mines, Regis can hit the longball with an RMAC-best 17 home runs in 16 games.

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will return home on March 10-11 to face UCCS in an RMAC series.