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

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THE WEEKEND
Mines heads across the Rockies to face unbeaten and #1-ranked Colorado Mesa, which has won all 26 games it has played this season. The Orediggers (15-13) will face the Mavericks for the first time since the 2017 RMAC Tournament title game, which CMU won 2-1 on a walk-off.

KEEPING IT 100
Three Orediggers are coming up on century-mark milestones. Head Coach Leah Glasgow enters the weekend with 98 career wins, which puts her two away from being the fourth coach in program history to hit 100. Meanwhile, Kara Jones - a junior - and Clara Larson – only halfway through her sophomore season – sit at 94 and 92 career hits, respectively, as they try to join three other active Orediggers to reach 100, along with Sonoma Toot, Pua Fujinaga, and Katie Leiker.

DICKSON DOES IT ALL
One of Mines' key impact players this year has been freshman Megan Dickson. Starting the season at catcher, Dickson has since moved to first base and done a solid job in a role she wasn't expecting, all while continuing to produce big at the plate. This season, she's hitting .362 and slugging .638 with 10 doubles, 15 RBI, 12 walks, and three home runs; last weekend, she led Mines hitting .500 for the series including a home run in the finale. Over the past two weekends she has elevated her average by 60 points, from .302 to .362.

SHUT 'EM DOWN
Hallie Smith has been outstanding over her last four starts to lead the pitching staff in the last two series. In her last 28.0 innings, Smith has allowed only four earned runs posting a 1.00 ERA while averaging just under a strikeout an inning in that span. That four-game stretch includes a shutout of UCCS.

WHEN WE LAST MET
When Mines last met Colorado Mesa, Kaila Jacobi's walk-off single handed Mesa the 2017 RMAC Tournament title in a 2-1 pitchers' duel. Both CMU's MacKenzie Surface and Mines' Hallie Smith surrendered only one run over the opening six innings. AnnMarie Torres put Mesa on top in the first with an RBI double, but Smith worked out of jams in that inning, the third, and the fourth to keep the score 1-0. Mines brought the game back to zero in the fourth as Katie Leiker and Clara Larson smacked back-to-back doubles to make it 1-1 before Jacobi's game-winning hit.

SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
The Mavericks are 28-0 for a reason – they're one of the best hitting teams in the nation, slugging .702 as a team. Brooke Hodgson is slashing .553/.579/1.043 with 9 home runs and 53 RBI, while AnnMarie Torress has hit 10 roundtrippers with 41 RBI. In the circle, the Mavs have a 1.79 staff ERA led by Kimbri Herring (1.32) and McKenzie Surface (2.23).

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will return home on March 30-31 to face Adams State in a pre-Easter Friday/Saturday series.