GAME 1 - Chadron State 6, Mines 4
A huge sixth inning by Chadron State gave them a comeback 6-4 win to open the series against Colorado School of Mines on Sunday.
The Orediggers took a shutout into the sixth before the Eagles plated all six of their runs in the inning. Mines had only four hits in the game as Jessica Jarecki struck out 11, but they made the most of their opportunities as
Clara Larson bashed a first-inning home run and Mines manufactured three runs in the fourth.
Mines went ahead right off the bat thanks to Larson as the reigning RMAC Player of the Week stayed hot with her 13th home run of the year. In the fourth, the visitors loaded the bases and scored as
Katie Leiker reached on an error and
Loren Dempsey smacked a two-run single to lead it 4-0.
Things came apart for Mines in the sixth as Kayla Michel and Angelica Maples hit home runs to key a six-run outburst. Michel's two-run shot start things off and Ellie Owens hit an RBI double later in the inning before Jessica Kleine's pinch-hit RBI single tied it 4-4. That left it to Maples, whose two-run homer gave CSC their first lead of the game.
Jarecki (8-12) held on in the seventh for the win.
Hallie Smith (9-8) struck out six in the loss;
Maddie Rogers worked the final out of the sixth, a strikeout.
Kara Jones led Mines at the plate with a 2-for-3 game, while Larson and Dempsey had Mines' other hits; Larson also walked twice and scored two runs.
GAMES 2 - Mines 13, Chadron State 0 (5 inn.)
Big games from
Clara Larson and
Sonoma Toot led Mines to a needed bounceback in the afternoon with a 13-0 win.
Larson drove in runs in all three of her at-bats for five on the game, including her RMAC-leading 14th home run of the season that made her the 10th Oredigger to reach 100 RBI for her career. Not to be outdone, Toot drove in a career-high six runs including a grand slam in the fifth.
Mines got started early once again as Larson reached on an error to push
Brielle Asato across and then scored on
Kara Jones' double to make it 2-0. Mines quickly loaded the bases in the second to chase starter Dallas Magnusson, but reliever Jessica Jarecki couldn't replicate her game one success as
Sonoma Toot immediately doubled in two runs before Larson's sacrifice fly scored Asato to lead 5-0.
In tthe third, Mines continued to pile on the runs as Asato drove in Fujinaga, and that set up Larson's three-run home run to put Mines in run-rule position at 9-0. It only got worse for Chadron in the fifth as Mines loaded the bases for Toot's grand slam to extend the blowout to 13-0.
Claire Stringfellow improved to 10-5 with another quality start, allowing only a single run in the fifth by the time the game was out of reach. She struck out three and allowed four hits. Magnusson took the loss allowing five runs; Jarecki was tagged for three in 2.2 innings of work with Haylee Mckeehan also allowing three in the final inning.
Asato, Fujinaga, and Toot each had two-hit games. Asato scored four runs, while Fujinaga crossed three times.
NEXT UP
Mines and Chadron State finish their series Monday with two games starting at 11 a.m.
