GAME 1 - Mines 9, Chadron State 0 (5 inn.)
Katie Leiker drove in five runs and Colorado School of Mines combined three pitchers in a shutout as it run-ruled Chadron State, 9-0, in the morning game on Monday.
The Orediggers used a combination of
Sydney Marchando,
Maddie Rogers, and
Hallie Smith to throw a four-hit shutout, while at the plate, Leiker went 3-for-4 for five RBI while
Kara Jones was 3-for-4 and
Sonoma Toot drove in a pair.
Brielle Asato led off the game with a walk and immediately stole second to become Mines' career stolen bases leader; her two thefts in the game give her 47 for her career, surpassing Kaleigh Starr (2007-10) and former teammate
Paige Noehring (2014-17) who each had 45.
Mines dominated from the start as a Toot double scored Asato and Leiker brought in Toot to lead 2-0 in the first; Asato scored again on an error in the second before
Megan Dickson drew a bases-loaded walk. In the fourth, it was Leiker again who singled in Jones and
Clara Larson, and
Dani Valerio made it 7-0 with a single down the line later in the frame. Mines put it into run-rule territory thanks to Leiker's fifth-inning, two-run double to lead 9-0.
Meanwhile in the circle, Marchando was handed her first career start and had a solid showing, scattering three hits with a strikeout and no walks in two innings of work. She departed in the third for Rogers (4-4), who ended up with the win allowing one hit with three strikeouts, while Smith worked a two-out hold in the seventh. Mines' only real trouble came in that third as Chadron State loaded the bases with no outs; Rogers got a strikeout before inducing a 5-2-3 double play to end the threat.
Jessica Jarecki (8-13) allowed five earned on nine runs and walked six for Chadron State.
GAME 2 - Mines 7, Chadron State 2
Led by the bats of
Sonoma Toot and
Katie Leiker and another quality start from
Claire Stringfellow, Mines ended the series with a 7-2 win to take three out of four from Chadron State.
Toot went 3-for-3 with a walk while Leiker was 2-for-4 with a home run to lead Mines at the plate. Stringfellow (11-5) won her sixth straight outing allowing two runs; she has allowed two or fewer earned runs in all six of those starts.
Hallie Smith broke the Mines program record for career saves with a two-inning effort to end the game. Smith, with 12 career saves, surpassed Kelly Unkrich for the school record and is now second all-time in RMAC history, two behind Adams State's Morgan McWilliams who had 14 from 2012-15.
Mines jumped out to an early lead once again with a three-spot in the first courtesy of
Kara Jones' RBI single and a combination wild pitch and error by Chadron State that let Jones and Leiker plate for a 3-0 lead.
Chadron State got a run back in the bottom of the first but another Eagle error allowed Toot to come across in the third, and she made it 5-1 to start the sixth inning thanks to an RBI double. Larson's double on the next at-bat made it 6-1, and after Chadron State's Bailynn Meek singled in a run in the bottom of the sixth, Leiker put the exclamation mark on the series with a lead-off homer in the seventh, her third of the year.
Stringfellow struck out two over five innings, departing in the sixth as Chadron State tried to mount a comeback. Smith was shut-down in relief, entering with the tying run on deck and striking out four on seven batters faced to earn the save.
NEXT UP
Mines (25-19, 19-13 RMAC) will visit MSU Denver starting Saturday at noon.
