AUSTIN, Texas – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team stayed hot in Texas on Saturday as it swept its doubleheader against St. Edward's by scores of 7-1 and 7-4 at Lucian-Hamilton Field.
 
Joe Popp led Mines at the plate, batting .500 on the day with four runs and one walk. Trevor Kehe also started both games and racked up three RBI while hitting .429. Jace Selsor served as the Orediggers' power plant with his second home run of the season, scoring one run with three RBI. Mason Peterson and Trevor Howard both notched doubles for Mines.
 
On the mound, Walter Pennington (1-0) made the start and got the win in game one. Pennington tossed 6.0 innings of one-run, seven-hit baseball while striking out five batters. Ian Durgin came out of the bullpen and tossed one inning of shutout relief with a strikeout. Drew Hill (1-0) got the start in game two and earned the first win of his career. The sophomore gave up four runs on seven hits but also struck out seven Hilltopper batters. Gabe Garvens came on in relief and got his second save of the season in as many days. Garvens was stellar out of the bullpen, throwing 4.0 shutout innings and giving up just two hits with two strikeouts.
 
The two victories put Mines (5-2) on a four-game winning streak as it looks for the series sweep tomorrow. St. Edward's (7-5) fell victim to miscues as it racked up five errors on the day – all in the second game. Both teams are ranked in the top-10 of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association South Central Regional Rankings.
 
Game One – Mines 7, St. Edward's 1
Both teams went relatively quiet in the opening frame, but that silence did not last long. In the top of the second inning, Mines pumped out three runs on three hits and one SEU error. Popp started it all with a walk before the Hilltoppers managed two quick outs. Three straight singles by Ben Stinson, Daniel Ciraula and Kehe sparked the offense back to life, giving Mines a 2-0 lead. The final run of the inning came by way of a double steal that put Kehe on third and brought Ciraula home.
 
Defensively, Pennington led a solid charge marred only by a smattering of Hilltopper hits. The junior lefty spearheaded a 1-6-3, ground-ball double play that went Pennington to Derek Daly to Selsor, ending the first inning. He then proceeded to strike out one in the second and two more in the third inning. However, St. Edward's managed some defense of its own as it worked an acrobatic, line-drive double play to end what could have been a big inning for Mines in the top of the fourth.
 
Bagels on the board in three straight innings brought the game into the bottom of the sixth. That's when St. Edward's broke up the shutout thanks to a double, single and sacrifice fly. The Hilltoppers' lone run made it 3-1 with Mines in the lead, but it would not be enough for the home team and Selsor made sure of that. One swing of the bat by the senior first baseman in the top of the seventh inning gave the Orediggers three more runs of insurance and paved the way for Durgin to finish it off out of the bullpen.
 
Game Two – Mines 7, St. Edward's 4
After seven runs of production in the first game, Mines' bats were quieted to start the second game. This opened the door for St. Edward's to strike first. The Hilltoppers used a leadoff triple to score two runs in the bottom of the third inning and take their first lead of the weekend – 2-0. Another two-run performance in the fourth inning extended SEU's lead to 4-0.
 
The Orediggers bided their time and then struck in the top of the sixth inning. It was SEU errors and miscues that jumpstarted the rally, but Mines did not hesitate at the opportunity. John Howard started it all as he struck out but reached first base on a wild pitch and moved up to second on a balk. Popp also benefited from Hilltopper miscues, reaching on a throwing error at third base. Then, Peterson broke it open with a two-RBI double to right-center field, pulling the Orediggers within two runs, 4-2.
 
Mines' rally continued deep into the inning as St. Edward's errors continued piling up. Noah Kuzma worked a walk then Ciraula reached and Peterson scored on a throwing error by the SEU pitcher. That made the score 4-3 as the Hilltoppers clung to their one-run lead. However, that lead would disappear the very next batter as Kehe sent a long fly ball out to left field for a sacrifice, tying the game 4-4. An intentional walk to Mikey Gangwish led to a Daly RBI and a 5-4 Oredigger lead.
 
That momentum carried over on defense too. St. Edward's threatened to retake the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Selsor and Popp both flashed the leather to save runs and keep SEU off the board. Back at the plate in the seventh frame, Mines padded its lead by loading the bases with no outs and bringing Popp in from third. Garvens helped his own cause on the mound by scoring a run as well, making it 7-4.
 
Garvens, who came in to pitch in the sixth inning, cruised the rest of the way. The sophomore's pitching backed by the Orediggers' defense forced a 1-2-3 eight frame and then worked three ground-outs in the ninth inning. Garvens recorded the four-inning save and Mines got its fourth straight victory.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 8-6 in the all-time series against St. Edward's with four straight wins over the Hilltoppers.
- Trevor Howard's two-RBI double was the first hit of his career.
- Kehe went 2-for-2 on the base paths bringing his season total to four stolen bases.
- Pennington is now 12-5 in his career as an Oredigger pitcher.
- Saturday marked the seventh save of Garvens' career. He is now 5-0 with seven saves and 23 strikeouts.
- Selsor moved into a tie for #6 on Mines' all-time hits list with 213 in his career. He's also now tied for #4 with 21-career home runs.
- Oredigger pitchers finished the day with 15 total strikeouts compared to just seven from the Hilltoppers' staff.
- Head coach Robby Bales is 5-2 in his first season as head coach of the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes the series against St. Edward's Sunday starting at 12 p.m. (CT). Live stats and video will be available at www.MinesAthletics.com.
 
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.