GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team used exactly two pitchers on Thursday in its doubleheader sweep of Sioux Falls as the Orediggers won game one 3-2 and finished the day's sweep with a 4-1 victory at Jim Darden Field.
 
Walter Pennington (2-0) absolutely stole the show for the Orediggers with his nine-inning, complete-game victory in the night cap. Pennington faced one batter over the minimum (28 BF), gave up zero earned runs and struck out six batters with no walks. Tyler Blomster (2-1) was not far behind his teammate as he got the complete-game victory in game one. Blomster facing the same number of batters as Pennington with nine strikeouts while surrendering just two runs. In total, Pennington and Blomster combined for a 1.12 ERA over 16 innings with 15 strikeouts and just one walk.
 
Gabe Garvens raked at the plate for Mines with his second home run of the season. The sophomore finished the doubleheader batting .800 with three RBI and one run. Jace Selsor also hit a bomb and batted .429 on the day. Joe Popp and Mikey Gangwish scored two runs apiece. Four different Orediggers accounted for the remaining RBI. Gangwish was also stellar on defense, gunning down three runners on the base paths.
 
With the victories, Mines (8-2) extends its current winning streak to seven games. The Orediggers turned two double plays on defense and registered a home run in each game. Sioux Falls (0-5) only managed to hit .214 as a team despite 12 hits over the two games as the Cougars continue their earl-season slump. Mines has now swept two straight doubleheaders after starting the season with a split at Angelo State.
 
Game One: Mines 3, Sioux Falls 2
Mines scored three runs with one swing of the bat and it proved to be enough. The Orediggers' strike came in the bottom of the second inning. Popp opened the frame with a leadoff, bunt single down the third-base line and advanced to second base on passed ball. Then, Mason Peterson singled up the middle to put runners on first and third. Garvens layered the icing on the cake. The sophomore took one pitch out of the zone before sending the ball over the fence in left-center field for a 3-0, Oredigger lead.
 
Sioux Falls settled in after that and silenced Mines' bats. However, Blomster and the Orediggers' defense was up to the task. The junior righty appeared to get stronger as the game went on, striking out five batters over the last four innings. USF got its two runs on one swing of the bat as well with a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning, but Blomster shut down the threat with two strikeouts to end the inning. In the final frame, the Cougars went down in order as Mines clinched the win.
 
Game Two: Mines 4, Sioux Falls 1
Pennington and the Oredigger defense carried the momentum from game one into game two. Sioux Falls opened the game with a single, but Gangwish quickly eradicated the threat as he threw out the Cougar attempting to steal. Pennington retired the rest of the inning in order with a strikeout and a ground ball to Daly at shortstop.
 
In the bottom half of the opening frame, USF was quickly reminded of Mines' quick-strike ability. The Cougar's starting pitcher threw exactly two pitches and ended up with one out and one run on the board as Selsor jacked a solo shot out to right-center. Gangwish then drew a walk and came home on a Daly double to give the Orediggers a 2-0 lead after one inning. However, similar to the first game, all bats went silent. Outside of the Cougars' one unearned run in the second, nobody came across the plate for the next six and one-half innings.
 
Sioux Falls' one run was preempted by an incredible outfield assist by Popp with a cannon relay from Daly at shortstop. After USF's unearned run, Gangwish ended the inning by catching another Cougar runner on the base paths. From that point it was nearly all zeros. Selsor spearheaded the not-so-common 3-6 double play by stepping on first and throwing to Daly in the fourth inning. Pennington struck out two batters in the sixth inning and Daniel Ciraula sparked another double play in the seventh.
 
Mines added two runs of insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning. Gangwish drew a one-out walk and then came in to score on Popp's double. Sioux Falls changed pitchers before Popp crossed the plate thanks to Ben Stinson's two-out, RBI single to center field. Those two runs provided the Orediggers a 4-1 cushion and Pennington closed it out with a ground-out, strikeout and fly-out in the final frame.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is 7-0 against Sioux Falls over the last three years.
- Selsor has 10 runs through 10 games for Mines. Popp has also scored 10 runs for the Orediggers.
- Thursday marked the Mines' first home games of 2019.
- Daly leads Mines with 13 RBI on the season.
- The Orediggers are now hitting .307 as a team.
- Popp already has five doubles for Mines in 2019.
- Blomster and Pennington both recorded their first complete games of the season.
- Head coach Robby Bales is 8-2 in his first season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes its series against Sioux Falls Friday at 12 p.m. at Jim Darden Field. Live stats and video of the game 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.