GOLDEN, Colo. – Junior slugger
Derek Daly hit a walk-off grand slam on Friday that gave the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team a 13-11 victory over Sioux Falls and completed the series sweep at Jim Darden Field.
Daly finished the day 3-for-6 at the plate, just a triple short of hitting for the cycle, while scoring three runs and racking up five RBI.
Joe Popp,
Mikey Gangwish and
Trevor Kehe also turned in multi-hit performances. Popp went 2-for-4 with a double and scored two runs with three RBI. Gangwish also had two hits and drove in a run. In the leadoff spot, Kehe went 2-for-5 with a run scored.
Phil VanZale, Daly and Popp all added doubles for the Orediggers as well.
Drew Hill (1-0) started on the mound for Mines, but did not factor in the decision. Hill went 4.0 innings, surrendering two runs on three hits with three strikeouts.
Gabe Garvens (3-0) was the pitcher of decision for his third win of the season. Garvens tossed 3.2 innings out of the bullpen with three strikeouts while surrendering five runs (four earned) on eight hits.
Will Scott,
Nick Gardner and
Ian Durgin also appeared in relief. The other half of the battery,
Noah Kuzma, picked off one baserunner and caught two more attempting to steal.
Mines (9-2) now boasts an eight-game winning streak after back-to-back series sweeps. The Orediggers hit .307 as a team in the finale and combined to strike out nine batters. Sioux Falls (0-6) remains winless on the season despite a team average of .375 and more hits than the home team on Friday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game was a back-and-forth affair from the very beginning. Sioux Falls struck first in the top of the opening frame with a RBI-single to take a 1-0 lead. Hill and Kuzma teamed up to end any further threat with a strikeout, caught-stealing double play to close the inning. Gangwish responded for Mines in the bottom half with a RBI-single of his home to bring Kehe in from third base.
Over the next two innings, neither team was able to cross home plate. Kuzma continued his efforts behind the plate with a pickoff throw behind the runner at first base for the third out of the second inning. Kehe got a workout in the third frame, tracking down two fly balls while the Cougars went down in order.
However, as the temperatures at Jim Darden Field dropped, the bats heated up. Sioux Falls scored one run in the fourth, three in the fifth and another in the sixth. Mines responded in-kind each time and eventually took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to a two-out rally sparked by VanZale's double. Two more hits and a USF error allowed the Orediggers to plate three runs on three hits for an 8-6 lead. The lead did not last long as the Cougars scored five unanswered runs including a four-run frame in the eighth for an 11-8 lead.
Mines' defense put up a zero in the top of the ninth, giving the Orediggers three outs to stage their rally.
Ben Stinson started it all with a leadoff walk and Kuzma did his part with a single up the middle. Then,
Trevor Howard entered the game as a pinch hitter and worked a walk to load the bases.
Jace Selsor notched a hit-by-pitch RBI to pull Mines within two runs. Down to the final out, Daly stepped to the plate and scorched a 0-1 pitch well over the left-center field fence – with the wind blowing in – to clinch the win.
NOTABLES
- Mines is 8-0 against Sioux Falls over the last three years.
- Daly's grand slam Friday is the first this season for any Oredigger and his sixth home run of the year.
- Mines' last grand slam came off the bat of
Mikey Gangwish last season against Texas A&M-Kingsville in the NCAA Tournament.
- Daly is now tied for #5 on Mines' all-time home runs chart with 20 for his career.
- Popp continues to lead the Orediggers in doubles, now with six in 2019.
- Gangwish's RBI on Friday moves the senior into a tie for #2 on the Orediggers' all-time RBI list.
- Garvens now boasts a career record of 6-0 with seven saves and 27 strikeouts in less than two seasons.
- The last time Mines won in walk-off fashion was last season against MSU Denver in the RMAC Tournament.
- Head coach
Robby Bales is 9-2 in his first season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines opens RMAC play against New Mexico Highlands March 8-10 at Jim Darden Field in Golden. 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.
