GAME 1 - Mines 7, Adams State 2
A total team effort at the plate supported
Sydney Marchando's quality start in a 7-2 win over Adams State to start the day.
Every Oredigger started recorded at least one hit and Mines' seven runs came off seven different bats in a 13-hit effort. Marchando took a no-hitter into the fourth and scattered three hits, tying her career high with nine strikeouts to improve to 7-3.
The Orediggers scored runs in all but the fourth innings to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
Katie Leiker drove in
Kendall Murphy to start things in the first before scoring on
Clara Larson's triple, and Larson plated thanks to
Kara Jones' groundout to lead 3-0. In the second,
Kelsey Buechler drove home
Stefanie Brunello, and
Megan Dickson's third-inning double brought Jones across to lead 5-0.
ASU's first hit of the game resulted in their first run as Brittany Phillips singled in Shelby Haskins for an unearned run in the fourth, but
Loren Dempsey's pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the fifth extended the Mines lead to 6-1. Haskins' solo home run in the sixth cut it to 6-2, but
Boston Ludlow singled home Larson in the bottom of the inning to set the final at 7-2.
Taylor Sandoval (2-4) allowed seven runs off 13 hits for the Grizzlies.
GAME 2 - Mines 12, Chadron State 0 (5 inn.)
Mines erupted for 12 runs over three innings while
Claire Stringfellow tossed her second shutout of the weekend to cap the sweep of Chadron State, 12-0, in five innings.
The Orediggers (11-10, 10-3 RMAC) got back on the right side of .500 with another emphatic performance at the plate with 10 hits and as many walks contributing to the offensive outburst.
Kara Jones went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and
Boston Ludlow also drove in three to lead Mines, who had seven different players drive in runs for the second straight game.
Stringfellow (4-5) faced three over the minimum in a three-hit, zero-walk, 54-pitch effort. Peyton Propp (1-3) was chased in Mines' six-run third allowing four runs with six walks, while Gabby Russell gave up eight runs in three innings of relief.
After two scoreless innings to start, Mines busted the game apart with a six-run third. Jones' bunt single brought
Katie Leiker home to start things off before Ludlow's two-run double, a
Loren Dempsey pinch-hit sacrifice fly, and a two-run
Kendall Murphy single quickly turned things in the Orediggers' favor.
Jones' single to score
Clara Larson and a bases-loaded walk by
Kelsey Buechler made it 8-0 in the fourth, and Jones again got a rally started with a single to plate Leiker in the fifth, sparking a four-run inning that also included RBI from Ludlow,
Stefanie Brunello, and
Claire Smith - the latter being the first of Smith's collegiate career.
SERIES NOTES
- The Orediggers hit .406 and slugged .535 for the weekend while holding opponents to .167/.262.
- Jones led Mines with 9 RBI hitting .538 in the series.
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Katie Leiker went 6-for-11 (.545) for Mines' best average over the weekend, scoring seven runs. She added four walks for a team-best .688 OBP.
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Clara Larson slugged 1.000 with seven runs scored, while
Kendall Murphy slugged .818 out of the lead-off spot.
- Mines walked 31 times in the four games to just six free passes for opponents.
- Murphy extended her reached-base streak to 20 games and hitting streak to nine; she has reached in every game of her college career thus far. Four Orediggers have double-digit reached-base streaks: Murphy, Larson (14), Jones (13), and Ludlow (12).
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Loren Dempsey made three pinch-hit appearances this weekend and had an RBI on each - a two-run single on Saturday and sacrifice flies in both plate appearances Sunday.
- Mines' staff ERA was 1.50 as
Claire Stringfellow was unscored upon and
Sydney Marchando went for a 2.57 number; both were 2-0 for the weekend.
NEXT UP
Mines will host Dixie State beginning March 23.
