GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team used timely hitting, often with two outs, on Saturday to earn a 10-4 win over Adams State at Jim Darden Field.
Trevor Howard was Mines' top slugger, going 3-for-4 with a double and a home run while scoring two runs with four RBI.
Joe Popp also racked up three hits and drove in two runs as well.
Danny McDermott rounded out the multi-hit performances with his 2-for-3 day that included two runs and a triple.
Daniel Ciraula added a triple to the stat sheet as well while
Jace Selsor and
Gabe Garvens both notched doubles. Selsor racked up three RBI on one hit.
Walter Pennington (5-1) flirted with history as he struck out 12 Grizzlies batters. Pennington turned out 7.0 innings in his seventh start of the season and surrendered just one run on six hits with just one walk.
Toby Scoles offered up one inning of shutout relief out of the bullpen.
Nate Giefer and
Colin Morris teamed up for the final inning of the game, racking up three strikeouts in the process.
Mines (17-8. 8-6 RMAC) batted .343 as a team while slugging .629 with three doubles, two triples and one home run. The Oredigger pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts and held Adams State (6-22, 3-11 RMAC) to just nine hits in 35 at-bats (.257). Additionally, Mines' hurlers allowed only one hit for extra bases and the defense turned two double plays. The loss extends the Grizzlies' losing streak to six straight games despite eight strikeouts in 4.0 innings from their starting pitcher, Daniel Brennan (0-6).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Just starting Saturday's game proved to be a challenge all by itself. Overnight snowfall left the field covered with nearly four inches of snow and resulted in a six hour and 15 minute delay. However, hard work by the Orediggers got the field in working order to go as the doubleheader originally scheduled shifted to Sunday.
It was a back-and-forth affair early as both teams put runners on base in the opening frame. Mines' defense responded to Adams State leadoff hit with a double play followed by a Pennington strikeout.
Trevor Kehe reached base after being hit by a pitch and made it all the way to third base, but could not make it across the plate. However, both teams scored a lone run in the second inning. The Grizzlies used a hit-and-run to plate their first score of the game while
Trevor Howard's two-out, RBI double evened the score 1-1.
Pennington notched two more strikeouts in the third and fourth stanzas on his way to back-to-back shutout innings. Then, in the bottom of the fourth,
Trevor Howard struck again. McDermott smacked a leadoff triple down the left-field line and Garvens doubled to nearly the same location.
Trevor Howard made it three straight hits the very next at-bat with home run – also down the left-field line. Howard's bomb made it 4-1 in favor of Mines, and the Orediggers added two more runs in the inning for good measure.
With a 6-1 advantage, Mines settled in on defense as it tossed up four more zeros on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, the offense added two runs in the fifth, one in the seventh and one in the eighth. Adams State would stage a rally in the top of the ninth, managing three runs on two hits and two errors, but it would not be enough. Morris came in from the bullpen and struck out the final batter with three consecutive pitches.
NOTABLES
- Mines holds a 24-6 advantage in the all-time series against Adams State.
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Trevor Howard's homer run on Saturday was the first of his career.
- Seslor now has 41-career doubles which ties him at #5 on Mines' all-time list.
- Popp extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his two-RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning.
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Mikey Gangwish has reached base safely in 15 consecutive games.
- Pennington is 16-6 in his pitching career at Mines and tied for #5 on the Orediggers' all-time wins list.
- Pennington also has 146 career strikeouts which ranks #7 on Mines' all-time strikeouts chart.
- Mines has 38 home runs so far in 2019 provided by 12 different Orediggers.
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Will Scott tallied the first hit of his career in the first at-bat of his career in Saturday's win.
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Chris Okamoto made his collegiate catching debut for the Orediggers in the 10-4 victory.
- Head coach
Robby Bales is 17-8 in his first season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes its series against Adams State on Sunday with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. 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.
