GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team completed its fourth series sweep of the season on Sunday as it won both games of its doubleheader against Adams State at Jim Darden Field. The Orediggers took game one, 7-1, and game two, 3-1.
 
Mines used a balanced offensive attack led by Mikey Gangwish. The senior hit .750 on the day with two runs and two RBI on two doubles and a home run. Trevor Kehe scored three times in the doubleheader, batting. 400 including one double and a RBI. Jace Selsor was the Orediggers' top RBI man as he notched three on the day. Selsor finished the doubleheader hitting .500 with two doubles.
 
Owen Pigati (1-1) was the starter in game one and the winning pitcher. He tossed five complete innings of one-run, two-hit baseball and struck out six batters. Will Scott (1-1) took the mound to start game two and also got the win thanks to four innings of one-run, one-hit work. Scott tallied three strikeouts and held opposing hitters to a .071 average. Additionally, Tyler Blomster came out of the bullpen in game two and got the save behind three innings of shutout baseball, surrendering just one hit while fanning six. Sam Slusser and Mitch Menard also appeared in relief for Mines.
 
The Orediggers (19-8, 10-6 RMAC) racked up nine doubles on the day and produced a combined batting average of .373. Eight individuals finished the doubleheader with multiple hits and three of those recorded multiple RBI. Mines' pitching staff turned in a combined ERA of 1.29 while striking out 15 batters. Adams State (6-24, 3-13 RMAC) accumulated 17 strikeouts on the mound, but only hit .130 as a team. The Grizzlies are now riding an eight-game losing streak.
 
Game One – Mines 7, Adams State 2
The scoring started early for both teams in the first game of the doubleheader. Adams State took advantage of a walk, sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch to make it 1-0 in the opening frame. However, Mines answered back with two runs of its own thanks to a sacrifice fly from Derek Daly and a RBI single from Joe Popp.
 
With a 2-1 lead at his back, Pigati settled in for four innings of shutout work. He struck out two batters in the second inning and worked a ground-ball double play in the third after a 10-pitch at-bat. Two more strikeouts in the fourth frame put Pigati in line for the win, and his offense did not fail him.
 
The Orediggers added one run in the third thanks to Gangwish's leadoff home run and two more in the fourth courtesy of a triple from John Howard, single from Daniel Ciraula and RBI double from Selsor. Lone runs in the fifth and sixth innings would cap the scoring for Mines. Meanwhile, Adams State scratched out one unearned run in its last hurrah to make the final tally, 7-2.
 
Game Two – Mines 3, Adams State 1
Offense proved to be extremely scarce in the second game as Mines chased the perfect 4-0 weekend. The Orediggers struck first in the opening stanza off the bat of Gangwish. Adams State answered back the very next inning after disastrous slippage in left field turned into a Grizzlies' sacrifice fly to make it 1-1.
 
Neither team crossed the plate in the third frame, but Mines would find the lead in the fourth. Noah Kuzma opened the inning with a single to left-center field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Gabe Garvens. A single from Kehe put runners on the corners and Selsor delivered a ground-ball RBI, giving the home team a 2-1 advantage.
 
Blomster entered the game in the top of the fifth and proved nearly untouchable. The junior righty fanned one Grizzly in his first inning of work and two more in the sixth inning. He also benefited from the arm of Kuzma who gunned down a would-be stolen base at second. Selsor's bat offered a run of insurance with a RBI double in the sixth inning, but it wouldn't be needed. Blomster proceeded to strikeout the side and clinch the win in the final frame.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines has won 11 straight games against Adams State.
- The Orediggers hold a 25-6 advantage in the all-time series against the Grizzlies.
- Mines has not lost to ASU since April 13, 2017.
- Oredigger home run king Gangwish now has 35 bombs in his career.
- Gangwish also tied the Orediggers' all-time RBI mark with 150 in his career.
- Selsor climbed Mines' all-time lists in four different categories over the weekend. He's now #5 in career runs, #3 in career hits, #5 in career doubles and #3 in career RBI.
- Popp extended his hitting streak to 12 games in Sunday's opener but saw the streak end in game two.
- John Howard appeared in his 100th game as an Oredigger on Sunday afternoon.
- Howard also notched the first triple of his career in the doubleheader.
- Scott's victory is the first of his career as a true freshman.
- Pigati's win on Sunday marks his first of the season and moves him to 4-4 all-time.
- Blomster's six strikeouts in relief give him 170 for his career which ranks #4 all-time at Mines. It was also just his third appearance in relief.
- Mines finished the weekend hitting .410 as a team and slugging .769 with 18 doubles, three triples and eight home runs.
- Over four games, the Orediggers outscored Adams State 42-10.
- On the weekend, Mines' pitchers struck out 44 batters with a 1.97 ERA while holding Grizzlies hitters to a batting average of .177.
- Head coach Robby Bales is 19-8 in his first season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts #25-ranked Dixie State April 5-7 at Jim Darden Field. 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.