GOLDEN, Colo. – The #16-ranked Colorado School of Mines Baseball team extended its historic winning streak to 11 games on Saturday afternoon with its doubleheader sweep of New Mexico Highlands at Jim Darden Field. The Orediggers took game one 8-7 and won game two 9-5.
 
Trevor Kehe was Mines' top hitter on the day, batting .500 with four runs and four RBI while hitting his first home run of the season. Derek Daly also went long for the Orediggers' and finished the doubleheader with two runs and three RBI on two hits. John Howard made it a trio of dingers for the home team with his three-run shot in game two. Howard scored one run and racked up four RBI on the day. Additionally, Noah Kuzma tallied three runs over two games.
 
On the mound, Walter Pennington (3-0) and Drew Hill (2-0) earned the wins for Mines. Pennington got the start in game one and tossed 5.2 innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits with 10 strikeouts. Hill was the starter in game two and put together 5.1 innings of four-run, six-hit baseball while striking out nine. Gabe Garvens appeared in relief in both games and recorded his third save of the season in game one. Ian Durgin and Sam Slusser also provided shutout relief for the Orediggers.
 
Mines (12-2, 3-0 RMAC) notched three home runs over 12 innings while scoring 17 runs despite hitting just .271 as a team. New Mexico Highlands (7-8, 0-3 RMAC) also smacked three home runs on the day while outhitting the home team 18-13. However, Cowboys' batters struck out a combined 20 times and the pitching staff surrendered 11 walks. The Orediggers' 11-game winning streak is the longest run of victories in program history.
 
Game One: Mines 8, New Mexico Highlands 7
For a third straight game, Mines lit up the scoreboard first. In the bottom of the opening frame, Selsor hit a one-out single to centerfield. Then Daly did the honors, racking up a three-ball, one-strike count before sending a ball into the wind to left field for a two-run home run. The Orediggers carried that momentum into the second inning where it rang up five ones on one hit thanks to four straight walks.
 
Pennington and Mines' defense thrived early with the lead as the junior lefty struck out three Cowboys through the first two frames. However, New Mexico Highlands was not about to go silently into the night. NMHU used five hits to score five runs in the third, including a three-run bomb to right field by Garrett Hammer. The Orediggers responded with one run in the bottom half of the same inning thanks to a two-out double from Kuzma.
 
Mines' run in the third inning proved much needed when the Cowboys put two more on the scoreboard in the sixth inning, leaving the Orediggers with an 8-7 lead. Garvens' entrance into the game squashed the scoring threat with a ground ball right back to the pitcher followed by a 1-2-3 seventh frame for the save and the victory.
 
Game Two: Mines 9, New Mexico Highlands 5
After 15-total runs in game one, a pitchers' duel broke out early in game two. The first eight batters went down in order including three strikeouts from Hill. Another strikeout from the sophomore righty ended the top of the second inning. Mines scratched out an unearned run in the bottom half thanks to a ball in play from Pennington. However, Howard opened the Oredigger flood gates in the third game with his three-run tank to right-center field. That long ball gave the home team a 4-0 lead.
 
Hill and Mines' defense cruised through the third and fourth innings with three strikeouts, no hits and only two baserunners by way of walk. New Mexico Highlands proceeded to upset that rhythm in the fifth and sixth frames, notching a total of four runs on six hits including another three-run dinger.
 
However, the Orediggers never surrendered the lead. Daly hit a RBI-double as part of two-run fifth inning for Mines. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Kehe struck with his first home run of the season. It followed a long-discussed call in which a NMHU double play was overturned. The redshirt junior turned on the first pitch he saw for a three-run shot to left-center field. The visitors hit a solo home run in the seventh, but it was far from enough as Garvens shut it down yet again.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 10-1 against New Mexico Highlands at Jim Darden Field since 2015.
- The Oredigger pitching staff has struck out 57 batters over their last 48 innings of work.
- Daly now has seven home runs on the season and 21 in his career. He is tied for #4 on Mines' all-time home runs list.
- John Howard has two home runs this season, doubling his career total at four in four years.
- The 2019 Orediggers now boast the longest winning streak in program history. Mines' previous record was nine straight wins in 2016.
- Kehe's home run marks his first long ball since May 11, 2018 against CSU-Pueblo in the RMAC Tournament.
- Pennington is 14-5 in his pitching career, tied for #6 on Mines' all-time wins list.
- Garvens has eight saves in his career with an overall mark of 6-0.
- Head coach Robby Bales is 12-2 in his first season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines and New Mexico Highlands face off in the series finale on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Jim Darden Field. Live stats and videos 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.