GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end Friday night as it fell to Colorado Christian in a 4-1 loss at Jim Darden Field.
 
Mikey Gangwish and Danny McDermott both turned in two-hit performances with a pair of doubles between the two. Trevor Kehe scored the Orediggers' lone run and hit a double as well. Gabe Garvens was responsible for driving Kehe across the plate, good enough for one RBI. On the mound, Walter Pennington (7-2) pitched a complete game and struck out seven batters, but took the loss due to four runs on six hits.
 
As a team, Mines (27-10, 18-8 RMAC) out-hit Colorado Christian (12-27, 7-19 RMAC) by a margin of 7-6. However, the Orediggers left nine runners on base over nine innings. The Cougars benefited from two home runs as Alex Ginn (4-4) earned the win and Kyler Riordan recorded his second save of the season. Due to losses around the league, Mines remains alone at #2 in the RMAC standings with a half-game lead over MSU Denver.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The early going on Friday night provided hints of a pitchers' duel. Both teams put up zeros through the first two innings and Pennington worked one strikeout. However, CCU recorded a pair of singles in the top of the third frame which turned into a three-run home run and a 3-0 lead.
 
The Cougars' outburst gave way to four more shutout innings on both sides of the ball. In fact, Pennington struck out four batters and gave up only one hit over that span. Then, Mines broke up the CCU shutout in the bottom of eighth inning thanks to Kehe getting hit by a pitch, followed by a double from Gangwish and Garvens' sacrifice fly. Unfortunately, Colorado Christian hit another home run in the top of the ninth for the final tally as the Orediggers failed to find a response.
 
NOTABLES
- Friday marked Pennington's third complete game of the season.
- Pennington is 18-7 in his career with 167 career strikeouts which both rank in the top five on Mines' respective lists.
- Pennington also moved up the Orediggers' single-season strikeouts list to #5 with his 68th of the year.
- Kehe now has 39 doubles and 157 runs in three seasons of action at Mines.
- Garvens' recorded his 29th RBI of the season. He has 26 hits in 2019.
- Gangwish extended his reached-base streak to 27 games and his hitting streak to 12 games on Friday evening.
- Popp has reached base safely in 24 consecutive games and boasts a 10-game hitting streak.
- Head coach Robby Bales is 27-10 in his first season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes the series against Colorado Christian with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 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.