GAME 1 - CSU-PUEBLO 3, MINES 0
A motivated CSU-Pueblo rode Hannah Anderson's shutout to win the first game of the day, 3-0, over Colorado School of Mines.
The Thunderwolves needed a win and help to clinch a berth in the RMAC Tournament and they did just that as Anderson scattered five Oredigger hits. CSUP used runs in the third and fourth to take the lead.
After Mines starter
Maddie Rogers battled out of jams unscathed in the first and second innings, the Thunderwolves finally broke through when a passed ball allowed Jessica Teller to score in the third for a 1-0 lead; in the fourth, an RBI single by Gabby Moreno and Sabrina Felix's sacrifice fly extended the advantage to 3-0.
Mines left the bases loaded in the second and a runner on third in the fifth, but that was all the trouble Anderson had as she retired her last eight batters faced. Rogers (0-3) was solid allowing only two earned runs with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings, with
Sydney Marchando throwing 2.2 innings of hitless relief to end the game.
Clara Larson led Mines at the plate with a 2-for-3 game.
GAME 2 - MINES 7, CSU-PUEBLO 1
Mines sent off its seniors in style with a 7-1 win over CSU-Pueblo to end the regular season.
Sydney Marchando pitched a gem to improve to 15-4, giving up two hits and a run in the first innings and no more after that as she struck out four in a complete-game effort.
After Marissa Piatt's single in the first scored Melissa Torrez for a 1-0 lead, Mines popped out a big second inning to seize control of the game. With two outs and a runner on third,
Stefanie Brunello reached on a fielding error by the shortstop to bring
Boston Ludlow across, and that sparked a two-out rally by the Orediggers as
Dani Valerio yanked a triple to the leftfield corner to score Brunello before plating herself thanks to
Kendall Murphy's single.
Mines put up another crooked number in the third, bringing in four runs on three hits and an error.
Clara Larson led off with a triple to force a CSU-Pueblo pitching change, and after she scored when
Kara Jones reached on an error,
Megan Dickson drove in Jones with a single to make it 5-1. Ludlow scored on a wild pitch later in the inning, and the icing on the cake was a rare pitch-hit appearance by senior
Maddie Rogers - making her first at-bat since 2017 - as she drove in Dickson with a RBI groundout to lead 7-1.
That was all Marchando needed as she was automatic through the late innings, retiring 10 in a row at one point including a four-pitch sixth inning. CSU-Pueblo starter Sam Riesen (4-9) departed in the third allowing four runs but only one earned; Taylor Strupp gave up three, but also had only one charged to her. The Thunderwolves committed three errors in the game.
Murphy and Larson both had two-hit games to drive the offense.
NOTABLES
- Mines will head into the RMAC Tournament as the #4 seed, and will play MSU Denver in the first game on Thursday at Colorado Mesa, at a time to be announced.
- Before the final game, Mines honored its senior class of
Loren Dempsey,
Kara Jones,
Katie Leiker,
Boston Ludlow,
Maddie Rogers, and
Dani Valerio; combined the class has gone 106-84 including three straight winning seasons and postseason appearances in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
- Rogers' plate appearance was her first since 2017, coincidentally also against CSU-Pueblo. The pitcher has driven in six runs in her career.
-
Kendall Murphy smacked her 21st double of the season in game two, tying her with
Clara Larson for second-most in a season at Mines. The record of 23 has stood since 2009, held by Sara Van Lingen.
- Larson became the seventh player in program history to reach 10 career triples with her three-bagger in game two. Larson's five this season are a career high.
- Larson and
Katie Leiker exit the regular season with 188 career hits each, tied for ninth on the Mines career list.
