GOLDEN, Colo. – Redshirt junior Trevor Kehe dominated the Dixie State Trailblazers on Saturday afternoon and led the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team to a doubleheader sweep by scores of 13-8 and 8-4 at Jim Darden Field.
 
Kehe feasted on Dixie State's pitchers to the tune of a 1.000 batting average with four runs and eight RBI over the two games. The outfielder finished the day slugging 2.400 thanks to two home runs and a double as well. Jace Selsor was stellar as well, racking up four runs and three RBI on a double and a dinger. Trevor Howard and and Phil VanZale also went yard for the Orediggers. Howard racked up two runs and four RBI in just four at-bats. Caden Bonds added two runs and three RBI while Joe Popp capped it off with three runs of his own.
 
Walter Pennington (6-1) was the starting pitcher and winner in game one. Pennington put in five innings of four-run, six-hit work while striking out six batters. Tyler Blomster (5-2) earned the win for Mines in game two. Blomster pitched six innings and struck out four batters while surrendering just four runs on four hits. Ian Durgin, Sam Slusser and Colin Morris all appeared in relief for the Orediggers for a total of three innings featuring just two runs on one hit.
 
Mines (21-9, 12-7 RMAC) rises into a tie for #4 in the conference standings after hitting for a combined average of .357 in the doubleheader. The Orediggers used eight doubles and five home runs for an overall slugging percentage of .768. Dixie State (23-10, 13-6 RMAC) remains alone at #3 in the league, just one game ahead of Mines and UCCS. The Trailblazers closed out their Saturday with a team batting average of .281 with just six hits for extra-bases. Jack Gonzales (5-1) took his first loss of the season on the mound in game one while Preston Hannay (3-3) fell to .500 on the year in game two.
 
Game One – Mines 13, Dixie State 8
Mines scored early and it scored often. Popp's one-out double in the opening frame sparked two runs on three hits for an early 2-0 lead. VanZale made it 3-0 in the second inning with his lead-off bomb to left field. Then, in the third inning, the Orediggers exploded for nine runs on four hits and one error.
 
Popp started the third-frame party with a lead-off walk. Gangwish worked the intentional free pass to put runners on first and second with one out. Another walk to Gabe Garvens loaded the bases and Trevor Howard delivered. With one ball and two strikes, Howard laced a bases-clearing double down the left-field line to put Mines up 6-0. VanZale reached base on a Trailblazers' fielding error and moved up to second on a wild pitch. This time, it was Bonds, a true freshman coming up in the clutch. Bonds doubled down the right-field line and brought two more Orediggers in to score. Selsor kept it hot, using a two-run double to make it 10-0. Kehe capped it all off with a two-run shot to left-center field – into the trees.
 
Dixie State scratched out one run in the top of the fourth inning, but Trevor Howard answered for Mines in the bottom half with his second home run of the season. The Trailblazers put together an impressive rally with seven unanswered runs. However, it was not meant to be. Durgin closed the sixth stanza with a pair of fielder's choices and locked down the win in the seventh with a strikeout, fly-ball and ground-ball out.
 
Game Two – Mines 8, Dixie State 4
Kehe stayed hot at the plate in game two and got Mines on the board first with a RBI-single up the middle in the opening frame. The next two innings required some defensive finesse from the Orediggers. Dixie State put two runners on base with no outs in the top of the second, but Blomster struck out the next batter and Gangwish gunned down the lead runner attempting to steal third for a double play. Mines was not as fortunate in the third inning as DSU plated three runs on four hits for a 4-3 lead.
 
The visitor's advantage did not last long. In the bottom half of the third frame, Danny McDermott led off with a double to left-center field. Bonds drove his teammate in with a single through the right side and pulled the home team within one run, 3-2. Selsor's single made it three straight hits to open the inning and put runners on first and second with nobody out. Dixie State managed its first out of the frame with the very next batter, but the Trailblazers couldn't stop Kehe. The 2018 all-American worked a full count and proceeded to lace a one-out, two-run double to left-center field. Mikey Gangwish followed up with a double of his own which scored Kehe and put Mines ahead, 5-3.
 
Dixie State used a lead-off double in route to a one-run frame in the top of the fourth, but that would be all the scoring for the Trailblazers. Blomster shut DSU out in the top of the fifth and Mines would flex its muscle again the bottom half. Selsor hit a lead-off home run to right field. Popp doubled down the left-field line, but it might as well have been a walk. Because Kehe stepped to the plate one more time and hit his second home run of the day to left field for an 8-4 lead. Blomster pitched a shutout sixth before giving way to Slusser who put Dixie State down in order.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 3-2 in the all-time series against Dixie State.
- Through three games, Kehe is batting .800 with five runs and 11 RBI on one double and three bombs.
- Kehe's doubleheader performance on Saturday put him over 100 RBI for his career. He also has 25 home runs over the last three seasons, ranking #6 on Mines' all-time list.
- Blomster's win moves him to 19-5 in his career, tied for #2 on the Orediggers' all-time wins chart.
- Pennington's victory improves the lefty to 17-6 in his career, tied for #4 on the all-time wins chart.
- Gangwish is now tied for #8 on Mines' all-time runs list with 128. He has also reached base safely in 20 consecutive games.
- Selsor climbed the program's all-time runs rankings to #4 at 151 in his career. He's also tied for #4 in all-time doubles with 44.
- Popp scored the 100th run of his career on Saturday and reached base safely for the 16th and 17th straight games.
- Bond's two-RBI double marked the first hit of the true freshman's career in just his third at-bat.
- Mines outscored Dixie State 21-12 in Saturday's doubleheader.
- Seven different Orediggers recorded multiple hits on the day with six scoring multiple runs and five racking up multiple RBI.
- Head coach Robby Bales is 21-9 in his first season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers and Trailblazers face off in the series finale Sunday at 12 p.m. 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.