2019 RMAC Tournament, hosted by Colorado Mesa
First Round – [4] Mines vs. [5] MSU Denver, Thursday, 1 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
 

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THE RMAC TOURNAMENT
After notching a 26-19 overall record and 25-12 mark in the RMAC, Colorado School of Mines softball is set for the 2019 RMAC Tournament hosted by Colorado Mesa beginning Thursday. The fourth-seeded Orediggers will get things started against fifth-seeded MSU Denver Thursday at 1 p.m. All games in the double-elimination bracket will be streamed live on the RMAC Network. The tournament's winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

THE BRACKET
The Orediggers will start out against MSU Denver in Game 3 of the bracket, set for Thursday at 1 p.m. The winners and losers of Game 3 and Game 4 between Colorado Mesa and CSU-Pueblo will match up; the winners will play in Game 8 on Friday at 10:45 a.m. while the losers play an elimination Game 6 Thursday night at 7:45 p.m. On the other side of the bracket, Dixie State and UCCS play in Game 1 on Thursday (8:30 a.m.) and Colorado Christian takes on Regis in Game 2 at 10:45 a.m.

LAST WEEKEND
Mines ended the regular season with a split against CSU-Pueblo, winning 3-0 and 7-1 but falling 3-0 and 4-3 in nine innings. Sydney Marchando led the way for Mines going 2-0 with a 0.42 ERA in three appearances, including the 3-0 shutout on Friday and a two-hit gem in the 7-1 win to close the series.

MINES PICKS UP ALL-RMAC AWARDS
Led by Coach of the Year Leah Glasgow and First-Team selection Clara Larson, Colorado School of Mines softball picked up six all-RMAC honors on Tuesday. Larson took home First-Team All-RMAC at shortstop while Kara Jones (DP) and Kendall Murphy (OF) were named Second-Team All-RMAC. Catcher Megan Dickson, outfielder Katie Leiker, and pitcher Sydney Marchando were named Honorable Mention All-RMAC, while Leiker also appeared on the RMAC Gold Glove team as the conference's top centerfielder.

MINES EARNS SEVEN ALL-ACADEMIC AWARDS
Led by First-Team All-Academic selections Clara Larson and Sydney Marchando, Mines collected seven RMAC All-Academic honors last week. In addition to Larson and Marchando, Mines had five student-athletes earn RMAC Academic Honor Roll spots including Katie Leiker, Boston Ludlow, Kylie Redding, Maddie Rogers, and Dani Valerio. Honorees hold GPAs of 3.3 or above and are sophomores or higher academically.

OREDIGGERS IN THE POSTSEASON
The Orediggers are making their fourth consecutive RMAC Tournament appearance. They reached the final as recently as 2017 but have won the tournament only once, in 2013. Mines will hope to avenge a 5-4 first-round loss to MSU Denver last year.

MINES VS. MSU DENVER
The Orediggers hosted MSU Denver just two weeks ago and went 2-2, winning 10-6 and 8-3 but losing a pair of 4-3 heartbreakers, including the series finale in 9 innings. Katie Leiker led the way at the plate batting .533 and slugging 1.000 with a pair of home runs and 6 RBI; Stefanie Brunello had a breakout series as well going 5-for-10 with 3 RBI and a triple. Both Sydney Marchando and Claire Stringfellow went 1-1.

MINES VS. THE FIELD
The Orediggers went a combined 15-11 against this year's RMAC Tournament field, going .500 or better against each participant. Mines is the only team in the field to have beaten Colorado Mesa twice and also owns two or more wins over second-seeded Colorado Christian (2-2) and third-seeded Dixie State (3-1).

Mines vs. the Field in 2018
Colorado Mesa: 2-2
Colorado Christian: 2-2
Dixie State: 3-1
MSU Denver: 2-2
UCCS: 1-1
Regis: 3-1
CSU-Pueblo: 2-2

LARSON, MURPHY NEAR RECORDS
With 33 home runs in her three seasons, Clara Larson sits only one behind Kaleigh Starr's record of 34 set between 2007 and 2010. Meanwhile, Kendall Murphy is approaching the Mines single-season doubles record; her 21 two-baggers are tied with Larson's 2018 campaign for second-most ever by an Oredigger, with only Sarah Van Lingen's 23 in 2009 ahead of them.

STAY GOLD
Katie Leiker picked up the RMAC Gold Glove in centerfield on Tuesday, an impressive achievement no matter what but especially considering it was her first season at the position. Leiker had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and five outfield assists in 62 chances patrolling center, a spot she moved to after playing shortstop and second base for the first three seasons of her career.

FLASHING THE LEATHER
A year after finishing eighth in the RMAC in team fielding percentage at .944, Mines wrapped up the regular season second in the RMAC in defense at .970. The Orediggers have committed just 40 errors in 1,317 chances.

MINES NOTABLES
Mines softball was well-represented at the Blaster Awards on Monday as they picked up nominations for Female Athlete of the Year (Clara Larson), Female Academic Athlete of the Year (Sydney Marchando), Female Rookie of the Year (Kendall Murphy), Comeback Player of the Year (Boston Ludlow), and Competition of the Year (Murphy's walk-off in Game 1 of the series vs. Colorado Mesa) … Glasgow's selection as RMAC Coach of the Year was her second in the last three seasons … Mines has assured itself of the 15th 20+ win season in program history and a third straight winning season … Mines has four active players with 100+ hits: Katie Leiker (188), Clara Larson (188), Kara Jones (164), and Boston Ludlow (132) … Leiker and Larson have cracked the Mines career top-10 in hits, both tied for ninth … Both Larson (47, T3rd) and Jones (46, 4th) rank in the Mines top-10 in career doubles … Claire Stringfellow is now fourth all-time in career wins (37) at Mines … Sydney Marchando is the first Mines pitcher since Hallie Smith in 2016 to surpass 100 strikeouts in a season, and her .223 opposing average is the lowest since Kelly Unkrich's .202 in 2013 ... Marchando had a 2.24 ERA and .220 average vs. the RMAC this year.