GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team saw its 2019 RMAC Tournament run come to an end on Saturday afternoon as the Orediggers fell to top-seeded Colorado Mesa by score of 13-2 in the championship game.
Joe Popp,
Mikey Gangwish and
John Howard accounted for all of the Orediggers' scoring. Popp finished the day 2-for-4 and scored a run. Gangwish also batted .500 with two hits while scoring one run and adding one RBI.
John Howard hit .333 and drove in one run as well.
Derek Daly and
Ben Stinson accounted for Mines' two other base knocks. On the mound,
Owen Pigati (3-3) got the start and suffered the loss while striking out two batters.
Ian Durgin, Canon Sims,
Nick Gardner and
Nash Neff all appeared in relief for the Orediggers.
After the game,
Trevor Kehe,
Drew Hill and Gangwish were all named to the RMAC All-Tournament team. Saturday's championship game marks the third straight year Mines (39-13) has faced Colorado Mesa (45-9) with the tournament title on the line. The Mavericks claimed the RMAC's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament behind two home runs and three doubles. Mines will await the NCAA Selection Show, slated for Sunday night with hopes of making the top six in the South Central Region and back-to-back NCAA appearances.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first 15 outs were a back-and-forth battle between the top-two seeded teams. Mesa struck first in the opening frame with a ground-ball RBI for a 1-0 lead. Mines responded in the top of the second with back-to-back hits from Gangwish and Daly followed by a RBI single off the bat of
John Howard, tying the game at 1-1. The Mavericks retook the lead in the bottom of the second inning with four runs on three hits including a home run, making it 5-1. In the very next frame, the Orediggers answered the call once again with a RBI single from Gangwish to drive in Popp and cut the lead to 5-2.
However, the top of the second inning was the last sign of any offensive momentum for the visitors. Mines fell victim to three errors and left 10 runners stranded over the course of the game. Mesa took advantage in every way with a pair of four-run outbursts in the third and seventh innings. Defensive highlights for the Orediggers included three straight scoreless innings powered by the arms of Durgin and Sims. However, with the bats gone silent, Mines would be unable to stage a rally as Mesa cruised to its sixth consecutive tournament title.
NOTABLES
- Since 2016, Mines is 10-8 in the RMAC Tournament.
- Gangwish finished the conference tournament batting .579 with eight runs and 13 RBI on three doubles and five home runs.
- Kehe posted a team-high, tournament batting average of .588 while scoring seven runs with three RBI on one double and two home runs.
- In the RMAC record book, Gangwish ranks #2 all-time with 46 career home runs and #5 all-time with 184 RBI.
- Gangwish has also reached base safely in 42 consecutive games.
- Saturday's championship game marked the 200th appearance, and start, of
Jace Selsor's collegiate career.
- Kehe and Selsor are now tied for #2 on Mines' all-time runs scored list with 179.
- Kehe notched the 200th hit of his career on Saturday against Colorado Mesa.
- Head coach
Robby Bales is 39-13 in his first season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines will await the NCAA Selection Show slated to air Sunday at 8 p.m. to see if its season continues. If the Orediggers are selected to play in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, it will be announced on Twitter at @MinesAthletics and online at www.minesathletics.com.
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.
