Walter_Pennington_RMAC_1_2019
6
Winner Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM 37-12
4
CSU-Pueblo CSUP 26-25
Winner
Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM
37-12
6
Final
4
CSU-Pueblo CSUP
26-25
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 6 9 1
CSU-Pueblo CSUP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 10 2

W: Pennington, Walter (9-3) L: Josh Dahl (5-5) S: Blomster, Tyler (2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Sam Boender

Pennington Dominates CSU-Pueblo in Second-Round Victory

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Junior pitcher Walter Pennington guided the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team to a 6-4 victory over CSU-Pueblo on Thursday afternoon in the second round of the 2019 RMAC Tournament.
 
Pennington (9-3) tossed 8.2 innings and surrendered just three earned runs on 10 hits while striking out 10 batters. The left from Broomfield, Colo., pumped out 139 pitches to retire 25 batters with only two walks in the mix. Tyler Blomster (2) struck out the final batter of the game to record the save. Blomster required only three pitches to get the out.
 
Heavy hitters for Mines included Trevor Kehe, Joe Popp and Mikey Gangwish. Kehe led the team with three hits and a .600 average. Popp led the Orediggers by driving in three runs on two hits including a double and a .400 average at the plate. Gangwish jacked his second home run of the tournament and finished with a pair of RBI. Danny McDermott, Jace Selsor, Derek Daly and Caden Bonds all came around to score, while McDermott and Selsor chipped in doubles as well.
 
With the victory, Mines (37-12) matches the program record for wins in a season. The Oredigger pitching staff combined for 11 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA. Four hits for extra bases included three doubles and one dinger, giving Mines 15 total bases and a .429 slugging percentage on the game. CSU-Pueblo (26-25) sees its season come to an end after dropping the first game of the tournament to top-seeded Colorado Mesa.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Pennington took center stage early as he powered Mines to three straight shutout innings, racking up three strikeouts and giving up just two hits in that span. The Orediggers' offense grabbed took the momentum and gave their pitcher the lead in the top of the third frame. McDermott led it off with a double to right field and Popp brought the freshman home with a two-out, RBI single for a 1-0 lead. That lone run led to scoring in three consecutive frames. Gangwish made it 2-0 in the fourth with a lead-off, solo shot to right field. Selsor and Popp provided back-to-back doubles in the fifth to fuel a three-run outburst.
 
Mines' 5-0 lead simply made Pennington stronger on the mound. The tall lefty struck out single batters in the fourth, fifth and sixth stanzas. Then, he added two more whiffs in the sixth inning to get out of a bases-loaded jam with no runs allowed. Pennington and the Orediggers' defense carried the shutout all the way to the eighth frame before CSU-Pueblo scratched out one unearned run. However, that score simply offset Mines' own unearned run from the top half, thus the margin remained at five with a score of 6-1.
 
Pennington returned to the mound in the final inning looking for the complete game victory. He notched the first out with a ground ball to Selsor at first base and struck out his 10th batter of the game for out number two. The ThunderWolves staged their comeback with a three-run home run that scraped over the short porch in left field, cutting the Orediggers' lead to 6-4. That would bring Blomster in from the bullpen, and he wasted no time tossing three pitches to strike out the final batter and clinch the win.
 
NOTABLES
- Since 2016, Mines is 8-7 in the RMAC Tournament.
- Pennington is now 20-8 in his career and also tied Mines' single-season record for wins with his ninth of the year.
- Pennington's 10 strikeouts on Thursday give him 88 on the season which ranks #2 on the Orediggers' single-season list and 187 in his career which ranks #4 all-time.
- Blomster's two saves this season are also the first two of his career. He has come out of the bullpen three times over the last three campaigns.
- Gangwish now has 43 home runs in his career which is tied for the second-most home runs in RMAC history.
- Gangwish has reached base safely in 39 consecutive games.
- Kehe's 70 runs in 2019 rank #2 on Mines' single-season runs list. He also owns the #1 mark with 80 last season.
- Popp's 20 doubles on the year are tied for #3 on the Orediggers' single-season doubles chart.
- In the 2019 RMAC Tournament, Gangwish is batting .429 and slugging 1.429 with two home runs, one double, two runs scored and seven RBI.
- The Orediggers have not lost back-to-back games since March 24.
- Mines has not lost to CSU-Pueblo in 425 days, dating back to March 11, 2018.
- Head coach Robby Bales is 37-12 in his first season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines' next game in the 2019 RMAC Tournament will be on Friday at 3 p.m. at Sam Suplizio Field. The Orediggers will either face the loser of MSU Denver vs. Dixie State or the winner of UCCS vs. Coloraod Mesa. 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.
 
Print Friendly Version