Mines vs. #1 Augustana (at MSU Denver), Saturday, 10 a.m./12 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Stats]
 

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THE WEEKEND AHEAD
Mines will face a tough task as they face defending national champion and #1 Augustana on Saturday. Originally set for Mines' home field, the doubleheader will instead of be played at MSU Denver's Regency Athletic Complex due to snow cover in Golden, with a new start time of 10 a.m.

FOLLOW ONLINE
Every Mines home game can be seen live and for free on the RMAC Network at www.minesathletics.com/tv. The RMAC Network can also be found on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Android TV devices by going to the app store and searching "RMAC". Fans can also follow @minessoftball on Twitter for live in-game updates.

LAST WEEKEND
Mines went 2-3 against tough competition at the Edmond Regional Festival, beating Southwestern Oklahoma State 10-7 and Southeastern Oklahoma State 6-5, but falling to East Central 9-6, Oklahoma Christian 8-0, and #7 Central Oklahoma 9-1.

IN THE PRESEASON POLL
The RMAC preseason coaches' poll was unveiled in late January as Mines was selected fifth. The Orediggers (28-21 overall, 25-12 RMAC in 2019) finished fourth in last year's regular-season standings and made the RMAC Tournament. Dixie State led the poll by two points over Colorado Mesa, with Colorado Christian third and MSU Denver fourth ahead of Mines.

MOVING ON UP
In her senior season, Clara Larson is moving up the Mines record book in nearly every hitting category. Last week she became the seventh player to reach 200 career hits, and she's seventh all-time at Mines with 203. She already owns the career home runs mark of 35, but she also ranks among the career leaders with 137 runs (tied for 4th), 51 doubles (2nd), 10 triples (sixth), 163 RBI (3rd), and 51 walks (10th).

ANCHORING THE LINEUP
Through the first two weeks of the season, Mines' biggest power bat has come from an unlikely place: the nine hole and senior Stefanie Brunello. A lefty slapper in her first three seasons, Brunello turned it around this summer and is now hitting from the right side of the plate. That change has produced big numbers: Brunello is slashing a team-best .563/.667/.938 with five RBI, a home run, a triple, and five runs scored, plus five walks. Compare that to her 2019 when she  hit .240 with 11 RBI across 49 starts.

DOING IT ALL
Another breakout bat for Mines this season has been from junior Kylie Redding. After seeing only 23 at-bats in 2019 and hitting .261, Redding has been a regular in the middle of the lineup this year and is hitting .364 with a co-team-best six RBI in 22 at-bats. Redding has also been Mines' best pitcher over the first two weeks with a 2.00 ERA and 1-0 record in seven relief innings pitched.

YOINK!
Last year, Mines stole just 44 bases in 49 games, a clip of about 0.9 per game. But in seven games so far this season? The Orediggers have swiped 14 bags in 15 tries (2.0 per game), with Kelsey Buechler (4) and Renata Boyd (4) leading the way.  

MINES VS. AUGUSTANA
Mines and Augustana have met twice before, with Mines winning a 2009 match-up 10-8 in Colorado Springs but losing 6-0 to the Vikings in Sioux Falls in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The defending national champions are 4-2 to start this season, with notable wins over #10 Texas A&M-Commerce and #15 Cameron, and losses to Texas Woman's and #21 Tarleton State. They play MSU Denver on Friday. Abbie Lund leads them at the plate hitting .526 with Ashley Mickschl at .450; their pitching staff has a 3.23 ERA led by Mickschl (3-0, 3.00).

LOOKING AHEAD
The RMAC slate begins Feb. 22 at home against UCCS.