Mines at Colorado Mesa, Saturday, 12/2 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Stats]
Mines at Colorado Mesa, Sunday, 11 a.m./1 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Stats]
 

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THE WEEKEND AHEAD
Colorado School of Mines heads across the Rockies to visit Colorado Mesa for a four-game series starting Saturday. The Orediggers are looking to bounce back from a 1-3 weekend against Fort Lewis as they take on the Mavericks, who are still perfect in RMAC play.

FOLLOW ONLINE
Every Mines home game and most away games, including this weekend's, 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
Every game was a battle, but Mines went 1-3 last weekend at home against Fort Lewis. The two split on Saturday as FLC won the opener 5-2 before Mines won a walk-off 9-8 decision; on Sunday, FLC used seventh-inning comebacks in both games as they forced extras to win the first contest 7-6 in nine, and then took the getaway game 6-4.   

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. Earlier this season she became the seventh player to reach 200 career hits, and she's sixth all-time at Mines with 215. She owns the career home runs mark of 38, and she also ranks among the career leaders with 145 runs (4th), 52 doubles (2nd), 12 triples (4th), 177 RBI (2nd), and 52 walks (tied for ninth). She is quickly coming up on the Mines RBI record of 182 held by Katie Kocman (2006-09); with 177 she has also cracked the RMAC all-time top 10 list, and her next double would do the same.

SEEING DOUBLE
This weekend's series will feature two of the top three doubles hitters in NCAA Division II. Colorado Mesa's Annmarie Torres is the NCAA D-II active leader in career doubles with 59; Clara Larson is right behind her in third with 52. The two also appear on the D-II RBIs list (Torres is first at 216, Larson fifth at 177) while Larson is the active NCAA D-II leader in total bases (405) with Torres second (401).

YOINK!
Mines has been aggressive on the base paths this season, and that's paid off to the tune of 35 stolen bases in 36 attempts, which ranks second in the RMAC in total thefts and first in percentage. Hana Mawlawi leads the way with a perfect 9-for-9 clip, while both Renata Boyd and Kelsey Buechler have 7-for-7 seasons. The Orediggers are on pace to blow past the 2019 team's total of 44 stolen bases.

MINES QUICK LOOK
The Orediggers are 7-10 overall and 4-4 in RMAC play. At the plate they've been led by Clara Larson, who is slashing .387/.406/.661 with 19 RBI and nine extra-base hits, and a breakout season from Stefanie Brunello, who owns a slashline of .357/.491/.643 with 10 RBI. Hana Mawlawi is also hitting a career-best .333 and is tied for the team lead in runs (13) with Larson. Sydney Marchando (4-3) leads the pitching staff with a 3.79 ERA in a starting rotation with Claire Stringfellow (1-4, 6.08).

COLORADO MESA QUICK LOOK
The Mavericks are 14-4 overall and 8-0 to start RMAC play after series sweeps of Chadron State and CSU-Pueblo the last two weekends. Lauren Wedman leads the team hitting .475, one of six everyday players batting better than .350; Bailey Kleespies has a team-best 24 RBI with AnnMarie Torres driving in 22 with six home runs. Shea Mauer (7-1, 2.11), Ellie Smith (4-2, 2.42), and Paige Adair (3-1, 3.37) lead the pitching rotation.

MINES VS. COLORADO MESA [Series: Mines, CMU 122-16)
Although Colorado Mesa has dominated the series all-time, Mines earned a split with the Mavericks last year in the regular season, winning a pair of 5-4 games with losses of 4-2 and 8-3. It was the first time since 2012 that Mines had split or won a four-game series with Colorado Mesa, and their first wins at all over CMU since 2013. Both Sydney Marchando and Claire Stringfellow tossed wins in the series.  

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines returns home to host Black Hills State on March 14-15.