PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team dropped a pair of hotly-contested games on Saturday afternoon to CSU Pueblo at Rawlings Field as the Orediggers fell, 4-1 and 7-6.
 
The losses came despite Luke Folsom swinging a hot bat. The true freshman led the team in hitting (.571) and RBI (3) while scoring one run and smacking one home run. He also went 1-for-1 in stolen base attempts. Toby Scoles and Noah Kuzma also turned in respective batting averages of .500 while combining for three runs and three doubles. Wayne Moeck turned in a big day as well. He scored twice thanks to three hits including one home run. Danny McDermott also plated a run. Caden Bonds contributed a double and one RBI. I-Lye Hsue capped it off with a double of his own.
 
Mines' pitching the staff combined for 10 strikeouts on the day. Drew Hill (0-3) and Rodney Gregg (0-0) were the starting hurlers. Hill took the loss and Gregg did not factor in the decision. Adam Houghtaling, Kevin Zapanta and Gabe Garvens came up big in relief with 4.2 combined innings of five-hit baseball with one (unearned) run. Folsom and Zachary Kriethe also made appearances on the bump.
 
As a team, the Orediggers (0-11, 0-11 RMAC) went 18-for-57 at the plate to hit .316 on the day. Eight of those hits were for extra bases. However, Mines committed seven errors in the field which allowed CSU Pueblo (6-9, 4-7 RMAC) to plate three unearned runs over the course of the two games. The ThunderWolves committed two errors of their own that brought in one unearned run for the Orediggers. Additionally, Mines held "The Pack" to .276 at the plate and just five extra-base hits which gave the Orediggers the advantage in both categories. As with Friday's opener, Mines played as the home team on the scoreboard due to RMAC rules regarding site changes for conference series.
 
GAME ONE: CSU Pueblo 4, Mines 1
Hill opened the game by striking out the first batter of the day on three pitches. The promising start for Mines quickly faded as CSU Pueblo immediately followed up with back-to-back solo home runs. Those two scores plus an unearned run in the second frame proved to be the difference in the contest. While the Orediggers put four runners on base in the third inning, one in the fourth inning and three in the fifth inning, they only managed to plate one of those runners in the fifth thanks to Folsom's infield single. Mines chased its comeback with four more runners on base through the final two frames, but none could score as "The Pack" closed out the 4-1 victory.
 
GAME TWO: CSU Pueblo 7, Mines 6
The second game of the day provided fans from both sides many thrilling moments. Bonds put Mines on the board first with a RBI-double that scored McDermott. Pueblo's three-run outburst in the third inning made the score 3-1, but Moeck erased that deficit with one swing of the bat in the bottom half which resulted in a two-run home run with Scoles on base. The ThunderWolves retook the lead in the top of the fourth inning, and that put Folsom in line for the loss due to his work in relief. However, he truly helped his own cause by smacking a two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Orediggers a 5-4 advantage.
 
Any fingernails surviving the final two frames must have been made of titanium. CSU Pueblo tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the sixth with a two-out single. Mines answered in the bottom of the same inning thanks to Houghtaling who put the ball in play deep on the right side and forced a two-error sequence which scored Kuzma and put the Orediggers back on top, 6-5. Unfortunately for Mines, the dagger came on "The Pack's" last chance at the plate. Two walks and a double to right-center field plated two and made the score 7-6 in favor of the hosts. The Orediggers sent three to bat in the bottom of the seventh and all three were retired.
 
NOTABLES
- The home runs for Folsom and Moeck were the first of their respective careers.
- Additionally, the true freshman duo of Folsom and Moeck accounted for six of Mines' seven runs on the day.
- Moeck is now hitting .342 in 10 starts thanks to 13 hits including five doubles and one home run. He also leads the team with nine RBI.
- Seven different Orediggers have hit home runs this season.
- Hsue's double on Saturday tied him for the team lead with five in 2021.
- Gregg's start in game two was the first collegiate start for the redshirt-freshman hurler.
- Head Coach Robby Bales is 51-32 in his third year as head coach for the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes its series with CSU Pueblo on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Rawlings Field. Live stats and video of the game will be available for free at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can follow Mines baseball on Twitter at @OrediggersBSB. They can also follow all of Mines Athletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @MinesAthletics, and online at www.minesathletics.com.