GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team lost both ends of its doubleheader against MSU Denver on Saturday afternoon.
The Orediggers' biggest bright spot of the day came out of the bullpen. Relievers
Brayden Weyer and Rodney both posted 0.00 earned-run averages. Weyer came off the bench for 3.1 innings of three-hit relief featuring just one unearned run and two strikeouts. Gregg's appearance lasted 3.0 innings as he surrendered just two hits and four unearned runs while striking out six batters.
Gabe Garvens joined the bullpen party with 3.2 innings of one-run, four-hit relief.
Caden Bonds did his best to help the pitchers with a 2-for-6 day over two games that featured one run and three RBI.
I-Ly Hsue also had two hits that were both doubles.
Drew Hill and
Luke Folsom were the starters and took the decisions for Mines.
The Orediggers (0-3, 0-3 RMAC) saw their bullpen produce 10 strikeouts while surrendering just one earned run in 11 innings during the doubleheader. However, Mines' offense produced just seven runs in 14 innings while hitting .151 as a team. On the other side, MSU Denver (7-0, 3-0 RMAC) swung the bat at a mediocre .288 clip but slugged .407 thanks to four doubles and one home run. The biggest difference maker was untimely walks and errors by the Orediggers.
GAME ONE: MSU Denver 7, Mines 4
It was the opening inning that stung the Orediggers as MSU Denver jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first frame. Mines responded with one run in the bottom half of the same inning off a RBI double from
Wayne Moeck. However, the home bats went silent for the next four frames while the Roadrunners tacked on three more runs for a 6-1 lead. The Orediggers began to stage comeback effort in the bottom of the fifth inning as Hsue drove in
Toby Scoles with a double, and Bonds played
Jakob Pigati on a groundball to the shortstop.
Nash Neff then cut the lead to 6-4 in the sixth with a ground ball that brought in Pigati. However that was it for Mines and, the visitors capped their win with a single insurance run in the seventh.
GAME TWO: MSU Denver 12, Mines 3
The first inning once again proved detrimental to the home team's hopes for earning their first win of the season. Despite quality pitching from the Orediggers to start the game, MSU Denver extended at-bats with fouls balls and eventually produced seven runs in the opening frame. Mines would not score its first runs until the fourth inning. Despite the struggles on offense, the home team's bullpen flexed its muscle as Weyer and Gregg combined to allow just one run for the next five innings. It was a two-run single from Bonds that put the Orediggers on the board and made the score 7-2. Unfortunately, errors in the seventh resulted in four more runs for the Roadrunners and a 12-2 deficit for Mines.
Chris Okamoto drove in Hsue in the final inning, but it proved academic in the final score of 12-3.
NOTABLES
- Moeck's double in game one came in the first at-bat of his collegiate career. It was also his first collegiate start, and he made the starting lineup in game two as well.
- Gregg's relief appearance was the redshirt freshman's Oredigger debut and he finished with a 0.00 ERA and six strikeouts in 3.0 innings.
- Neff made his first career appearance at catcher for the Orediggers in his third year with the program.
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Kobe Morris also made his Mines debut with a pinch-hit appearance in game two.
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Danny McDermott's home run in Friday's opener was the 10th of his career and the first of the season for Mines. It remains the Orediggers' only home run of the season through three games.
- Saturday's doubleheader sweep marks Mines' first series loss to MSU Denver since 2012. The Orediggers have won every series since 2016 when the two teams split on the Roadrunners' home field.
- Head Coach
Robby Bales is 51-24 in his third year as head coach for the Orediggers.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines seeks its first win of the 2021 season in the series finale on Sunday at 11 a.m. No fans are allowed, but live stats and video will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
