LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team hit on all cylinders Friday afternoon as the Orediggers rolled to a 13-1 victory over Colorado Christian at All Star Park.
 
Brady Veltien led a hot-hitting lineup by going 4-for-4 at the plate including one double with two runs and three RBI. Danny McDermott was right behind boasting a 3-for-5 day that featured three runs and three RBI with one home run and one double as he came just a triple short of hitting for the cycle. I-Ly Hsue, Toby Scoles, Luke Folsom, Gabe Garvens, Jason Hall and Trevor Howard posted multi-hit performances as well. Hsue, Folsom, Garvens and Hall all added at least one double apiece to the winning effort.
 
Ben Schoneman (2-2) made the start and earned the win behind 6.0 innings of one-run, four-hit baseball. He also struck out batters while only walking one. Schoneman faced just 22 batters in six innings and used less than 90 pitches. Marcus Lee provided 2.1 innings of one-hit, shutout relief. Will Scott finished the game and used just seven pitches for the final two outs.  
 
Mines (3-15, 3-15 RMAC) combined for 19 hits which resulted in a .463 team batting average. The Oredigger pitching staff limited Colorado Christian (6-11, 5-9 RMAC) to six hits and a .193 average on offense. Mines used three pitchers to rack up eight strikeouts on the mound while CCU ran through four pitches and struck out seven. The nine-inning, 14-run affair took just two hours and 22 minutes to complete.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Another bright, sunny day with cerulean skies and temperatures nearing 80 degrees set the scene for Mines' offensive outburst. McDermott wasted no time setting the tone in the opening frame by smacking a two-out, three-run home run which scored Noah Kuzma and Scoles. Schoneman carried that momentum and the 3-0 lead into the bottom half and retired the Cougars in order thanks to a fly ball and two strikeouts.
 
The Orediggers kept their collective foot on the gas with a ground-ball RBI from Hsue in the second that scored Veltien and made the score 4-0. McDermott, Garvens, Veltien and Hall followed up in the third inning with four straight hits including three doubles to plate three more runs for a 7-0 advantage. Schoneman augmented the offensive production by carrying a no-hit bid into the bottom of the third inning. Colorado Christian's one-out hit was immediately canceled by a line-drive double play to centerfield that featured a catch and throw by Howard to get the runner running back to tag at first base.
 
Another CCU hit in the fourth inning was essentially wiped off the board as Schoneman teamed up with Veltien for a pickoff play at first base. After four innings, Schoneman had faced just 13 batters – one over the minimum. Additionally, only two of the Cougars' three hits had left the infield. The defense handed the baton back to Mines' offense in the top of the fifth frame. Hsue smacked another double to drive in Hall, and Folsom notched a RBI single to plate Howard. That led to goose eggs in the bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth innings. Colorado Christian managed its lone run in its half of the sixth on a solo home run to right field.
 
Mines proceeded to cruise through the final three innings with back-to-back-to-back zeroes on the scoreboard. Garvens played a huge role in those shutout innings with a sliding play at second base on a ground ball up the middle to end the seventh and another play deep in the hole at second to end the eighth. The Oredigger offense added two runs of insurance in the eighth and two more in the ninth to make the final tally. Lee and Scott teamed up for a nine-pitch bottom of the ninth as an exclamation point in the win.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 52-25 against Colorado Christian since 2006.
- Eight of nine Oredigger starters notched multiple hits in Friday's win.
- Veltien's 4-for-4 performance came in his first collegiate start.
- McDermott's home run marked his third of the season and 11th of his career. He's tied with Kuzma for the team lead in long balls.
- Scott's appearance on the mound was his first since March 8, 2020.
- Mines' 13 runs on 19 hits with 13 RBI and seven doubles mark the Orediggers' top offensive output of the year so far.
- The Orediggers' pitching staff also put together its best nine-inning performance of the season. One run is the fewest allowed by Mines so far and the only game with fewer hits was five over seven innings against CSU Pueblo on March 20.
- Head Coach Robby Bales is 54-36 in his third year as head coach for the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes the spring break series on Saturday with a doubleheader at 12 p.m. inside All Star Park. Fans are allowed to attend. Live stats and video are also available for free at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can follow Mines baseball on Twitter at @OrediggersBSB. They can also follow all Oredigger programs on Twitter at @MinesAthletics and online at www.minesathletics.com.