GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team dropped its series finale to UCCS by a score of 21-5 on Sunday afternoon at Jim Darden Field.
 
Despite the loss, true freshman Luke Folsom continued his hot streak with a 4-for-5 day at the plate while driving in one run and notching a double. I-Ly Hsue also smacked a double for the Orediggers while swinging .400 in five at-bats. Hsue added one run and one RBI to the effort as well. Other highlights included Toby Scoles' two RBI along with one run while Marcus Lee tossed 5.0 innings of one-run, five-hit relief. Fellow pitcher Drew Hill (0-6) started for Mines and took the loss after departing in the bottom of the second inning.
 
The Orediggers (9-19, 9-19 RMAC) finished the weekend with a split against UCCS (25-9, 21-9 RMAC) thanks to a doubleheader sweep on Saturday. Mines' loss on Sunday saw the defense commit four errors while the offense hit just .228 as a team. The visitors found victory behind a team batting average of .458 which resulted in 21 runs on 22 hits including one double and three home runs. The Orediggers were also hurt by 10 total walks from the pitching staff.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mines found itself facing an early, 5-0 deficit after two innings of action under overcast skies that threatened rain but never delievered. However, the Orediggers slowly, but surely, battled back to a one-run margin by scoring runs in three straight innings. Lee and the home-team defense helped the comeback effort with three straight zeroes during the same span.
 
An exchange of single runs in the sixth and seventh innings brought the game into the top of the eighth frame where UCCS was clinging to a 6-5 advantage. At that point, the Mountain Lions exploded for 13 runs on 11 hits. Mines was forced to use five pitchers to get three outs. When the dust settled, UCCS had built a 19-5 advantage which proved too much for the Orediggers to overcome. Two more visiting runs in the final inning proved purely academic.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines still leads the all-time series against UCCS, 11-8.
- Folsom closed the weekend series batting .722 (13-for-18) with four runs and five RBI along with three doubles, one triple and one home run.
- Gabe Garvens pitched on Sunday for the first time in over a month.
- Jackson Bakovich also appeared on the mound in the series finale and surrendered the first earned runs of his entire career. It was his sixth appearance.
- Hsue and Folsom now sit #1 and #2 on the team with 10 doubles and nine doubles, respectively. Folsom also leads the squad with two triples on the year.
- Head Coach Robby Bales is 61-39 in his third year as head coach for the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers continue their home stand featuring eight games in eight days with a doubleheader on Wednesday against New Mexico Highlands at Jim Darden Field. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. No spectators are allowed, but live stats and video will be offered 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.