HAYS, Kan. – Oredigger pitcher Tyler Blomster dazzled in record-breaking fashion on Sunday afternoon and the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team swept its doubleheader at Fort Hays State by scores of 7-0 and 6-4 at Larks Park.
 
Blomster (1-0) tossed 6.0 innings of three-hit, shutout baseball as he struck out 13 batters and allowed just one walk to earn the victory and a combined shutout on the mound in game one. With the win, Blomster broke the RMAC's all-time wins record, touting 28 in his career. It also marked the graduate student's first appearance on the mound in over 700 days after the COVID-19 shutdown and surgery. He used just 86 pitches to get the record-breaking win and came one strikeout shy of tying Mines' single-game strikeouts record. In addition to Blomster, the Orediggers used three other pitchers on the day including Weston Siefken who closed game one, Ben Schoneman who started game two and Blake Ripp (1-0) who finished game two and earned the win. Those three combined for nine more strikeouts while Ripp and Siefken also posted 0.00 earned-run averages.
 
At the plate, Toby Scoles and Brady Veltien both hit .500 while starting in both games. Two of Scoles' four hits were doubles. The duo also notched three ones and one RBI each. Danny McDermott and Caden Bonds both swung the big bat as they tallied one home run apiece and combined for four runs and six RBI. Alex Bumpus, Wayne Moeck and I-Ly Hsue scored runs as all. Luke Folsom, Bumpus, Hsue and Taylor White also put their names in the RBI column.
 
As a team, Mines (3-0) hit just .288 but combined to slug for .525 overall thanks to six doubles, one triple and two home runs. Nine of the Orediggers' 17 hits went for extra bases and their pitchers limited Fort Hays State (0-3) to just .204 hitting on the day. Three of the Tigers' 11 hits were for extra bases including two home runs as FHSU produced just four runs in 14 innings. Additionally, the Orediggers produced two more error-free games on defense and the pitching staffed racked up 22 strikeouts in 14 innings. Sammy Sanchez (0-1) and Jake Campbell (0-1) were the losing pitchers for Fort Hays State.
 
GAME ONE: Mines 7, Fort Hays State 0
The start of Sunday's opener put both defenses in the spotlight. Fort Hays State retired all nine Orediggers who came to the plate through the first three innings. Mines rode the arm of Blomster who overcame a leadoff, infield single with six strikeouts during the same span. The Oredigger defense made up the three outs that Blomster didn't get by tracking down two balls in the air while Nic Roma and I-Ly Hsue teamed up to catch a Tiger runner stealing. After the first three innings, Mines' offense warmed up to the idea of getting on base and scoring. Single runs in the fourth and fifth frames led to five combined runs over the last two frames. Highlights from the seven-run outburst included Moeck's triple, Veltien's double and Bonds' home run. Siefken came on in the bottom of the seventh to close it out with two strikeouts, one walk, one fly ball and zero hits.
 
GAME TWO: Mines 6, Fort Hays State 4
Mines picked up where it left off on offense to start the second game of the day and third of the series. Hsue worked a leadoff walk to start the game and McDermott mashed a one-out, two-run tater just two batters later. Then, it was off to the races. By the end of the first inning, the Orediggers boasted a 4-0 lead. Folsom doubled in the second which plated Bumpus, and Bumpus doubled in the third to score Scoles. That is where Mines' scoring came to an abrupt halt while the home team picked up its production the very next inning. Fort Hays State exploded for four runs in the bottom of the fourth thanks to two home runs. With the score standing 6-4, Schoneman handed the ball to Ripp. The transfer from George Washington University finished off the game without further incident to earn his first collegiate win on the mound.
 
NOTABLES
- With Head Coach Robby Bales at the helm, Mines is now 6-1 against Fort Hays State.
- Sunday's victories pushed the Orediggers to 3-0 for the first time since 2017. It marks just the third 3-0 start for Mines since 2010.
- The last time the Orediggers shut a team out was March 7, 2020, in a 2-0 victory at New Mexico Highlands.
- Ripp's win on the mound not only marked his first in an Oredigger uniform but the first of his entire collegiate career including two seasons at NCAA Division I George Washington.
- Siefken's appearance on Sunday was another triumphant return after he sat out the 2021 season.
- Bonds now boasts four home runs in his career.
- McDermott touts 15 career home runs which sits three outside Mines' all-time, top-10.
- Blomster's 13 strikeouts match his single-game career high. He struck out 13 against Dixie State on May 10, 2019. In the same season, Drew Hill struck out 13, also against Dixie State, on April 7.
- Sunday featured two debuts for Mines. Nic Roma played in his first collegiate baseball game as the starting catcher in game one. Taylor White made his Oredigger debut as a pinch hitter for Roma. White came to Mines after four years at NCAA Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater.
- Coach Bales holds an overall record of 63-39 in his fourth season as the head coach at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes the series at Fort Hays State on Monday with a single game at 1 p.m. (CT). Live stats and pay-per-view 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.