GOLDEN, Colo. – The Oredigger trio of Luke Folsom, Danny McDermott and Mason Andrews powered the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team to a 13-8 victory on Friday evening in their series opener against Colorado Christian at Jim Darden Field.
 
The trio of Folsom, McDermott and Andrews combined to score three runs and notch nine RBI on nine hits including five doubles and two home runs. Folsom's final line featured a 3-for-4 day with three doubles and three runs. McDermott went 3-for-5 with a double and notched four RBI while scoring one run. Andrews drove in five runs and scored twice thanks to two home runs and a double. Other notable performances included Nic Roma's home run, I-Ly Hsue's triple and two runs scored by Caden Bonds. Tyler Blomster (5-0) started on the mound and earned the win behind 7.0 innings of three-run, nine-hit baseball with four strikeouts. Weston Siefken and Rodney Gregg both appeared about of the bullpen.
 
Even though Colorado Christian (6-15, 4-5 RMAC) edged Mines (16-9, 5-8 RMAC) in hits by a margin of 15-14, the Orediggers made up the difference in hits for extra bases. Mines racked up a total of five doubles, one triple and three home runs compared to two doubles and two triples for CCU. The final numbers had the home team batting .358 and slugging .769 while the visitors hit .375 but slugged just .525. Colorado Christian also committed two errors in the field which allowed Mines to score four unearned runs. The Orediggers only had one error and did not allow any unearned runs. Only one total walk was issued in Friday night's opener.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Friday brought a nearly perfect day for baseball with clear skies and temperatures nearing 60 degrees. There was only a light breeze and it was blowing in from center field for most of the game. Colorado Christian had the hot bats early as they racked up five hits and two runs through the first three innings. It took Mines those three innings to find the spark it needed at the plate. Andrews heated things up in the bottom of the third by hitting a two-run home run to the deepest part of the park with Bonds on base. That tied the score at 2-2. However, CCU's leadoff triple in the top of the fourth put the visitors back in the lead, 3-2. What followed was all Orediggers.
 
Andrews powered a three-run fourth for Mines by smacking a two-run double which pushed the home team to a 5-3 advantage. McDermott's two-run double in the fifth inning extended the Oredigger lead to 7-3. Andrews and Roma hit back-to-back, one-out bombs in the sixth frame to make it 9-3 in favor of the hosts. Meanwhile, Blomster and Mines' defense stymied CCU's offense as the Orediggers' put four straight zeroes on the scoreboard. Nine combined runs in the final two innings were merely academic. Four runs in the bottom of the eighth were keyed by Hsue's two-out triple and a pair of Cougar errors. Colorado Christian's last gasp featured four runs thanks to three straight singles and a pair of two-out hits. Gregg came on in the middle of it and worked two pop flies and a strikeout to close out the win.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines remains 7-3 over its last 10 meetings with Colorado Christian while holding a 54-26 lead in the rivalry since 2006.
- Andrews' two home runs marks the redshirt freshman's second multi-home run game of the season. He leads the Orediggers with seven home runs on the year.
- Roma's home run was the first of his collegiate career and gave him his third hit of the season.
- Folsom's trio of doubles tied the program's single-game record also held by Jace Selsor, John Howard, Connor Lambert, Nate Olinger, Aaron Gremmer, Stefan Revielle, Ryan Oliver and Brad Reiner.
- Folsom leads the Orediggers with 10 doubles so far this season.
- Hsue now touts three triples in 2022 which ranks #1 on the team.
- Blomster's start was his least efficient of the season, but he still emerged with a 5-0 record and a 0.86 ERA with 42 strikeouts through 42.0 innings of work.
- Gregg has only given up three earned runs in eight appearances and 8.2 innings of relief.
- Friday marked Mines' fifth home game of the season.
- Coach Bales holds an overall record of 78-50 in his fourth season as the head coach at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers continue their series with Colorado Christian on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. Live stats and video will be offered at www.minesathletics.com. Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate.
 
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.