GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team split its doubleheader with Colorado Christian on Saturday, winning game one 14-1 before dropping the second half by a 10-5 margin at Jim Darden Field.
 
Among the top Oredigger performers were Toby Scoles, Luke Folsom, Alex Bumpus, Wayne Moeck and Kevin Zapanta. Scoles hit .571 in the twin bill while stacking up six RBI and three runs with one double and one home run. Folsom matched Scoles' .571 clip at the plate thanks to four hits resulting in one run and one RBI. Bumpus was tops on the team for the day with his .667 average which fueled two runs and two RBI on two hits including one home run. Moeck also hit a home run and finished the day batting .400 while scoring three runs and driving in four more. He also notched a triple. Zapanta (6-1) started game one on the mound and earned the victory with a one-run, five-hit, complete-game performance that included six strikeouts. Also notable were two runs apiece for Caden Bonds and I-Ly Hsue while Keene Tanaka hit .500 for the day with a double and Rodney Gregg provided 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. Brayden Weyer (1-1) started game two and took the loss. Marcus Lee also came out of the bullpen.
 
Mines (17-10, 6-9 RMAC) scored its combined 19 runs by hitting .345 as a team while slugging .586 with three doubles, one triple and three home runs. Colorado Christian (7-16, 5-6 RMAC) overcame a .288 performance at the plate and three errors in the field by smacking six doubles along with one triple and one home run. The Cougar pitching staff also handed out 13 walks on the day, but the Orediggers left 16 potential runs on base compared to seven left aboard for the visitors. Six total batters were hit by a pitch and three double plays were turned.
 
GAME ONE: Mines 14, Colorado Christian 1
Saturday's opener was all Orediggers. Despite Mikey Gangwish's ceremonial first pitch sailing wide of the strike zone, the team on the field had no issue imposing its will on the Cougars. Mines scored its first two runs without recording a hit. Then, Toby Scoles broke up the no-hitter in the first inning with a three-run home run to make it 5-0. Hsue's groundball RBI made it 6-0 after one frame of action and that was just the beginning. Moeck smacked a two-run home run in the second and pushed the home team to an 8-0 lead. He struck again with a RBI triple which sparked a four-run fourth inning.
 
The Orediggers' 12-0 advantage was augmented by Zapanta and the defense carrying a no-hitter into the fourth inning. In fact, after four complete frames, Zapanta had faced just one over the minimum thanks to a runner caught stealing and a groundball double play. Colorado Christian did manage one hit in the fourth and two more in the fifth, but the shutout remained intact. Bumpus provided more insurance in the bottom of the fifth by cranking a two-run shot for a 14-0, Mines lead. Two hits in CCU's last stand resulted in one run which robbed Zapanta of the shutout, but proved purely academic in the 14-1 blowout. Three notable game resumes included Moeck going 2-for-2 with a triple and a home run. Danny McDermott scored three times without recording a hit. Scoles finished 2-for-3 with two runs and four RBI while hitting in the sixth spot in the batting order.
 
GAME TWO: Colorado Christian 10, Mines 5
As much as game one was all Orediggers, game two was all Cougars. Colorado Christian sandwiched fourth-inning home run with a pair of four-run frames to claim a 9-2 lead at the halfway point of the contest. Mines' two runs were scored, unearned, in the bottom of the third inning after a two-out, CCU error. Folsom drove in Tanaka and Moeck walked in Scoles. The Orediggers then loaded the bases in the fifth inning, but came away with nothing. They mounted their best comeback attempt in the sixth as Scoles' two-run single sparked a three-run outburst. However, that was the last of the scoring for the home team. Even though Gregg quietly stacked up 3.1 innings of two-hit relief, the visitors managed one more unearned run in the seventh as an exclamation point. Mines finished the game matching CCU with 10 hits, but only walked away with half the runs.
 
NOTABLES
- At 6-1 on the season, Zapanta leads the Oredigger pitching staff in wins and now boasts 41 strikeouts in 39.1 innings. Saturday marked the first complete game of his career.
- Gregg now touts a season ERA of 2.25 and a record of 1-0 in nine appearances and 12.0 innings of work.
- Moeck's home run was his fourth of the season which ranks second on the team.
- Hsue, the Orediggers' leadoff hitter, leads the team with 19 RBI so far in 2022.
- Bumpus' long ball was his third of the season and Scoles' marked his second.
- Grant Badstebner made his collegiate debut in Saturday's opener as a pinch hitter who eventually moved to catcher. He finished 1-for-1 with a single.
- Torin Diffey and Ryan Vermeer also made their collegiate debuts with pinch-hit appearances.
- Coach Bales holds an overall record of 79-51 in his fourth season as the head coach at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers close their series with Colorado Christian on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Jim Darden Field. 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.