Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 DENVER, Colo. – The #13-ranked Colorado School of Mines Baseball team split its doubleheader on opening day of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play on Friday with a 12-1 loss in game one followed by a 2-0 victory in game two.
 
Tyler Blomster (4-0) was the star of the day for the Orediggers. He started game two on the mound and spun a complete-game, seven-inning shutout to secure the split. Blomster's final resume featured just three hits, one hit batter and six strikeouts on 79 pitches. He did not surrender a single hit for extra bases. Ben Schoneman (0-1) started game one and took the loss after 5.0 innings of five-run, four-hit baseball including four walks and one strikeout. Adam Houghtaling, Weston Siefken and Nash Neff all appeared in relief. Caden Bonds led the cause on offense by scoring one run and driving in another with two hits on the day including one double. I-Ly Hsue and Brady Veltien both scored as well and notched one double each. Alex Bumpus rounded out the production at the plate with one RBI and two stolen bases.
 
Mines (12-2, 1-1 RMAC) overcame a team batting average of .160 by putting together two error-free games. MSU Denver (10-6, 1-1 RMAC) notched six hits for extra bases in game one, but only had one baserunner advance safely beyond first in game two. In total, the pitching staffs for both teams combined to strike out 30 batters. The Orediggers scored one run on five hits in game one and played two on four hits in game two. The Roadrunners committed the lone fielding error of the day and it came in their game-one victory.
 
GAME ONE: MSU Denver 12, Mines 1
Exactly one half of Friday's series opener was an all-out battle between the Orediggers and Roadrunners. It was the first half. Through four and a half innings, Mines hung close with the hosts. The visitors even struck first in the top of the second inning thanks to doubles from Veltien and Bonds, but the Roadrunners matched it in the bottom of the same inning and then added a second run in the third. It was the bottom of the fifth frame when things got out of hand for the Orediggers. MSU Denver used two doubles, two triples and two home runs to rack up three runs in the fifth, three more in the sixth and four in the seventh. Mines did not have an answer for the Roadrunners' Reichle Arcilise (4-1) who finished off the complete-game victory with 10 strikeouts along the way.
 
GAME ONE: MSU Denver 12, Mines 1
The Orediggers flipped the script in game two and rolled out their pitching ace in Blomster. He had the lead before ever stepping on the mound thanks to Hsue's leadoff double and Bumpus' RBI-single in the top of the first. The 6-7 righty took the reins from there and allowed just two hits through the first four innings while striking out five Roadrunner batters. Blomster's high school teammate Bonds helped his fellow McKinney North High School alum by scoring on a wild pitch in the fifth. MSU Denver only managed one more hit in the last three innings as Blomster struck out one more and finished off the complete-game, three-hit shutout on 79 pitches.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines improved to 32-30 against MSU Denver since 2009.
- Blomster has yet to surrender a single earned run or a hit for extra bases in 2022. He improved to 4-0 on the year with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP thanks to 29 strikeouts in 27.0 innings including two complete games.
- Hsue extended his streak of reaching base safely to night straight games.
- Coach Bales holds an overall record of 74-43 in his fourth season as the head coach at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines looks to close the series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. However, weather could change that schedule. All updates will be announced at www.minesathletics.com and on Twitter. Live stats and video of any action will be offered at the same webpage.
 
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.