LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Oredigger duo of Adam Houghtaling and Toby Scoles guided the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team to an 8-4 victory over New Mexico Highlands on Thursday as Mines opened its RMAC series against the Cowboys at Brandt Baseball Field.
 
Houghtaling headlined the comeback victory with two runs on two hits and three RBI thanks to one home run. He scored the game-tying run and drove in the go-ahead runs. Scoles was equally big, tying the program record with three doubles as part of a 4-for-5 day while scoring three runs. Also notable were Luke Folsom, Caden Bonds and Nic Roma. Folsom finished 2-for-5 with two RBI off a double. Bonds turned in a multi-hit game on a 2-for-4 resume featuring one RBI. Roma provided the cherry on top by going 1-for-1 with two runs scored and an inside-the-park home run.
 
Tyler Blomster (7-0) and Zachary Kriethe were the pitchers for Mines. Blomster started and earned the victory after tossing 7.0 innings of four-run, seven-hit baseball while striking out five. Kriethe came out of the bullpen and allowed just one hit and zero runs with three strikeouts through 2.0 innings of relief. Blomster, Kriethe and the Oredigger defense only allowed one NMHU run to score outside of the first inning on a blustery day in Las Vegas, N.M.
 
As a team, Mines (23-11, 8-9 RMAC) scored its eight runs on 12 hits while batting .333 for the game. New Mexico Highlands (12-25, 8-13 RMAC) managed eight hits including three home runs to plate its four runs. However, the Cowboys hits just .242 due, in part, to eight total strikeouts on offense. The Orediggers offset NMHU's power numbers by hitting two home runs of their own and smacking four doubles for a total of six hits for extra bases compared to three for Highlands. There were four total sacrifices and no stolen bases as Roma gunned down the only baserunner to attempt to swipe a bag.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
With their commute extended to Santa Fe and more than an extra hour of driving due to the Hermit's Peak fire just north and west of Las Vegas, the Orediggers showed some early rust. New Mexico Highlands jumped to a 3-0 lead after one inning off a pair of home runs – Blomster's first home runs surrendered on the season. Two innings later, Mines bounced back and it started with an inside-the-park home run from Roma. His hard-hit ball to right field sailed just over the glove of the outfielder and bounced off the fence. Roma never broke stride and made it 3-1. Back-to-back, two-out singles from Scoles and Folsom set up a RBI single from Danny McDermott which cut it to 3-2 after three full innings.
 
The Oredigger rally continued in the fourth inning after Houghtaling led off with a single. Mason Andrews' sacrifice bunt moved the first baseman ahead another bag and Bonds drove him in with another single to tie the game at 3-3. Then, Houghtaling finished the comeback himself in the top of the fifth. He stepped to the plate with Scoles on second base, Wayne Moeck on first and two outs. The lefty Texan proceeded to send a 1-1 pitch up into the jet stream and over the right field fence for a 6-3 lead for Mines. Highlands' Jared Brown hit his second home run of the game in NMHU's half of the fifth, but it was only a solo shot making it 6-4 in favor of the visitors.
 
Through the final four innings, the Orediggers padded their lead and were nearly flawless on defense. Mines' only blemishes were lone hits in the seventh and eighth. The single in the seventh was canceled out by a double play. Kriethe shrugged off the single in the eighth and struck out his third batter of the inning to shut down any potential rally. Folsom was responsible for the insurance after a two-run double that scored Scoles and Roma in the top of the sixth. Those were the last runs of the game. The icing on the cake was Kriethe showing his range as a pitcher in the ninth. After fanning three in the top of the eighth, the Las Vegas, Nev., native worked a fly ball, pop-up and line drive to close out the victory.
 
NOTABLES
- Thursday's win improves Mines to 2-1 against New Mexico Highlands this season and 31-29 against the Cowboys since 2008.
- The Orediggers' 8-4 win against NMHU took less than two hours, clocking in at one hour and 58 minutes according to the official scorer.
- Roma's home run was his second of the season.
- Houghtaling's long ball marked his seventh mashed tater of the year which ties him for the team lead with Mason Andrews.
- Scoles became the 10th Oredigger to ever hit three doubles in one game. The last Mines player to do it was Folsom earlier this season. Jace Selsor also accomplished the feat three different times in 2019.
- Blomster improved to 7-0. He gave up three home runs to NMHU and his ERA is still just 1.42. He is tied for #1 in the RMAC in total wins and winning percentage.
- Kriethe's outing dropped his season ERA to 3.37 in 15 appearances out of the bullpen. He's up to 28 strikeouts in 26.2 innings of work.
- Folsom continues to lead the team and the RMAC with his 16 doubles. He also extended his hitting streak to 12.
- Other notable streaks include Scoles reaching base safely in 14 consecutive games, Moeck doing the same in 13 straight contests and McDermott reaching base safely in 10 straight games.
- Coach Bales holds an overall record of 85-52 in his fourth season as the head coach at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers continue their series at New Mexico Highlands on Friday with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. Live stats and video of the series 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.