LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team dropped both ends of its Saturday doubleheader against New Mexico Highlands with scores of 14-4 and 9-3 at Brandt Baseball Field.
Alex Bumpus and
Adam Houghtaling tied for the team lead with a .500 batting average.
I-Ly Hsue and
Toby Scoles both scored two runs apiece while combining for five hits in 14 at-bats. Hsue also hit Mines' lone home run of the day.
Luke Folsom led the Orediggers with three RBI across two games. Houghtaling,
Caden Bonds and Folsom came across the plate as well. Hsue and Bumpus notched RBI. Rounding out the offensive resumes were doubles from Bumpus, Houghtaling, Hsue, Bonds, Folsom and
Wayne Moeck.
Kevin Zapanta (6-2) and
Ben Schoneman (1-3) were the starting pitchers and both took their respective losses. Zapanta lasted 2.0 innings and struck out three. Schoneman tossed 3.0 innings and struck out two.
Weston Siefken was the only pitcher without a run to his name. Also notable were five strikeouts from
Brayden Weyer.
Mines (23-13, 8-11 RMAC) was outscored 23-7 despite producing 18 hits including seven for extra bases to hit .327 as a team while slugging .491. New Mexico Highlands (14-25, 10-13 RMAC) scored all 23 of its runs in five innings. The Cowboys produced a combined batting average of .389 and slugged .685 on six doubles, two triples and two home runs. There were only three total errors in 14 innings of baseball with the Orediggers committing one and NMHU turning in two. Those resulted in four unearned runs on the day.
GAME ONE: New Mexico Highlands 14, Mines 4
The Cowboys used two runs in the first and seven runs in the third for an overwhelming, 9-0 advantage. They scored the nine runs on six hits including one triple and one grand slam. Mines' only productive inning of the doubleheader opener was the fifth frame where the Orediggers plated four runs on three hits. Mines' first score came off a wild pitch that allowed Bonds to score. Folsom laced a two-run double as well. McDermott capped the visitors' scoring by driving in Folsom. While the Orediggers managed three more hits in the game, NMHU added five runs of insurance in the sixth to clinch the win.
GAME TWO: New Mexico Highlands 9, Mines 3
Once again, the Cowboys struck first. This time, it was four runs in the bottom of the opening frame. The Orediggers answered more quickly as Bumpus plated Houghtaling in the top of the second inning. Mines even pulled within one run in the top of sixth. Hsue started the attempted rally by smacking a leadoff home run. Scoles added a single and came in to score on Folsom's ground ball. Unfortunately for the visitors, 4-3 was the closest they would get. New Mexico Highlands made a second call to State Farm and the policy came through with five more runs of insurance in the bottom of the sixth. Mines' only answer in its final trip to the plate was a double from Bumpus.
NOTABLES
- Saturday's results even the season series and the Mines-Highlands rivalry dating back to 2008 at 2-2 and 31-31, respectively.
- Hsue's home run was his fourth of the season and seventh of his career.
- Bonds moved up to 100 hits in his Oredigger career thanks to a single and a double.
- Folsom extended his hitting streak to 13 games in Saturday' opener, but had it halted there in game two. Houghtaling now leads the team with an active nine-game hitting streak.
- Scoles pushed his reached-base streak to a team-high 16 and Moeck moved up to 15 consecutive outings.
- Across the two games on Saturday, Mines left 10 runners on base while NMHU stranded four.
- Coach Bales holds an overall record of 85-54 in his fourth season as the head coach at Mines.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers close their series at New Mexico Highlands on Sunday with the finale 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.
