GOLDEN, Colo. - Colorado School of Mines rallied back from seven runs down, but New Mexico Highlands scored last to take an 11-10 game on Saturday.
The Orediggers (19-11) came all the way back from a 10-3 deficit with runs in five consecutive innings, but the Cowboys (8-21) scored an unearned run in the top of the ninth to deny the home team a win.
The game, part of the three-team RMAC pod weekend, was a non-conference contest.
Danny McDermott led Mines' charge with a four-RBI game, homering in the first and then hitting the game-tying two-run single in the eighth.
Toby Scoles drove in a pair while
Adam Houghtaling went 4-for-5 and
Luke Folsom and McDermott each had three hit games.
The Cowboys hit four home runs in a monster nine-run fourth inning; Cobe Lehman led the way with four RBI and Jared Brown and Eric Papas each drove in three.
Scoles' RBI single got things started in the first before McDermott smashed his fourth home run of the season to right field for an early 3-0 lead. The Cowboys clawed a run back in the second on Lehman's single, but things quickly unraveled in the fourth for the Orediggers. Allan Salas led off with a solo home run before Brown launched a three-run shot to take the lead; Papas' own three-run bomb later in the frame made it 8-3 before Lehman homered to set it at 10-3.
Mines chipped away after that with a Houghtaling single and Keene Tanana sacrifice fly in the fourth, Folsom scoring on a passed ball in the fifth, and Scoles driving in Houghtaling in the sixth cutting the deficit to 10-7.
Mason Andrews' double in the eighth allowed McDermott to score on a throwing error coming back in, and that set up McDermott in the eighth to drive in Folsom and Scoles for a 10-10 tie.
In the ninth, Papas singled and advanced to second on a throwing error before being sacrificed over by Salas, and Lehman brought him in one batter later for the lead. Mines couldn't get anything going in their last at-bat despite Houghtaling's single, his fourth hit of the game.
New Mexico Highlands ran through five pitchers after starter Christian Hernandez departed in the fourth allowing five earned runs. Closer Dominick Castillo (1-2) earned the win throwing the final 1.2 innings.
For Mines, starter
Kevin Zapanta also went 3.2 innings allowing seven runs (five earned);
Rodney Gregg got Mines out of the fourth allowing three unearned runs, and
Marcus Lee tossed two scoreless one-hit innings to set up Mines' comeback.
Zachary Kriethe (2-3) was tagged with the loss despite his run allowed being unearned.
The Orediggers close the pod weekend with two games Sunday, taking on NMHU again at 11 a.m. before finishing with UCCS at 2 p.m.
