GOLDEN, Colo. – Back under blue skies and sunshine at Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field for some Monday matinee action, the Colorado School of Mines softball team relied on some late-inning heroics in both ends of the scheduled doubleheader to complete a four-game sweep of Black Hills State, winning in walk-off fashion in game one 4-3 before posting a crooked number halfway through game two to record a 6-4 win.
 
Grace Gonzales played the hero for the Orediggers (5-5, 4-0) with a walk-off safety squeeze in the opener, while four six-run fourth inning that saw Mines send 10 batters to the plate proved to be the difference in game two as the Yellow Jackets (0-4, 0-4) ended up snake bitten despite getting strong pitching performances and collecting some timely hits on offense.
 
BHSU got on the board first in game one by way of an RBI single that was preceded by a one-out triple into the left field corner as that lone run stood up until late in the action. Mines had chances to answer in each of the first five innings but just couldn't find that elusive timely hit, as they left eight on base and were robbed of some potential run-scoring chances by the Yellow Jackets defense.
 
Starter Sadriena Rodriguez (3-0) picked up right where she left off, settling in after allowing the early run and retiring the side in order in the second, third and sixth innings as she kept the Orediggers within reach as the offense looked to break through.
 
That breakthrough finally came in the bottom of the sixth, as Trystin Oshiro-Sano led off with a pinch hit single before being replaced by starting left fielder Paige Dompier on the bases. Dompier advanced to second followed a pop-up and a groundout as the elusive two-out base knock finally showed up in the person of pinch-hitter Sophie Furniss, who doubled to deep right field to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Black Hills State quickly swung momentum back in their favor, scoring twice in the top of the seventh to regain the lead 3-1 as they looked for their first win of the season, but Mines had other plans. Aubree Karraker led off with a single back through the box before Sidney Wilson doubled down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position to start the inning. Two batters later, Sara Larson singled to center to score both runners and was able to take second on the throw home to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Dompier followed with an infield single that wasn't able to advance Larson, but just a few pitches later a passed ball took care of that problem to put the winning run 60 feet away for Gonzales, who dropped down a safety squeeze up the first base line to score Larson for the walk-off winner.
 
The series finale got underway a short time later and once again, BHSU struck first as they plated three runs off starter Cassidy Chvatal (1-3). Game two of the day started off eerily similar to the opener for the Orediggers, as they were able to get traffic on the bases early, but couldn't push any across as they left five on base over the first three frames.
 
Much like Rodriguez, Chvatal was able to settle in and keep the visitors in check until her offense backed her up, working out of trouble in the second and fourth inning while retiring the side in order in the third before the Orediggers flipped the game in the bottom of the fourth with a big inning.
Renata Boyd set the table with a leadoff single before Oshiro-Sano and Lauren Decker joined her on base to load the bases for Kailey Morales who scored Boyd on a fielder's choice that resulted in a force out at third base. The bases soon loaded once again thanks to a Kendall Aragon walk before Aubree Karraker scored Decker with a sac fly to deep left center that was enough to advance all three runners 60 feet. Sidney Wilson stepped in with two outs and promptly delivered a single into center that scored a pair before she herself scored on a double that split the gap in left center off the bat of Kayleigh Krueger as suddenly Mines led 5-3. After a BHSU pitching change, Sara Larson singled back up the middle with two strikes to bring Krueger home and make it a 6-3 game.
 
The Yellow Jackets looked to rally in the fifth, scoring a run on a long single off the outfield fence before a double put two runners in scoring position with one out. Decker was called upon for the second time this weekend in relief and delivered, needing just four pitches to escape the jam and get the final two outs of the inning.
 
Mines had a chance to add on in their half of the fifth inning and ended up stranding two, but a two-run lead was enough for Decker to make stick, as she worked a 1-2-3 sixth and navigated around a two-out single in the top of the seventh to earn her first save of the season and secure the sweep with a 6-4 win.
 
NOTABLES
-Rodriguez struck out nine in her seven-inning complete game effort to earn her third win of the season
-Chvatal picked up her first win of the season, working 4.1 innings with four strikeouts
-Decker went 4-6 at the plate in two games and collected her first save of 2023 in game two, working a shutout 2.2 innings of relief with a strikeout and a hit and lowered her season ERA to 0.58, having allowed just one earned run in 12 innings of relief and holding opponents to a .186 average
-Krueger finished the day 4-8 with an RBI, a run and a double and ended the series 9-16 (.563) with seven RBI, three doubles and two runs scored
-Wilson went 5-8 in the final day of action with a double, two RBI and two runs and for the weekend batted 10-15 (.667) with six runs scored, five RBI, two doubles and two stolen bases
-Karraker went 3-7 with a run and an RBI Monday
-Furniss went 2-2 in pinch-hit appearances Sunday, tying game one in the sixth inning with an RBI double before delivering another extra base hit in game two as she finished the weekend 3-3 off the bench with two doubles and two RBI
-On the weekend, Mines batted .450 (54-120) with three games of 10 or more hits and outscored BHSU 30-13 while collecting 12 extra base hits, while in the circle held the opposition to a .267 average and collecting 27 strikeouts
-The four-game sweep is the first for Mines since March 13-14 of last season when they went on the road and swept New Mexico Highlands, and is the first home four-game sweep at home since March 10-11 in the 2018 season when Mines swept UCCS
-The Orediggers are also off to their first 4-0 start in RMAC play since 2017, when they swept a four-game set against Fort Lewis
-Mines is also off to their best 10-game start to a season at 5-5 since 2017 when the team opened up with a 7-3 start

LOOKING AHEAD
The Orediggers are set to hit the road as they'll take on Fort Lewis in RMAC action next weekend February 25-26.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines softball on Twitter at @MinesSoftball and Instagram at @mines_sb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.