Mines (0-0) at #21 Cal Poly Pomona (4-0) – Friday, 5 p.m. (PT) – Pomona, Calif. [Live Stats] [CCAA Network-PPV]
Mines (0-0) at #21 Cal Poly Pomona (4-0) – Saturday, 2 p.m. (PT) – DH – Pomona, Calif. [Live Stats] [CCAA Network-PPV]
Mines (0-0) at #21 Cal Poly Pomona (4-0) – Sunday, 12 p.m. (PT) – Pomona, Calif. [Live Stats] [CCAA Network-PPV]

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OPENING DAY 2023
Much of NCAA Division II started the 2023 baseball season last weekend. However, Colorado School of Mines Baseball team will celebrate its opening day this Friday at #21-ranked Cal Poly Pomona in California. The Orediggers and Broncos will open a four-game series on Friday night with a single nine-inning game at 5 p.m. (PT). Saturday features a doubleheader made up of two seven-inning contests beginning at 2 p.m. (PT). They'll close the series on Sunday with another nine-inning affair at 12 p.m. (PT).
 
LIVE COVERAGE
This weekend's series will include free live stats as linked above and video on The CCAA Network. The live video requires a monthly subscription of $9.95 for a month. There is not a long-term contract associated with the subscription. Additionally, all of Mines' home games and ever conference game will air live, and for free, on the the RMAC Network with Miles Dunklin providing play-by-play commentary for home games all season long.
 
LAST YEAR
Mines enters 2023 after a 2022 season that saw the best start in program history followed by a disappointing finish. The Orediggers opened last year's campaign a program-best 11-1. They finished the campaign 33-19 overall with a 17-15 mark in RMAC play. That gave Mines the fifth seed in the RMAC Tournament where they toppled second-seeded Regis to start the postseason before losing two straight to MSU Denver and #10 Colorado Mesa. Other bright spots from the year included all-America honors for Tyler Blomster and Luke Folsom. Folsom also led the country in doubles and returns for 2023. It marked the fourth season for Head Coach Robby Bales.
 
SCOUTING CAL POLY POMONA
California State Polytechnic University Pomona, better known as Cal Poly Pomona, entered the season ranked #21 in the preseason national poll put together by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The Broncos' opening day and series was last weekend against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference member UCCS. It was a 4-0 sweep for CPP which tallied 35 runs for the weekend including three games of 10 runs or more. The Broncos' pitching staff combined for a 1.59 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 34 innings while the defense committed just three errors. Rhys Stevens was arguably the pitching ace as he won his start thanks to 5.1 innings of one-hit, shutout baseball while striking out eight batters and walking two. At the plate, Cedrick Perez scored seven runs despite hitting .154 thanks to five walks. Marco Malerba hit .412 thanks to seven hits resulting in four runs and seven RBI. Tyler Chaffee carried the big bat, racking up two doubles and a home run, but only produced three RBI.
 
SERIES HISTORY
While the full history of Mines baseball has certainly not been built to completion, the information available has this as the first-ever meeting between Colorado School of Mines and Cal Poly Pomona on the baseball diamond.
 
CALIFORNIA TIES
This weekend's series will bring at least five Orediggers back to their home state. Garret Nielsen, Trent Nielsen, Tyler Pina, Wayne Moeck, and Evan Bilter all list California as home on the official roster. The Nielsen brothers both call Carlsbad, Calif., home which is about 80 miles or 1.5 hours from Pomona. Pina hails from Morgan Hill, Calif., over 350 miles north. Moeck is from San Diego, just a light, two-hour drive down the coast. Bilter is a native which puts him up by Pina's old stomping grounds.
 
FAMILIAR FACES
The 2023 Mines baseball roster features 20 returning letter winners from last season including eight starters in the field and three starting pitchers. Topping the list of returners are Luke Folsom, Adam Houghtaling, and Kevin Zapanta. Folsom, as previously referenced earned all-America honors in 2022 and led the nation in doubles. Starting at first base, Houghtaling had a stellar glove and a big bat that produced a .417 average with 34 runs on 55 hits including 16 doubles, one triple and 14 home runs with 42 RBI. On the mound, Zapanta struck out 82 batters in 66.1 innings while going 7-3 in 13 starts with a 6.42 ERA. Other returning starters include third baseman Danny McDermott, shortstop I-Ly Hsue, second baseman Caden Bonds, and catcher Keene Tanaka, along with outfielders Wayne Moeck and Mason Andrews. On the mound, the other two returning starting arms are Folsom and Ben Schoneman. Key bullpen arms that are back in the fold include Rodney Gregg, Blake Ripp, Marcus Lee, Weston Siefken, and Jackson Bakovich.
 
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
Head Coach Robby Bales along with top assistant and recruiting coordinator Bryan King reloaded their roster in the offseason with 17 newcomers including 13 true freshmen and four transfers. The true freshmen include Joe Reitz, Preston Hodges, Andrew Brady, Tyler Hummel, Alex Dunagan, Dillon Alcouffe, Grant Johnson, Tyler Pina, Brooks Gerig, Evan Bilter, Ryan Semin, Alex Honeyman, and Noah Weisser. Shuta Araki transferred in from Colorado Northwestern Junior College. Matthew Dobberthien was a junior college transfer from Colby Community College. Garret Nielsen opted in as a graduate transfer from NCAA Division I California-Berkeley. His brother Trent Nielsen spent his true freshman season at DI San Jose State where he redshirted.
 
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Before the season even started, two different Orediggers were rolling in preseason awards. Luke Folsom and Adam Houghtaling were both named first-team all-region by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA). Folsom was also voted NCBWA Preseason First-Team All-America and Houghtaling earned NCBWA Preseason Third-Team All-America. In 2022, that duo hit over .400 with a combined 84 runs on 137 hits including 45 doubles, one triple and 29 home runs with 103 RBI. Folsom also started on the mound, at designated hitter and at third base. Houghtaling was the everyday man at first base and appeared in relief on the mound.
 
IN THE PROS
Over the last five years, four Orediggers have entered baseball's professional ranks. Mikey Gangwish (2016-19) was the first as he played professionally in Australia before returning to a contract with the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League. He has since retired and earned his master's degree at Mines. The second was Trevor Kehe (2017-19) who was drafted in the 36th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. He worked in the Orioles organization for three years and advanced as far as High-A ball with the Aberdeen IronBirds before retiring. Rounding out but leading the trio is Walter Pennington (2017-20).
 
WALTER PENNINGTON
The left-handed hurler signed a free-agent contract with the Kansas City Royals in the summer of 2020 and played the 2021 season with the organization's Low-A affiliate, the Columbia Fireflies. In 2022, Pennington started with the Royals' High-A club in the Quad Cities (Iowa). He quickly moved up to AA and finished the season with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. In 2022, he went 6-3 with one start and a 5.19 ERA including 61 strikeouts compared to 30 walks in 67.2 innings of work. Pennington was also invited to the Arizona Fall League where he played for Surprise. He made eight appearances with two starts. He did not record a decision, but had one save, tossed 9.1 innings and struck out 10 batters while walking four.
 
RECORD BOOK NOTES
Seven Orediggers on the current roster have already written their names in the program record book and are looking to do so more. Already included in the annals of Mines baseball are I-Ly Hsue, Luke Folsom, Danny McDermott, Adam Houghtaling, Mason Andrews, Wayne Moeck, and Kevin Zapanta. Folsom leads that group with his name listed 17 total times in just two seasons. He will to keep climbing the career doubles list where he's currently tied for #11 with 38. The current doubles record is 70 set by Nate Olinger (2013-16). Folsom is also tied for #11 on the all-time home runs list thanks to 18 bombs. That top mark is 46 by Mikey Gangwish (2016-19). McDermott is another Oredigger climbing a career list. He sits tied for #7 on the all-time rankings for long balls with 21 home runs. Moeck is just 11 walks away from entering that all-time list. Zapanta, who broke the single-game strikeouts record last year, is just 20 strikeouts away from getting inside the top-10 in Mines history. Plenty more to come on this as the season goes on.
 
THE SKIPPER
The 2023 campaign marks Mines' fifth season with Robby Bales as head coach. During his tenure as the Oredigger skipper, Bales holds an overall record of 95-60 with a mark of 58-44 in RMAC play. He has coached 14 All-RMAC players, nine all-region players, three all-Americans, one RMAC Pitcher of the Year, six CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, one MLB Draft Pick and had one player signed as a free agent in the MLB. Additionally, Bales has guided Mines to the NCAA Tournament once, and RMAC Tournament twice, advancing to the regional and conference tournament final in 2019. Bales' teams have also performed in the classroom as the squad brought home the RMAC Brechler Award in 2020 and 2021 as the team boasting the highest combined GPA in the conference.
 
IN THE POLLS
The head baseball coaches from around the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference put Mines #5 in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll released earlier this year. The ballots from all nine head coaches provided the Orediggers 39 points. Colorado Mesa took the top spot with 63 points and seven first-place votes. In second was MSU Denver with two first-place votes and 56 points. Regis and CSU Pueblo rounded out the top four with 48 points and 43 points, respectively. UCCS, Colorado Christin, New Mexico Highlands, and Adams State finished the bottom half of the list. The Orediggers were also #10 in the NCBWA's South Central Region Preseason poll. They also received votes in the preseason national poll from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
 
2023 RMAC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Colorado Mesa – 63 (7)
2. MSU Denver – 56 (2)
3. Regis – 48
4. CSU Pueblo – 43
5. Mines – 39
6. UCCS – 30
7. Colorado Christian – 20
8. New Mexico Highlands – 16
9. Adams State – 9
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines' next action is a four-game series at Cal State L.A., starting Feb. 17 and closing Feb. 19. Live stats all four games will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines baseball on Twitter at @OrediggersBSB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.