Mines (8-10, 7-5) vs. #17 Colorado Christian (22-2, 12-0) (DH) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (DH) – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (8-10, 7-5) vs. #17 Colorado Christian (22-2, 12-0) (DH) – Sunday, 11 a.m. (DH) – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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BACK AT THE JOE
The Colorado School of Mines softball team will be back at Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field this weekend for the backend of an eight-game home stand when they play host the #17 team in Division II and defending RMAC Tournament champs Colorado Christian beginning Saturday at 12 p.m. with the first of two doubleheaders as Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play rolls on.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All games this weekend will be available free of charge on the RMAC Network and have live stats available on Sidearm.
 
AT THE HELM
Mike Coutts begins his second season at the helm of the Orediggers softball program and looks to improve off a 16-30 mark from 2022. Before arriving at Mines, Coutts was the head coach of the softball program at Maine for six seasons, where he posted a 94-129 record with two 20-win seasons in 2016 and 2018.
 
IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were picked to finish in the exact middle of the RMAC this year in the preseason poll, checking in at #7. Defending tournament champions Colorado Christian were tabbed to win the league followed by the reigning regular season champs Colorado Mesa. On the national stage, Colorado Christian moved up three spots to #17 this week while week one opponent Nova Southeastern continues to receive votes.
 
WEEK 4 RECAP
Mines dropped three out of four last weekend to Regis, falling in the first three games of the weekend 5-4, 11-3 in five innings and 11-3 in six innings before collecting a 7-6 win in 11 innings in the series finale, courtesy of a walk-off RBI single by Sara Larson that scored Sidney Wilson and backed up a stellar relief performance by Allison Westbrook as she recorded her first win in a Mines uniform in her third career appearance.
 
STARTING STRONG
Sadriena Rodriguez, Aubree Karraker, Lauren Decker and Sidney Wilson have been four of the Orediggers' hottest players to start the 2023 season. Rodriguez took home RMAC Pitcher of the Week honors following Mines' four-game sweep of Black Hills State to open conference play. Despite taking four straight no-decisons, the senior is still 3-0 in nine appearances with eight starts and boasts a 3.23 ERA and 49 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .204 batting average.
 
At the plate Karraker and Wilson have been mainstays at the top of the order and helped set the table for the middle third of the order. Karraker is third on the team with a .352 average and is slugging .500 with a .400 on-base percentage. Five of her 19 hits have gone for extra bases as she has driven in seven and scored 15 times. Wilson meanwhile leads the team in hitting at .438 with a .547 slugging and .514 on-base with four multi-hit games over the last seven. Her 28 hits and seven doubles lead the club while her 12 RBI are second on the team and is 4-4 on stolen bases as well. Decker has done work at the plate and in the circle this season, checking in this weekend as the second-leading hitting at .360 and leads the team with 13 stolen bases in 14 tries, while in the circle has appeared in five games and sports a 3.57 Era over 17.2 innings of work and holding opponents to a .269 average.
 
IN A PINCH
Freshman Sophie Furniss has been somewhat of a pinch-hitting specialist the last few weeks. The freshman from Illinois is hitting .417 on the season and is 5-9 in pinch hit spots in 10 games this season with three doubles, two RBI and a run scored. That translates into a slugging percentage of .667 and an OPS of 1.084 in the early going this season.
 
TRACK MEET
Through 18 games so far this season, Mines already has 44 stolen bases and is now just nine away from last season's total of 53. That breaks down to an average of 2.64 swipes per game and at the current rate, the Orediggers are on pace for more than 105 stolen bases over their final 36 games of the season. Already nine different players have at least one steal to their ledger this season, as Lauren Decker leads the team with 13 while Renata Boyd has nine and Sara Larson has eight.
 
SPEED QUEEN
Speaking of Renata Boyd, she enters this weekend on the cusp of history as she is currently tied for the most stolen bases in program history with 50 alongside Brielle Asato (2015-18). With her next swipe, she'll become the undoubted Mines stolen base queen. Boyd currently has nine steals this season after having recorded a career-high 19 last season, 13 in 2021 and nine in the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
 
CHECKING THE STATS
Sidney Wilson remains the clubhouse leader in batting average, leading the way at .438 and ranking among the top 10 in the RMAC this season while also scoring a team-best 16 runs and driving in 12 with seven doubles. Lauren Decker has been doing work on both sides of the ball, hitting .360  with 13 stolen bases and eight runs on offense while going 1-2 in five relief appearances in the circle with a save and holding opponents to a .269 average in 17.2 innings of work.
 
Catcher Aubree Karraker has been a mainstay in the #2 spot in the lineup, batting .352 this season with 15 runs scored and five extra-base hits while driving in seven, while freshman outfielder Kendall Aragon continues to impress batting .344 with 13 runs scored and four RBI. Kayleigh Krueger is coming off a big weekend against Regis and is back on the cusp of the .300 mark, batting .299 with a team-high 16 RBI and seven doubles out of the cleanup spot. Trystin Oshiro-Sano has also been swinging it well, as she boasts a .435 average with two doubles and five RBI in 11 games.
 
In the circle, Sadriena Rodriguez continues to lead the way despite not having taken a decision in a start since February 20 against Black Hills State. The senior still tops the pitching staff with a 3-0 record and a 3.23 ERA and has struck out 49 in 39 innings while holding opponents to a .209 average. Cassidy Chvatal has been a hard-luck loser this season, going 1-5 to open the season despite having pitched extremely well in 11 appearances including four starts and leading the RMAC with three saves and having struck out 21 in 32.1 innings and held opponents to just a .266 average. Taylor Wayne has experienced some of that same hard luck and is currently 1-3 on the season with six starts in eight games and has struck out 14 in 27 innings. Freshman Kat Miller has shown promise this season and is 1-0 with a 3.65 ERA and six strikeouts in 7.2 innings, while JUCO transfer Allison Westbrook may be in line for more innings following a stellar relief appearance last Sunday in an 11-inning win over Regis, working 4.2 of her 5.2 innings this season in that game to improve to 1-0 on the season.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
The Cougars have been on an absolute tear having won 22 in a row entering this weekend. After dropping their first two games of the year to then #11 Cal State San Marcos and Biola, CCU turned the page and hasn't looked back, downing the likes of Azusa Pacific, Northwest Nazarene and then #19 Concordia (Calif.) and sweeping the first three weekends of RMAC play against Chadron State, CSU Pueblo and UCCS, outscoring those three teams 113-22.
 
Five regulars are hitting over .330 this season, led by Kenzie Middleton who is hitting .432 and slugging .841 with 12 doubles, three triples, six home run and has 19 RBI while scoring a team-high 29 times and stealing seven bases. Miki Berg follows hitting .423 and slugging even higher at .981 with an OBP of .516 while posting four doubles, two triples and is tied for the team lead with seven home runs and also has driven in 19. Sami Edwards checks in slashing .359/.458/.474 with six extra bases hits, including four doubles while Logan Menzies enters the week with a .344/.440/.734 line and seven home runs, four doubles, a team-leading 23 RBI and 19 runs scored. Taylor Olsen rounds out the group with a .333 average, six extra base hits highlighted by three big flies, and 18 RBI.
 
In the circle, Abrie Castillo leads the way with a 7-1 record and a save in eight starts over 11 appearances and owns a 1.13 ERA with 45 strikeouts against eight walks in 55.2 innings and has held opponents to a .180 average. Kali Crandall leads the staff with a 9-1 record and 69 strikeouts in 10 starts over 14 outings and has posted a 1.40 ERA as opponents are only hitting .159 against her this season. Alexis Hamilton has made six starts in seven games and has a 4.29 ERA and a 4-0 records with 21 strikeouts in 31 innings of work. Samaria Roope has also seen time in the circle, working 11.2 innings over four appearances and is 2-0 having yet to allow a run this season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
All-time, CCU leads the series 18-14 and has won the last five meetings between the teams including a four-game sweep in Lakewood last season, during which three wins were done in run rule fashion. Mines is 7-7 all-time when playing at home though as that is where their last win the series came in 2021 by a score of 4-3.
 
ON DECK
Mines will continue their eight-game homestand next weekend when they host defending RMAC Tournament champions Colorado Christian March 11 and 12 at Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field.
 
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.