GOLDEN, Colo. – Five combined runs in the seventh and eighth innings on Tuesday night helped the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team earn a come-from-behind, 9-8 victory against NCAA Division I Northern Colorado at Jim Darden Field.
 
The heart of the Mines lineup delivered once again in the win. Mason Andrews, batting second, finished 3-for-4 with one run and two RBI. In the third spot, Garret Nielsen went 2-for-5 thanks to a double and a home run resulting in one run and three RBI. Cleanup hitter Adam Houghtaling notched a 2-for-5 day featuring one double and a run scored. Danny McDermott batted fifth and hit a home run. I-Ly Hsue also delivered from the ninth spot in the batting order. He finished 2-for-2 while scoring twice and driving in one. Jackson Woolwine, Luke Folsom, and Shuta Araki scored runs for the Orediggers as well.
 
Mines scheduled its innings on the mound. Carter Gorling started the game, but did not factor in the decision despite 2.0 innings of four-hit, two-run baseball. Matthew Dobberthien (2-0) earned the victory in relief. He tossed two flawless innings with one strikeout to get the win. Marcus Lee (3) grabbed the save in the ninth frame after overcoming two runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout. Rodney Gregg also had a flawless inning of relief, striking out one and walking none. Jackson Bakovich, Gray St. Amant, Weston Siefken, and Alex Honeyman came out of the bullpen as well.
 
The Orediggers' (17-16) win was their ninth victory in their last 10 games. They earned it by hitting .375 as a team while committing zero errors on defense. It marked the third loss this season to a NCAA Division II opponent for Northern Colorado (5-23) even though the Bears posted a .333 mark at the plate. Six wild pitches, two hit batters and an error in the field doomed UNC despite its early lead. The visitors did stack up seven doubles, two triples, and one home run to slug .692. In comparison, Mines notched two doubles and two home runs for a .625 slugging percentage. The Oredigger pitching staff struck out eight and walked three. Northern Colorado's arms combined for eight walks compared to three strikeouts.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first inning of the midweek tilt nearly resulted in tragedy for the home team. Northern Colorado used a single, a double, and a walk to load the bases with zero outs. Mines nearly turned a triple play, but just missed the runner at first as UNC made it 1-0 on the fielder's choice. Gorling halted the threat with a fly ball to center field. However, the Bears made it 2-0 in the top of the second with a two-out triple followed by a RBI-single. That set the tone for a tight, non-conference contest from beginning to end.
 
Mines broke up the shutout bid in the bottom of the third thanks to Hsue's leadoff single and a groundball RBI from Garret Nielsen. But Northern Colorado got the run back with a single score in the top of the fourth. The Orediggers took advantage of a UNC error in the bottom of the same inning which allowed Folsom to score, making the tally 3-2 in favor of the visitors. A three-run fifth for the Bears put Mines' deficit at 6-2. Garret Nielsen's two-run home run well over the left-field fence in the bottom of the fifth frame mitigated the crooked number. After a scoreless sixth, the home team staged its rally.
 
McDermott's one-out, solo shot in the bottom of the seventh pulled the Orediggers within one run of UNC at 6-5. Then, four runs on three hits pushed Mines into the lead in the bottom of the eighth. The rally was aided by three walks, five wild pitches, and one hit batter, all in the home half of the eighth. Meanwhile, Honeyman, Dobberthien, and Mines' defense worked together and put up three straight zeroes in the sixth, seventh, and eighth. Northern Colorado nearly forced a bottom of the ninth by scoring two runs in its last trip to the plate, but Lee worked a strikeout, pop-up, and groundball to clinch the win.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines now owns two straight wins against Northern Colorado after defeating the Bears, 11-8, on a gusty Tuesday night last season.
- Tuesday marked the Orediggers' second-ever win over a DI opponent.
- With his 12th home run of the season, Garret Nielsen moved into a tie for #10 on Mines' all-time, single-season list.
- So far in 2023, Garret Nielsen leads Mines with a .434 batting average, 12 home runs, and 52 RBI in 33 games. He also touts 32 runs and 16 doubles.
- Nielsen's 52 RBI rank #8 on the program's all-time, single-season list.
- Furthermore, Nielsen owns an active, 10-game hit streak. He has a hit for extra bases in nine of those games. He has also produced 16 multi-hit games in 33 appearances.
- McDermott's home run was his fourth of the season and 25th of his career which is seventh-most in program history.
- Additionally, McDermott pushed his active hitting streak to 10 games. He has reached base safely in 25 straight games.
- Houghtaling moved into a tie for #8 in the program record book with his 19th double of the season, and is tied for #14 with 37 two-baggers in his Oredigger career.
- Rodney Gregg has come out of the bullpen seven times in 2023. He is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP thanks to eight strikeouts and zero walks in 13.2 innings of relief.
- Dobberthien improved to 2-0 with one save in nine appearances in his first season with the Orediggers.
- Hsue and Woolwine both tout nine-game hitting streaks. Andrews has an eight-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 14 consecutive games.
- On defense, Mines is error free in six of its last eight games.
- Head Coach Robby Bales is now 112-76 in his fifth season leading the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines continues its home stand this weekend, hosting a four-game series with Regis starting on Friday at 6 p.m. at Jim Darden Field. Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate. Live stats and free video on the RMAC Network 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.