GOLDEN, Colo. – Red-hot bats, precise pitching, and solid defense all came together for Colorado School of Mines on Sunday afternoon as the Orediggers rolled out a 17-6 victory against #13-ranked MSU Denver to split the series and close their 2023 home slate.
 
In his last game at Jim Darden Field, Adam Houghtaling led the offense by going 3-for-4 with a home run while scoring three times and tallying four RBI. Danny McDermott, also playing his last game at Jim Darden Field, finished 3-for-4 as well, smacking a grand slam on the way to four RBI and one run scored. Jackson Woolwine batted leadoff and racked up two runs and one RBI on four hits including a home run. Garret Nielsen drew three walks and scored four times on a 1-for-2 day at the plate. Luke Folsom, Mason Andrews, and I-Ly Hsue combined to score seven runs, and Hsue also hit a bomb. Folsom, Garret Nielsen, and Caden Bonds combined for five RBI as well.
 
Alex Honeyman (1-0) was the starter on the mound and earned the win after grinding out 5.0 innings of five-run, five-hit baseball. He struck out two and walked two. Ben Schoneman earned the save (1) by spinning the final four innings. Against the #1 offense in all of NCAA Division II, Schoneman surrendered just one run on three hits while striking out four and walking one. Jack Slominski (9-2), the RMAC wins leader on the mound, took the loss for MSU Denver after Mines touched him up for six runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings.
 
With the win, Mines (19-22, 14-14 RMAC) clinched a berth in the 2023 RMAC Baseball Tournament. The Orediggers are currently tied for #4 in the league standings with CSU Pueblo. The loss pushed MSU Denver (40-10, 25-7 RMAC) to its first split of a four-game series in 2023. Even so, the Roadrunners locked up the #2 seed for the conference tournament as Colorado Mesa clinched the regular season championship along with hosting rights. Mines .batted .444 as a team thanks to 16 hits, and used four home runs and one double to fuel an .806 slugging percentage in the win. The Orediggers were also flawless on defense, committing zero errors. MSU Denver only managed a .242 batting average but still came up with four doubles and one home run. The Roadrunners also committed one error in the field. Eight walks issued by the visitors' pitching staff also played big in the outcome.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
When MSU Denver started the game with a single and a double at the plate, it appeared to be business as usual for the #13-ranked team in NCAA Division II. However, Honeyman shrugged off a two-run double and worked two outs in the air to limit the Roadrunners to two runs in the opening frame. It would be MSU Denver's last runs until the fifth inning. Meanwhile, Houghtaling plated Andrews and Folsom drove in Garret Nielsen in Mines' half of the first to tie the score, 2-2.
 
Stacked zeroes in the second inning were a red herring of what was to come. The Orediggers exploded for four runs in third inning thanks to home runs from Woolwine and Houghtaling. Mines added four more runs in the fourth inning after four straight hits from Woolwine, Andrews, Garret Nielsen, and Houghtaling. That made the score 10-2 after four innings, and Hsue's leadoff home run in the fifth brought the tally to 11-5 after the Roadrunners' three-run trip to the plate. While MSU Denver added another run in the sixth, it was Mines' six-run seventh that broke the proverbial camel's back. McDermott had the highlight with his two-out, two-strike grand slam.
 
Schoneman was the biggest benefactor from the home team's outburst after he entered the game in the sixth frame. After the Orediggers had built their 17-6 lead, he and the defense retired the Roadrunners in order in the seventh and eighth innings. A slew of pinch-hitters in the ninth helped MSU Denver load the bases with the nation's #2-ranked batting average coming to the plate in Tanner Garner. Schoneman eventually delivered a 1-1 pitch to the outfielder that found the glove of Shuta Araki at shortstop. He stepped on second base and delivered a strike to Houghtaling at first for the game-ending, groundball double play.
 
NOTABLES
- The last time Mines split or won a series against MSU Denver was in 2019.
- Honeyman earned the first pitching win of his collegiate career on Sunday while Schoneman notched his first-ever save in his fourth year as an Oredigger.
- Sunday marked the third time this season that the Orediggers have hit four home runs in a single game. They also went yard four times against Colorado Mesa on March 30, and against Colorado Christian on March 10.
- Houghtaling's home run was his second of the weekend, sixth of the season and 20th of his career. He's now tied for #10 on Mines' all-time home runs list.
- McDermott had his fifth home run of the season and 26th of his career which ranks #7 on the Orediggers' career list.
- McDermott also surged to 115 RBI in his career which puts him #12 in the program record book, just behind Joe Popp (2016-19).
- One walk for McDermott also gave him sole possession of #4 on the Mines' all-time list.
- Woolwine's home run was the second of his season and career. He also moved up to 45 runs scored in 2023.
- Hsue now boasts three home runs this season and 10 in his career.
- Garret Nielsen had a double on Sunday which put him at 19 on the season, and tying him for #9 in the program record book.
- Nielsen's 56 RBI are also the fifth-most by any Oredigger in a single season – ever.
- Head Coach Robby Bales is now 114-82 in his fifth season leading the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes its regular season next Friday at Saturday with two doubleheaders against UCCS in Colorado Springs. 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.