COLORADO SPRINGS – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team closed the 2023 regular season on Saturday by winning both games of its doubleheader at UCCS to clinch the series with scores of 7-5 and 14-13.
 
Multiple Oredigger bats helped stave off two late rallies by the Mountain Lions. Keene Tanaka was 3-for-5 across two games, scoring one run with two RBI. Alex Dunagan also hit .600 for the day, stacking up four runs on three hits including one double, one triple, and one home run with one RBI. Woolwine scored five runs while batting .500 thanks to three doubles leading to three RBI. Luke Folsom checked in with four hits and totaled two runs and five RBI with a double and a home run. Mason Andrews rounded the list of top performers by smacking one triple and one home run on the way to three runs and five RBI. Also notable was I-Ly Hsue batting .500 and four combined runs for Caden Bonds and Adam Houghtaling.
 
It was a battle on the mound for all pitchers involved. Alex Honeyman started game one of the day and Folsom was the starter in game two. Neither factored in their respective decisions. It was Blake Ripp (5-4) earning the win in the opener thanks to 4.1 innings of two-run, seven-hit relief. Rodney Gregg (2-0) was the winning pitcher in game two of the day after outlasting seven runs on nine hits in 4.0 innings. The save in the finale went to Matthew Dobberthien (2) who gave up two hits on the way to recording two outs with a 0.00 ERA. No other pitchers came out of the bullpen for the Orediggers. Evan Reynolds (3-5) and John Hoffman (4-4) took the losses for UCCS.
 
With the two wins, Mines (22-23, 17-15 RMAC) clinched the #4 seed in the 2023 RMAC Baseball Tournament. The Orediggers earned the seeding by way of tiebreakers with CSU Pueblo. With the losses, UCCS (20-30, 12-20 RMAC) saw its 2023 campaign come to a close despite starting the weekend as the #6 team in the conference. The Mountain Lions had more hits and more hits for extra bases than Mines, but four errors on defense and 16 runners left on base doomed the home team. The Orediggers hit .366 as a team and slugged .648 thanks to seven doubles, two triples, and three home runs. They only had one fielding error and scored their 21 total runs with 26 hits and 21 RBI. The UCCS and Mines pitchers posted identical staff ERAs of 10.12. Oredigger arms combined to strike out 11 batters and walk six compared to seven strikeouts and six walks by the Mountain Lion hurlers.
 
GAME ONE: Mines 7, UCCS 5
It was all Orediggers to start the day. Garret Nielsen hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the first to plate Woolwine. Bonds RBI double and Tanaka's RBI single made it 3-0 after the top of the second inning. After UCCS hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second, Woolwine responded for Mines in the fourth by driving in Bonds with a double to give the visitors a 4-1 lead.
 
The Mountain Lions surged with three runs in the fifth which tied the game at 4-4. But a UCCS error in the top of the seventh allowed Andrews to drive in Tanaka, and the Orediggers did not look back. Tanaka struck again in the ninth and scored Folsom. Dunagan added insurance with a solo home run in the final inning. It softened the blow of UCCS' solo home run during its final trip to the plate, and helped make the final tally.
 
GAME ONE: Mines 14, UCCS 13
Two runs in the first frame and five in the second frame fueled another strong start for the visitors in the regular season finale. Folsom and McDermott helped bring in Andrews and Woolwine for the 2-0 lead. The top of the second inning saw a three-run home run off the bat of Andrews and a two-run shot for Folsom. The seven-run cushion was much needed and barely lasted through the third inning as UCCS exploded for six runs on six hits with one Oredigger error. After three full innings of action, Mines found itself clinging to a 7-6 advantage.
 
Tyler Pina re-extended the lead with his two-run single in the fourth. Andrews triple in the fifth sparked two more runs and pushed the Orediggers further ahead of the Mountain Lions at 11-6. However, five runs wouldn't be enough to get it done. Mines needed all three runs it scored in its final chance at the plate. Woolwine plated Dunagan, and Folsom's single allowed two runs to come across after a UCCS error. That made the score 14-7 which was just enough for the Orediggers to survive a six-run ninth for the home team which featured two home runs and a two-run double.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 19-10 in the all-time series against UCCS.
- Gregg improved to 2-0 on the season and 7-1 in his career with a collegiate ERA of 5.11.
- Andrews' home run was his ninth of the season and 20th of his career which moves him up the Orediggers' all-time list.
- Andrews also hit his fifth triple of the season which ties him for #3 in the program record book. He has seven three-baggers in three seasons.
- Furthermore, Andrews finished the weekend batting .471 with eight runs and 12 RBI thanks to four home runs and a triple.
- Woolwine also scored eight times in four games and drove in seven more while batting .474. He moved onto Mines' all-time, single-season runs list thanks to 53 in 2023.
- Dunagan now owns three triples and three home runs while hitting .306 as a true freshman.
- Folsom has three home runs in 2023, all coming in the last nine games. That puts him at 21 home runs for his career.
- Folsom also surged to 105 career RBI, just one shy of making the program's all-time list.
- McDermott walked twice on Saturday which gives him 77 for his career and sole possession of #3 on Mines' all-time list.
- Bonds scored the 100th run of his collegiate career in game three of the series against UCCS.
- Head Coach Robby Bales is now 117-83 in his fifth season leading the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines will open the 2023 RMAC Baseball Tournament on Wednesday against third-seeded Regis in Grand Junction, Colo. Game times and bracket have yet to be unveiled. Full tournament information will be offered on social media at @MinesAthletics and 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.