Mines (3-3, 0-0) vs. Chadron State (0-10, 0-0) – Sunday, 12 p.m. (DH) – Lakewood, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (3-3, 0-0) vs. Chadron State (0-10, 0-0) – Monday, 11 a.m. (DH) – Lakewood, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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CONFERENCE PLAY BEGINS
After getting some time outside under sunshine and blue skies in the 70-degree weather of South Florida, the Colorado School of Mines softball team returns to the altitude and chill of February in the Rocky Mountains this weekend for the beginning of RMAC play when they host Chadron State Sunday and Monday at All Star Park in nearby Lakewood, Colorado.
 
CHANGE OF PLANS
As a result of winter weather conditions the last two weekends that have impacted Golden and the condition of the playing surface at Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field and taking into account possibility of additional winter further affecting conditions scheduled for the end of the week, the Colorado School of Mines softball team has shifted their weekend series against Chadron State back a day and also made a venue change, with the four-game set now scheduled to be played on Sunday and Monday at All Star Park in nearby Lakewood Colorado, the home of Colorado Christian baseball and softball. Admission will be free for both days and per All Star Park and Colorado Christian Policies, no dogs are allowed within the facility. Concessions will not be available either day, so fans are encouraged to plan accordingly.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live coverage of this weekend's games will include live stats and streaming on the RMAC Network. All links can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
AT THE HELM
Mike Coutts enters his third season at the helm of the Orediggers and owns an overall record of 44-59 with a mark of 40-36 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play and is coming off his first 20-win season in Golden in 2023. He oversaw a nine-win improvement overall and an eight-win improvement from year one to year two and guided the Orediggers to an appearance in last season's RMAC Tournament. 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
Mines was tabbed to finish fifth the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll this season, up two places from their projected result last season of seventh. Defending RMAC champions Colorado Christian were picked to repeat this season with eight first-place votes followed by MSU Denver and Colorado Mesa, who each earned a pair of first-place ballots and were separated by just one point in the poll. Regis checked in just ahead of Mines in fourth with UCCS in sixth with CSU Pueblo and Chadron State in seventh and eighth. Fort Lewis and New Mexico Highlands each earned 37 points to finish tied for ninth in the standings while Adams State and Black Hills State each earned 18 points to finish tied for 11th.
 
FRESH FACES
Carrying one of the biggest rosters in recent history, the Orediggers welcomed 10 freshmen to the club for the 2024 season.
 
Kellan Ton, Kenzie Sale and Sam Whisenand will be competing for time in the outfield this season while Emily Rogers, Lauren Romero and E Self will look to break through for some action this season and learn from an experienced infield group. Ryen Herman joins the catching corps as one of four players behind the dish for Mines, Kiki Matamoros brings flexibility to the roster as a utility player and two-way player Ellen Shull will be in the running to compete for innings this spring and perhaps some time in the lineup.
 
Read more about the newcomers in this year's class by reviewing the 2023 Signing Day release.
 
WEEK 1 RECAP
Mines opened their season down in Florida for the second time in as many years and came back home with a two-win improvement over last season's edition of the trip, going 3-3 to start the year with a sweep of Palm Beach Atlantic on opening day, splitting with Barry on getaway day and being swept by then #5 Nova Southeastern in between. In the opener, Sadriena Rodriguez worked around some early troubles to work four scoreless innings to end the game and allow the offense to rally for five runs in the top of the seventh with Kayleigh Krueger driving in the go-ahead run on an RBI single for a 6-3 win. Game two against the Sailfish saw sophomore Kat Miller have a breakout game spinning a three-hit shutout with Sara Larson driving in the lone run of the game in the top of the seventh on a safety squeeze for the 1-0 win. Saturday against the Sharks, the Orediggers just couldn't match the offensive firepower of NSU as big innings proved to be their undoing in a pair of run-rule losses by scores of 10-2 in five innings and 9-1 in six. Taking on Barry Sunday, Rodriguez shined again and after allowing two runs in the first, worked six scoreless innings and retired the last 13 batters she faced in order as Trystin Oshiro-Sano's two-run single in the third proved to be the difference in the game. Looking for their second sweep of the weekend, the Orediggers turned once again to Miller in the circle, who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before losing it on a bunt single as the Bucs rallied for two in the inning, one more to tie it in the seventh and force extras before scoring two to tie and win the game in the eighth for a 5-4 win. Larson belted the first home run of the season for Mines and her first since 2022 while Kendall Aragon, Lexie Semeyn and Sidney Wilson all drove in a run in the game.
 
ONE FINAL RUN
As the era of COVID-extended eligibility begins to wind down, one player from the 2019 signing class is back for a fifth season of college softball. Sadriena Rodriguez earned Second Team All-RMAC honors following a breakout 14-win season in 2023 and was twice named RMAC Pitcher of the Week during the season. She spun five shutouts and struck out 147 in 144.1 innings over work across 24 starts in 25 appearances and held opponents to a mere .200 average. Her 2.18 ERA was the fourth-best in a season all-time while her five shutouts tied for fourth-most in a season, and she enters 2024 with eight career shutouts, good for fifth in program history. She also cleared the 200-strikeout mark in her career, becoming the first Mines pitcher since Sydney Marchando to reach that milestone and will undoubtedly clear 300 before season's end.
 
BRINGING THE THUNDER
Coming off a down year in 2023, Lexie Semeyn started off 2024 about as good as anyone could have hoped for, going 6-19 at the dish opening weekend with four RBI, two doubles and two triples to slug .632 while scoring three times herself and fielding a perfect 1.000 splitting time between catching and left field. The junior now has 33 career hits in two-plus seasons at Mines, 18 of which have gone for extra bases (seven doubles, six triples, five home runs) for a career slugging percentage of .435. Semeyn is someone the Orediggers will rely on heavily this season to help bolster the offense and take their run scoring production to the next level.
 
HAVE A WEEKEND
Sophomore pitcher Kat Miller saw action in just seven games for 12.2 innings her debut season at Mines, going 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA with six strikeouts. This season behind a reshuffled pitching rotation, she figures to see her workload increase exponentially and her performances this weekend are definitely something to make note of. In just her second career start on Friday against PBA, Miller spun a three-hit shutout for the first complete game of her career and striking out a pair without issuing a walk. Following a 1.1 inning relief stint in game two Saturday, the came back Sunday against Barry and worked five innings of no-hit softball before running into some two-out trouble in the sixth and not being able to get out of the inning, but still finished with a line of four strikeouts against two walks in 5.2 innings with two runs on four hits. For the weekend, she posted a 1-0 record and seven strikeouts in 14 innings with three walks allowed and has a 1.50 ERA and a BAA of .250. Fans and head coach Mike Coutts will take weekends like that out of Miller all season long as she looks to fill the role of the second starter on weekends moving ahead.

PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Sadriena Rodriguez posted a stellar season as a senior in 2023, going 14-4 and earning Second Team All-RMAC honors. Her first two starts of the season saw her pick up right where she left off, spinning a pair of complete game winners and striking out 10 without issuing a walk and holding opponents to a .226 batting average. Now a 25-game winner in her career, Rodriguez will look to remain one of the elite arms in the RMAC this season and close out her career by marching her way up the all-time leaderboards in Golden.
 
ZOOM ZOOM
An area of emphasis under the Coutts regime has been putting pressure on the defense by creating action on the basepaths. Last season, the Orediggers set a new single-season program record for steals in a season, finishing 2023 with 86 swipes in 103 tries. Sara Larson and Kendall Aragon were two of four players with double-digit steals last year, with Larson going 18-20 and Aragon going 10-12 and both will look to continue leading that effort this season. All in all, 10 different players committed larceny on the bases last year, half of which are back this season and looking for more.
 
CHECKING THE STAT SHEET
Six games into the 53-game slate that is the 2024 season, Kendall Aragon leads the way at the dish with a .400 average with two RBI and three runs scored and is followed by Sara Larson at .385 with a home run and two RBI. Lexie Semeyn is the last of three starters hitting over .300 in the early going at .316 with four extra-base hits and three runs scored while leading the team with four RBI. Trystin-Oshiro Sano is next batting .278 and splitting time between second base and designated player with double and three RBI. Sidney Wilson and Kayleigh Krueger are each batting .22 with three runs combined and an RBI each while freshman Kellan ton is also hitting .300 with a double, three runs scored and is 2-2 on stolen bases.
 
In the circle, Kat Miller leads the way with a 1-0 record and a 1.50 ERA in 14 innings across three games with two starts and has seven strikeouts against three walks with a BAA of .250. Sadriena Rodriguez is 2-0 in two games with a 2.50 ERA and has struck out 10 with no walks allowed in 14 innings while holding opponents to just .226 at the plate. Cassidy Chvatal doubled and scored twice while driving in a run at the plate and struck out a pair in 4.1 innings in her first start of the season while Allison Westbrook appeared twice for 5.1 innings and has a pair of strikeouts. Ellen Shull rounds out the group as she made her debut over the weekend in relief, working 0.2 innings.
 
SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
Like the Orediggers, the Eagles headed to the Sunshine State to get their season started but made a week of it, starting off their 2024 campaign on February 4 and playing 10 games over their seven days in Florida. Unlike Mines however, Chadron State is still seeking their first win of the season after going 0-10 on their southern swing, getting outscored 71-20, shutout three times and no-hit by Barry on their penultimate day in the sun.
 
Aliyah Rothstein is currently the clubhouse leader in average at a mark of .310 with an OBP of .739 with a double and two runs scored along with a stolen base. Mackenzie Kroll is one of four Eagles with four RBI in the early going as she is batting .296 with a double and a home run. She's joined by Jessie Hencheski who brings a .276 average and a team-leading three doubles and two home runs into the week and Ashland Baca, who is hitting .267 with a double and a homerun of her own. J'Lyssa Martinez is batting just .250 but has a .691 on base percentage thanks to a team high seven walks and is 4-6 on stolen bases this year and scored three times.
 
In the circle, three arms accounted for the already 60.2 innings worked this season by Eagles pitching, led by Kenzi Garner who is 0-2 with a 3.94 ERA in seven games with two starts for 21.1 innings. She's allowed 17 runs (12 earned) on 29 hits while issuing 12 walks against seven strikeouts with an opponent batting average of .312. Tori Haug, a 10-game winner a season ago, is 0-3 in five games including four starts with a 5.85 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched and has allowed 25 runs (17 earned) on 37 hits with 17 walks and 13 strikeouts with a BAA of .389 while Brooklyn Levin is 0-4 with an 8.47 ERA in four games, all starts, and has worked 19 innings, giving up 28 runs (23 earned) on 37 hits while striking out a team-high 15 against seven walks with a BAA of .385.
 
Defensively, CSC had a tough time during opening week, committing 14 errors and playing just two clean games out of the 10 under their belt and bring a .951 fielding percentage into the weekend.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines boasts a 34-8 all-time mark against Chadron State and is 13-2 when playing the Eagles as the home team. Last season, the Orediggers took three out of four on the road. Going back to 2018, Mines has won nine of the last 13 meetings, none of which have been played in Golden.

ON DECK
The Orediggers will continue RMAC action and be back on the road next weekend when they head to Grand Junction to take on Colorado Mesa in a four-game series February 24-25.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines softball on X at @MinesSoftball and on Instagram at @mines_sb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.