LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines softball team opened Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play a day later and at a different venue than originally scheduled Sunday as they took the field at All Star Park against Chadron State in a battle between two teams that opened their respective seasons down in the state of Florida. Game one saw the Orediggers (5-3, 2-0) ride strong starting pitching and get some friendly bounces along the way to pick up a 2-0 win, but had to stave off a game two rally by the Eagles (0-12, 0-2), who came back from down 6-0 as Mines was able to work some two-out magic in the seventh to complete the sweep with a walk-off 8-7 win.
Some defensive miscues by the Eagles allowed Mines to get on the board first in their first trip to plate of the afternoon.
Lexie Semeyn reached on a two-out error by the shortstop before scoring a line drive to the left fielder that clanked in and out of her glove off the bat of
Trystin Oshiro-Sano to make it a 1-0 game.
That one run ended up being all
Sadriena Rodriguez (1-0) needed to settle into a grove, pitching with a lead and working around a leadoff single in the second to retire the next 12 batters she faced through the fifth inning, recording five of her eight strikeouts during that span and recording at least one in each inning.
Kailey Morales tacked on an insurance run for the Orediggers in the fourth, taking a 1-0 delivery the other way and taking advantage of a friendly bounce off the top of the fence in right field for a two-out solo home run to double the lead to 2-0.
CSC looked to rally in the sixth when a pinch hit leadoff double to right center threatened to set things in motion, but the veteran Rodriguez rebounded by getting a pair of groundouts sandwiched around a strikeout against the next three she faced to strand the runner at third before working a 1-2-3 seventh inning with a pair of flyouts and a groundout to cap off a three-hit shutout in a 2-0 win.
Game two saw
Kat Miller work a 1-2-3 first inning before the Mines offense put a touchdown on the board in the bottom of the inning, scoring six times to make an early statement.
Kellan Ton led the inning off with a single to set the merry-go-round in motion.
Sidney Wilson watched four straight to work a walk before
Kendall Aragon reached on a fielder's choice a ball hit in the 5/6 hole at shortstop to load the bases.
Lexie Semeyn followed with a run scoring fielder's choice again to the shortstop, whose throw home was too late to get the speedster Ton as Mines went up 1-0. Three-straight run scoring singles by
Trystin Oshiro-Sano,
Sara Larson and
Kayleigh Krueger made it 4-0 as the potential fifth run in the senior from Hawaii was thrown out at the plate on a good relay by the Eagles defense. That fifth run came back for the Orediggers soon enough as
Cassidy Chvatal lined a first pitch offering back up the box to score Larson before a throwing error on a double play attempt sailed wide of first and allowed Krueger to score and make it 6-0 Mines after an inning.
To Chadron State's credit, they got to work battling back right away in the second, scoring a run on a sac fly to left field after loading the bases to open the inning and keeping Mines off the board in the bottom of the inning. Following a 1-2-3 third for both teams, CSC rallied in a big way in the fourth, scoring with an RBI single through the left side before getting a three-run home run to left field out of the nine spot in the lineup that saw a call to the bullpen to get out of the inning, but not before it became a one-run game at 6-5. Mines looked to answer in their half, as Aragon and Semeyn both reached on two-out singles, but nothing came of it as they became part of the eventual nine batters who would be left stranded during the game.
Allison Westbrook (1-2) looked to steady the ship in the fifth after getting the final out of the previous inning, but instead saw a solo home run to left field tie the game up at 6-6. Again the Orediggers had a chance in their half to answer, as Krueger and
Lauren Romero both singled, but a groundout by the Eagles kept things even. Westbrook retired the side in order in the sixth, bringing momentum back in favor of Mines who got things going with a leadoff single through the left side by Wilson. After advancing on a sac bunt by Aragon, Semeyn singled the other way through the right side as the throw home beat Wilson to the plate, but the veteran infielder was able to hook slide around the tag of the catcher to touch home and retake the lead 7-6 going to the seventh.
Trouble emerged right away in the top of frame, as a leadoff single and a throwing error put the tying run at second. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runner up 60 feet to third, a sac fly to deep left allowed for the run to score easily and tie the game again at 7-7 before Westbrook was able to work out of the inning. As strong as the inning started for Chadron State, it started about as opposite as could be for Mines as back-to-back strikeouts made it seem like the Eagles would force extras and have momentum on their side, but the top of the Orediggers' lineup had other intentions. Ton legged out another infield single to shortstop, her second of the day, before stealing second on a 2-1 pitch to get into scoring position with Wilson at the dish. After getting behind 2-2, the senior worked the count full and fouled off some tough pitches before flaring the eighth pitch of the at bat the other way down the line in right, allowing the speedy Ton to race around from second and score the winning run to sweep the doubleheader with an 8-7 win.
NOTABLES
-Morales' home run in game one was both her first of the season and the first of her collegiate career
-Aragon went 1-3 in both games Sunday and scored a run in the second
-Semeyn went 1-3 with a run in game one and 2-4 with two RBI and another run in game two
-Roberts posted a 1-2 line in game one
-Ton posted her first career three-hit game in the second leg of the doubleheader, going 3-5 with a pair of runs scored and a stolen base
-After going 0-1 with a walk and sac bunt in the opener, Wilson went 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in game two
-Oshiro-Sano rebounded from an 0-3 in the opener to go 2-4 with an RBI in the nightcap
-Larson and Chvatal each had a hit and an RBI in game two with the former also scoring
-Krueger also turned in a two-hit day in game with two with an RBI and a run
-Romero collected her first hit at the collegiate level in game two, going 1-4
-Rodriguez worked her first shutout of the season and struck out a season-high eight while allowing a season-low three hits in the process without issuing a walk for the third consecutive start
-Westbrook picked up the win in relief in game two, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits in 3.1 innings with one strikeout
UP NEXT
The Orediggers and Eagles will wrap up their four-game series Monday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. at All Star Park in Lakewood.
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.
