By: Patrick Murphy
IT'S FINALLY HERE
After a long offseason, the 2024 season gets underway this weekend for the Colorado School of Mines softball team as for the second consecutive season, they'll get things going with a tour of the Sunshine State, playing two games each against Palm Beach Atlantic, Nova Southeastern and Barry on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live coverage of this weekend's games will feature live stats through StatBroadcast and live streams on the Sunshine State Conference Digital Network. All links are available on minesathletics.com.
AT THE HELM
Mike Coutts enters his third season at the helm of the Orediggers and owns an overall record of 41-56 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.
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.
VETERAN CORE
Despite the departure of
Renata Boyd,
Lauren Decker and
Aubree Karraker, Mines brings back their entire starting infield, one starter in the outfield and 92% of their innings pitched from last season. Sophomore
Kendall Aragon started all 49 games she played in and earned Honorable Mention All-RMAC honors and is the leading returning hitter for Mines as she posted a mark of .382 with 14 RBI, 31 runs scored, two doubles and two triples with a .449 on-base percentage that included a team-high 19 walks and 10 steals. Shortstop
Sidney Wilson slashed .348/.417/.427 last season in 49 starts as well, driving in 26 runs with 13 doubles and scoring 29 while adding seven stolen bases. Behind her on the stat sheet and in the lineup was Kayliegh Krueger, who shined at first base and posted a line of .320/.361/.438 and led the team with 35 RBI and scoring 17 times with 13 doubles, two triples and a home run.
Sara Larson will look to rebound from a season in which she batted .275 with five doubles and 22 RBI but also added the running game to her portfolio, stealing 18 bases in 20 tries last year.
Trystin Oshiro-Sano started 27 times in 32 games and slashed .316/.386/.430 with 21 RBI and seven doubles in a platoon role between second base and designated player last season, while her mate at second base,
Hannah Roberts, settled into a spot near the top of the lineup midway through the season and thrived, rebounding from a slow start to bat .274 with 14 RBI and 11 runs scored.
Kailey Morales is back and brings veteran experience behind the dish as is
Lexie Semeyn, who homered twice in the same game against Fort Lewis last season and drove in eight as both will look to manage the pitching staff and take a step forward at the plate.
Kat Bauer also figures to play into the mix somewhere after redshirting in the 2023 season.
We already mentioned
Sadriena Rodriguez in the previous section, as she leads a pitching staff that returns junior college transfer
Allison Westbrook, juniors
Cassidy Chvatal and
Taylor Wayne and sophomore
Kat Miller. Westbrook emerged as a consistent second starter as the season wore on last year, posting a mark of 5-2 in 16 appearances with seven starts in her first season at Mines. The junior from Loveland posted a 2.88 ERA and struck out 24 in 51 innings while holding opponents to a .258 average and allowing two runs or fewer in 11 outings. Wayne appeared in 20 games with 11 starters and was a three-game winner and posted 5.19 ERA and experienced a bit of a rollercoaster in the circle, but when she was on, she was on. In 62 innings of work she fanned 30 and pitched her best game of the season with a complete game one-hit shutout effort against Chadron State. Over her final five outings of the season, she allowed just two runs in 14.2 innings of work. Chvatal was tied for the team lead with three saves last season and struck out 31 in 53 innings across 21 games pitched and had 14 games where she allowed three runs or fewer, has her season ERA was skewed by a few crooked numbers in the early going. Miller worked 12.2 innings as a freshman and went 101 in seven games with a start, striking out six against six walks and posting an ERA of 3.22 as she looks to take a step forward in 2024.
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.
SCOUTING PALM BEACH ATLANTIC
The Sailfish got their 2024 season going last Friday with two games against local opponent Florida National by scores of 7-2 and 5-3 in doubleheader action.
Anna Wetzsteon drove in a run in each game against FNU and is batting .667 on the young season while Isabella Hernandez and Toree Hoobler are each batting .500 with two doubles, a triple, five RBI and two runs scored between them. Elisa Grande is batting .429 with a triple and a run scored while Gracie Mullett is 1-1 on stolen bases and has scored once. Hoobler's three RBI leads the way as a total of six different players have combined to drive in run this season.
In the circle, Karen Vasquez went the distance in the opener, striking out seven against three walks while allowing two runs on five hits to the Conquistadors. Lacy Marty good the assignment in game two and worked 5.1 innings, striking out six while issuing three walks and allowing two runs on four hits before handing things over to Ashlyn Storms, who earned the five-out save, striking out a pair while allowing an unearned run on two hits in her season debut.
Defensively, PBA kept it fairly clean committing no errors in game one in 33 chances while making only two errors in 30 chances in game two and are fielding .967 heading into play this weekend.
SCOUTING NOVA SOUTHEASTERN
The Sharks, ranked fifth in the NFCA Preseason Top 25, went 2-2 on opening weekend at the Gulf Shores Invitational, dropping their first two games of the weekend to Auburn Montgomery and West Alabama 4-1 and 7-6 in extra innings before rebounding with 6-4 and 8-0 wins over West Georgia and West Florida. Their final two games of the weekend against Valdosta State and Spring Hill were canceled due to weather. Saturday's games with the Orediggers will be NSU's 2024 home opener.
Madison Fine leads the team at the dish right now with a .417 average and has a double, RBI and two runs scored to her credit with Gianna Russo following at .357 with four of her five hits on the season going for extra bases, as she has doubled twice with two home runs to score three and drive in five while slugging. .929. Maliyah Lawson is batting .333 and is 2-2 on stolen base attempts while Brenna Lokeinsky is tied with Russo for the team lead in home runs with two and RVI with five, as those two long balls account for half her hit total early in the year as she bats .286 with a .714 slugging percentage.
Alyssa Drogmueller saw the majority of the innings in the circle opening weekend, starting twice in three outings and going 1-2 while posting a 2.15 ERA with six strikeouts and three walks and allowing six runs (four earned) on 11 hits in 13 innings pitched. Brooke Mahaney went the distance and earned the win over West Georgia, allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits while striking out just one. Julia Allen took a no decision in her start against West Alabama, allowing five runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out four against three walks in her five innings worked. Tierani Teslow made one appearance for one innings and allowed one hit in relief.
As the disparity between total and earned runs above points out, NSU didn't have a great time defensively in Gulf Shores, committing five errors in 109 chances and turning in just one clean game on the weekend as they find themselves fielding .954 early on in 2024.
SCOUTING BARRY
The Buccaneers went 2-2 to begin their 2024 campaign at the Flagler Invitational in St. Augustine, Falling to the host Saints twice 8-3 and 8-0 while beating Catawba 9-3 and 4-3. Their final meetings of the weekend against both teams scheduled for Sunday were canceled due to weather. A full weekend awaits Barry, as they'll play in Longwood, Florida for four games Friday and Saturday against Chadron State, Saint Anselm, Bentley and Auburn Montgomery before hosting the Orediggers in their home debut Sunday.
Cassandra Lee heads up things at the plate batting .444 with two RBI and two runs scored and is followed by a trio who each left the yard the first weekend of the season. Alexis Toledo, a transfer from Division I LIU-Brooklyn, went deep in the first win over Catawba and is batting .429 with three RBI and two runs scored along with a stolen base. Brooklyn Rushton left the yard in game one against Flagler and has hit safely in each game so far for Barry and sports a .417 average, while Mac Stone-Folmar also went deep in the first meeting with Catawba and has also hit safely in each game, driving in a run in three of them and is batting .333. Taylor Thompson is the stolen base leader for the Bucs early, going 4-5 while Paige White has two doubles and is slugging .500.
Turning to the circle, Maci Barnhart is back and saw the bulk of the action opening weekend, starting twice in three outings and going 1-1 with a 4.02 ERA, striking out 19 against five walks and allowing 11 runs (nine earned) in 15.2 innings of work and has a pair of nine-strikeout games under her belt already. Alexis Martin started twice in her two appearances and went 1-1 and sports a 5.48 ERA with three strikeouts against two walks while allowing eight runs (six earned) on 11 hits in 7.2 innings. Lee also appeared in the circle and struck out two while walking five and allowing one hit but not allowing a run in two appearances for 2.1 innings of relief while Samantha Rosenberger combined to work an inning over two outings, walking three and allowing three earned runs on two hits.
Defensively, the Bucs are fielding .956 and have committed five errors on the season, three of which came in their 8-0 loss in their final outing of the weekend against Flagler.
SERIES HISTORY
This year marks the second trip to the Sunshine State for the Orediggers and second time through playing these same three teams. Against Palm Beach Atlantic on opening night last year, Mines dropped both games by scores of 3-0 and 7-0 and were held to just nine hits in the doubleheader. Nova Southeastern was the final opponent on last year's trip and were the lone win for Mines on the 2023 edition of the trip, dropping a 3-2 decision and having to rally to avoid a second loss in game two, coming from behind to win 6-4. Barry, this year's final opponent of the weekend, was the middle day of action last season and saw the Orediggers have to play nearly three full games in one day as the opener lasted 13 innings and resulted in a 5-4 win for the Bucs, who carried that momentum over to game two for a 4-0 win.
ON DECK
Mines will return to Colorado and the confines of Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field February 17-18 to play host to Chadron State in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference openings series for both teams. Action Saturday will begin at 12 p.m. with Sunday's twin bill starting at 11 a.m.
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, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.
