GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team finished off a series sweep of Colorado Christian on Monday, relying on the strength of its bullpen and offense to win both games of the doubleheader by scores of 8-3 and 9-4.
 
Trent Nielsen produced a .714 batting average across two games which included a pair of doubles and one home run. He scored twice and drove in four more. Mason Andrews stayed hot for the Orediggers with two home runs, four runs scored, and three RBI on the way to a .667 mark at the plate. His on-base percentage for the day was .778. I-Ly Hsue hit .500 as well and scored four runs while notching a double and a home run. Jackson Woolwine and Luke Folsom tallied three hits apiece and scored a combined total of five times.
 
Only four arms were needed on the mound. Carter Gorling started the first game of the day, but did not factor in the decision. Jackson Bakovich (3-1) picked up the win thanks to 5.1 innings of four-hit, one-run relief. Bakovich struck out five, walked zero, and hit zero batters. Ben Schoneman started game two and failed to collect a decision. Instead, Marcus Lee (2-0) grabbed the victory after tossing 3.2 shutout innings out of the bullpen. Lee surrendered three hits while striking out three, walking none, and hitting nobody.
 
With the sweep, Mines (11-7, 4-0 RMAC) took sole possession of first place in the RMAC standings after just one weekend of conference play. Colorado Christian (2-19, 0-4 RMAC) lost its seventh straight game. The Orediggers converted a modest .350 batting average for the day. The Cougars hit .295 but suffered from four errors on defense. Mines' pitching staff totaled 15 strikeouts compared to two walks. The arms for CCU ended with 11 strikeouts and seven walks. The Orediggers only had one error on defense across 16 innings of play.
 
GAME ONE: Mines 8, Colorado Christian 3
The first game of the day started with back-to-back hits in the top of the first, but Gorling shrugged it off with a groundball double play and a strikeout. Then, for the first time in the series, the Orediggers got on the scoreboard first. A pair of errors by the Cougars allowed Hsue to score in the bottom of the first inning and give Mines a 1-0 lead. The home team added to it with Andrews' solo home run in the bottom the third. However, CCU answered right back with its own home run and a RBI double in the top of the fourth, tying the game at two. Bakovich came out of the bullpen and stopped the scoring there. After that, it was all Orediggers.
 
Woolwine smacked a two-out, two-run tank in the bottom of the fifth frame and pushed Mines to a 4-2 lead. Then, Humphreys drove in Nielsen in the bottom of the fifth for a 5-2 advantage. Meanwhile on defense, Bakovich sliced and diced the Cougar lineup with three strikeouts in the fifth and another in the sixth while holding CCU to just two singles. Seventh-inning doubles off the bats of Folsom and Nielsen brought the Oredigger tally to 7-2. Hsue homered in the eighth frame for good measure. Bakovich dodged an error and two hits in the ninth to bring it home.
 
GAME TWO: Mines 9, Colorado Christian 4
In the series finale, the visitors made it a battle for the first four innings of a seven inning game. They started the contest with two runs, but the Orediggers clapped right back. Andrews' fifth home run of the weekend brought in Hsue and Woolwine scored later in the first inning to put Mines on top, 3-2. Moeck gave the home team some much-needed cushion by scoring on a wild pitch in the second frame. Once again, CCU was there to keep it close. A pair of hits in the third pulled the Cougars within one run of the Orediggers at 4-3.
 
Unfortunately for Colorado Christian, it wasn't meant to be. Two fielding errors on the same play in the bottom of the third gifted Mines a pair of runs. Despite offsetting the freebies with a run in the fourth, CCU couldn't keep the Orediggers down. Nielsen polished off his big day, and the game, by hitting a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth which afforded Mines a 9-4 lead. The Cougars barely touched Lee in the sixth and seven innings, and the tall, lanky righty had no trouble closing out the win.
 
NOTABLES
- Since 2006, Mines has taken 65 games from Colorado Christian and lost just 28.
- The Orediggers are 11-2 over their last 13 games.
- For the series, Andrews batted .750 and slugged over 2.000 with 10 runs and 12 RBI on nine hits including five home runs and three doubles.
- Bakovich has not surrendered an earned run since Feb. 9 at Emporia State. That span includes three appearances (3-0) for a total of 12.1 innings of work with 14 strikeouts and one walk.
- Hsue is now tied for #13 on Mines' all-time doubles list with 38 in his career.
- One double for Luke Folsom on Monday has tied him with Logan Smith for #4 on the Orediggers' career doubles list. They both tout 49 doubles in their respective careers.
- Folsom and Andrews tout active hitting streaks of 10 games and eight games, respectively.
- Woolwine has reached base safely in every game this season.
- Oredigger Head Coach Robby Bales is 128-92 in his sixth season leading Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines is scheduled to head to Grand Junction, Colo., next weekend for a four-game RMAC series at Colorado Mesa. Action is slated to start Friday and run through Sunday. Live stats and free video on the RMAC Network will be offered at www.minesathletics.com.

Fans can keep up with Mines baseball on "X" (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @OrediggersBSB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, "X" and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.