DENVER, Colo. – After a series of schedule adjustments and a venue change that saw them head downtown instead of just down the road, the Colorado School of Mines softball team finally took the field Monday afternoon at MSU Denver's Assembly Athletic Complex to take on Regis in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. After succumbing to a home run barrage in game one by a score of 6-2, the Orediggers (11-13, 8-10) rallied in game two and scored in each of the final five innings including seven runs over the final two frames and managed to hang on against the Rangers (15-13, 11-7) to take game two by a final of 11-9 to earn a split to start spring break.
 
Mines got a pair of baserunners to start the day in the first inning as Kendall Aragon and Sara Larson both singled with two outs but were left stranded by Regis ace Kylie Harpman. In the bottom of the inning, starter Kat Miller (2-3) got two quick outs before issuing a full count walk and surrendering back-to-back home runs to left center of the two-run and solo varieties as Regis took a 3-0 lead.
 
After the Orediggers went down in order in the second, RU went deep again to center to make it 4-0 and chase Miller from the game as Allison Westbrook came on in relief to get out of the inning, striking out two and leaving a runner on base.
 
After neither side managed anything in the third inning, Kayleigh Krueger worked a leadoff walk in the fourth for Mines and after an infield pop up and lineout to left, it looked like that opportunity may go by the wayside. Cassidy Chvatal had other ideas as she worked the count against Harpman, battling to 3-2 before unloading on a pitch to left center and leaving little doubt about where it might land, cleaning the fence by plenty to cut the gap to 4-2.
 
Regis responded two innings later with an RBI triple to right field in the fifth to make it 5-2 and after setting down Mines in order in the sixth, added another run on a one-out single back up the middle to make it 6-2. Looking to rally in the seventh, Lexie Semeyn and Chvatal both reached on singles before advancing into scoring position two batters later, but a comeback bid was denied as a lineout to right ended the opener in favor of the Rangers.
 
Game two started off similarly for the Orediggers with a pair of baserunners in the first, as Sidney Wilson and Sara Larson posted two-out singles before a fielder's choice ended the inning. In the home half, starting pitcher Sadriena Rodriguez struggled to find the zone and ended up walking the bases loaded with one out before forcing home a run on a fourth walk to give Regis the early lead. A misunderstanding about the allotment of mound visits in an inning by the Mines coaching staff resulted in Cassidy Chvatal and Rodriguez swapping places between right field and the circle momentarily as the junior righty took over and got the second out of the inning on a fielder's choice on the first pitch she threw although another run came across to score. Two more walks to the next two batters reloaded the bases and forced home the third run of the inning as Chvatal and Rodriguez swapped back with the lefty getting a strikeout on four pitches to escape the inning.
 
Regis added to their lead in the bottom of the second, turning a leadoff walk by Olivia Wick into a run on a two-out double to deep center to make it a 4-0 game.
 
The Orediggers finally managed to post an answer in the third as Kellan Ton got things going with a double to the fence in right center. Two batters later, Sidney Wilson singled up the middle with one out to plate Ton with ease before being forced out at second on a fielder's choice for the second out of the inning. Sara Larson replaced her on base and got into scoring position with a stolen base before scoring on a single back through the box by Lexie Semeyn on a 3-2 count to cut the lead back to 4-2.
 
Kat Miller returned to the circle in the bottom of the third in relief of Rodriguez, working around a two-out walk to record what ended up being the only scoreless inning of the game by Mines pitching. In the fourth, Kailey Morales looped a double down the line in right field for a double with one out before being lifted for pinch runner Sam Whisenand. Ton was up next and reached on an infield single to put runners at the corners for Kendall Aragon, who dropped down a beautiful bunt in front of home plate and legging out a single while Whisenand slid in safely to make it 4-3 as Mines ended up leaving the bases loaded.
 
The Rangers answered back with a run of their own in the home fourth, posting an RBI single down the left field line to make it 5-3, but like the Orediggers managed just a single run as they too left the bases loaded. Mines punched back in the fifth inning as Kayleigh Krueger singled to lead off and came around to score on a groundout to first by Morales to make it 5-4 before a Regis sac fly with one out plated a run to push the gap back to two runs.
 
Heading to the sixth, Wilson and Larson teamed up for back-to-back doubles with one out off the third Regis pitcher of the day Alexis Kemp before Semeyn stepped in and stepped out, hammering a ball down the left field line and tucking it inside the foul pole for a three-run home run to give the Orediggers their first lead of the day at 7-6. Once again, the Rangers countered in their half of the inning, as a leadoff double was followed up two batters later by a two-run home run to right field by Rachel Barriga to retake the lead 8-7.
 
Down to their final three outs and staring another loss in the face, Mines stood their ground and rallied int the seventh. Defensive replacement Emily Rogers, who took over in left field in the home sixth, laced a 3-1 single through the infield before being joined on base by Ton who legged out another infield single with her elite level speed. That chased the fourth arm of the day for RU in Katherine Raper as game one starter Kylie Harpman returned looking to close it out. She got the first out of the inning as Aragon dropped down a sac bunt to third to move both runners, but had to go through the heart of the Mines lineup and didn't find the same success she had hours earlier. Wilson dug in and delivered a 1-1 pitch through the right side to score the freshman duo and retake the lead 9-8 before moving up to second two batters later when Semeyn coaxed a well-earned full count walk. Krueger stood in next for the Orediggers and like Semeyn worked the count to 3-2, fouling off several pitches along the way to stay alive before coming through with a two-run single the other way to right center to score two more runs and make it 11-8 Mines heading to the bottom of the seventh.
 
After coming on in relief in the sixth inning for her second appearance of the day, Allison Westbrook (4-2) was tagged for a pinch hit solo home run by Sienna Reed to lead off the bottom of the inning, but she bounced back to get a groundout and worked around a one-out single to get a fielder's choice and a flyout to right field to close things out for an 11-9 Mines win.
 
NOTABLES
-Aragon extended her hitting streak to 10 games, singling in each game Monday and now has a team-high 32 hits this season
-Wilson shrugged off an 0-4 performance in game one to go 4-5 with a double, three RBI and two runs scored as she drove in the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh in game two, raising in her average to .300 and is now second on the team with 13 RBI
-Ton went 4-9 in the doubleheader including a 3-5 outing with her first career double and two runs scored in game two in her first career three-hit game and is now batting .321 for the year
-Chvatal blasted her second home run of the season in game one to post a 2-3 with a run and two RBI and finished the day 3-8 at the dish and now has eight extra-base hits on the season and is slugging .455 with 11 RBI
-Larson went 3-7 on the day including 2-4 with a double, two runs scored, a stolen base and a walk in game two and has her average up to .343 for the season
-Semeyn finally collected her elusive first home run of the season in game two in a 2-4 effort that including three RBI and two runs scored with a walk as she also finished the day 3-7 and now has a team-high 14 RBI this season
-Krueger also posted a big line in game two, going 3-4 with two RBI, a run scored and a walk and now has 10 RBI on the year
-Rogers recorded her first career hit to lead off the top of the seventh in game two in just her third at bat of the season and came around to score the tying run as part of a four-run rally in the inning
-Westbrook pitched strong in relief in both games, working a season-high five innings in game one and striking out a career-high six while allowing two runs on three hits while in game two fended off a late Regis surge, pitching the final two innings to earn her fourth win of the season
-Miller shook off a short start in game one and worked three innings of relief in game two, striking out a pair while allowing two runs on two hits
-Mines has six extra-bases hits on the day with five coming in game two by way of four doubles and a home run
 
UP NEXT
Mines will be back on the road Wednesday for their final non-conference games of the season when they play Fort Hays State in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. CT.
 
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.