GOLDEN, Colo. – Jackson Bakovich and Canon Humphreys came up big during Saturday's doubleheader between the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team and CSU Pueblo as the Orediggers grabbed wins of 10-5 and 4-2 at Jim Darden Field.
 
Both of Humhreys' hits on the day were the game-winning hits for each game. He finished 2-for-3 with two runs and four RBI on a double and one home run. Jackson Woolwine and Evan Bilter were also efficient at the plate. Woolwine batted .500 across the two contests and scored one run with two RBI and a double. Bilter had three hits, scored three runs and notched one RBI. Additionally, Wayne Moeck and Keene Tanaka notched one hit and two RBI each with Moeck smacking a double and scoring two runs as well. Tyler Pina rounded out the highlights by adding a double to the box score.
 
Only four arms were needed on the mound to cover 14.0 innings of work. Alex Honeyman (3-2) started the first game and earned the win. His final line included four runs (two earned) on five hits with seven strikeouts and zero walks across 6.0 innings. Ben Schoneman started the second game but exited early due to an apparent injury. He posted a game resume of two runs on two hits with four strikeouts and four walks in 4.0 innings of work. Bakovich (4-3) picked up his fellow righty on the way to the win by posting 3.0 innings of one-hit, shutout relief. He walked one and struck out two. Marcus Lee also came out of the bullpen and provided one inning of relief on the day.
 
The bats came alive for Mines (13-12, 6-5 RMAC) in the two wins as shown by a team batting average of .327 with 14 runs on 16 hits including four doubles and one home run. After a slugfest during Friday's opener, CSU Pueblo (17-10, 6-5 RMAC) went relatively quiet at the plate. The ThunderWolves hit just .176 and had only one hit for extra bases. The Oredigger pitching staff combined for a 3.21 ERA thanks to 15 total strikeouts and seven walks. CSU Pueblo's arms only walked four and struck out 10, but still walked away with a 7.50 staff ERA after 12.0 innings of work. Also notable were four fielding errors for Mines compared to two defensive miscues by The Pack.
 
GAME ONE: Mines 10, CSU Pueblo 5
The scoring in the first game on Saturday was spread out and there was only one inning with stacked zeroes. CSU Pueblo scored one unearned run in the top of the first on a passed ball. Mines answered with two runs thanks to base hits from Andrews and Woolwine along with a ThunderWolves' error. The Orediggers' 2-1 advantage lasted through a shutout in the second frame before CSU Pueblo tied the game in the top of the third, using a pair of bunts to force some miscues by the home team. One hit apiece led the way to a 3-3 score after four innings of play. A leadoff error in the top of the fifth frame even gave The Pack a 4-3 lead. However, the bottom of the sixth inning would doom the visitors.
 
The home half of the inning started with a walk to Bilter, a Trent Nielsen single, and a CSU Pueblo error on Moeck's attempted sacrifice bunt. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Tanaka delivered a deadly two-run single through the left side. That pushed Mines to a 5-4 lead, but the home team wasn't done yet. After a pitching change by the ThunderWolves, the Orediggers executed a double steal and then Humphreys hammered a two-run double to right-center field. With Nielsen, Bilter, Tanaka, and Moeck already across the plate, Woolwine helped Humphreys score, Bilter plated Andrews, and Woolwine came in on a wild pitch. The final result was seven runs on five hits with one error and a 10-4 lead for Mines. A single run for CSU Pueblo in the top of the seventh was academic, especially for Lee who was locked in on the strike zone. He proved it with a swinging strikeout to end the game.
 
GAME TWO: Mines 4, CSU Pueblo 2
Offense came at a premium in the second game of the day which moved at lighting speed (for baseball). During the first three innings there was a total of two hits, one walk, and one hit batter. That accounted for all of the baserunners – one of which was gunned down by Pina on the base paths. In the top of the fourth, the ThunderWolves worked a one-out walk and followed up with a two-out home run. The 2-0 lead carried through the home half of the fourth, and threatened to expand in the top of the fifth.
 
Schoneman issued back-to-back, 3-2 walks to start the visitors' turn in the fifth frame. A visit from Mines Head Coach Robby Bales saw Schoneman point to his back/oblique and resulted in a pitching change. Bakovich entered the game with runners on first base and second base and zero outs. He used one pitch for a popped-up bunt caught by Pina for the first out. A fielder's choice gave the Orediggers a second out, but put a runner on third. Finally, a 2-0 fly-ball ended the threat and kept Mines' deficit at two runs. The Orediggers' offense did not disappoint.
 
Bilter hit a single to start the bottom of the fifth inning. Moeck scored Bilter by hammering a one-out double. Pina plated Moeck with his own one-out double. Then, Humphreys struck again. With Alex Dunagan in as a pinch runner, Mines' shortstop worked a 2-0 count before stringing a frozen rope over the fence in centerfield. The long ball afforded the Orediggers a 4-2 lead they would not surrender. Bakovich shrugged off a one-out error to post a zero in the sixth inning. Back-to-back strikeouts by Bakovich started the seventh inning, and he did not back down. A two-out walk and base hit for CSU Pueblo made some fans sweat, but the defense didn't blink an eye. Bakovich drew a groundball to I-Ly Hsue at second which he delivered to Nielsen for the final out and the win.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is 39-51 against CSU Pueblo since 2007. Neither team has taken more than two straight games from each other since 2019.
- Humphrey's home run was his first in an Oredigger uniform.
- Woolwine leads Mines with nine doubles in 2024. He touts 25 two-baggers in his career.
- Moeck only has 12 hits in 2024, but six of those have gone for extra bases thanks to three doubles and three home runs.
- In game one, Honeyman only needed 10 pitches to end the second inning and seven to cover the sixth inning. His seven strikeouts marked a career high.
- Andrews' two RBI on Friday against CSU Pueblo brought him to 100 in his collegiate career.
- Woolwine has reached base safely in every game this season.
- Oredigger Head Coach Robby Bales is 130-97 in his sixth season leading Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes its series against CSU Pueblo on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Jim Darden Field. 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.