Mines (16-14, 12-10) at Black Hills State (10-17, 9-13) – Thursday, 12 p.m. (DH) – Spearfish, S.D. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (16-14, 12-10) at Black Hills State (10-17, 9-13) – Friday, 11 a.m. (DH) – Spearfish, S.D. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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SPEARFISH SWING
After posting a weekend sweep at home last Friday and Saturday, the Colorado School of Mines softball team hits the road for the next two weeks starting with a rare trip north to Spearfish, South Dakota to take on Black Hills State for four games in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live coverage of this weekend's games will include live stats and streaming on the RMAC Network. All links can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
AT THE HELM
Mike Coutts enters his third season at the helm of the Orediggers and owns an overall record of 57-70 with a mark of 52-46 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.
 
WEEK 7 RECAP
The Orediggers closed out non-conference action Wednesday with a trip to Fort Hays State, splitting their doubleheader with the Tigers with a 4-3 win to start the day before falling 7-1 to close things out. Kellan Ton went 3-4 with three runs scored in the winning effort with Kendall Aragon driving her in twice as part of a two-hit day to back up six strong innings of work from Sadriena Rodriguez before Allison Westbrook came on in the seventh to stave off a late rally and collect her first career save.
 
Mines was back home over the weekend as they played host to Fort Lewis and got themselves back on the north side of the cutline for the RMAC Tournament, completing a four-game sweep of the Skyhawks by scores of 8-0 in six innings, 6-4, 8-6 and 6-2.
 
In the opener, Rodriguez spun a four-hit shutout with nine strikeouts and was backed up by a pair of four-run innings with Ton, Sara Larson and Kayleigh Krueger driving in two runs each. In game two Friday, Mines jumped out to a 5-0 lead highlighted by a two-run home run by birthday girl Cassidy Chvatal, her second of the week, as Aragon, Larson, Sidney Wilson and Kailey Morales each drove in a run. Kat Miller started and struck out a career-high seven over five innings, allowing just one unearned run before Westrbook worked the final two frames.
 
Saturday's opener saw FLC score first and lead for two innings until Mines scored eight over the next four frames, including a pair of three-run innings. Krueger led the way going 3-4 while Ton, Larson and Lexie Semeyn each had two hits with the third of those three posting a triple with three runs scored and an RBI. Rodriguez went six strong, striking out eight more and allowing two runs on seven hits before it took two arms to work the seventh, with Miller ending up with the save for the first time in her career. In the finale, it took until the third for the first run to go up as FLC took the lead again, but three-run fourth and a two-run fifth by Mines with a lone run in the sixth was the difference. Krueger again went 3-4 while Ton went 2-4 with three RBI as Aragon also posted two hits and drove in two. Wilson and Hannah Roberts also had two hits as the offense rapped out 14 for the game, their third-highest total of the season to back up at Miller's second strong start of the weekend, going five innings and allowing a run on eight hits before handing things back to Rodriguez for the final two frames.
 
SORTING THE STANDINGS
With a return to normalcy and all team managing to get their games in last weekend, here's how the RMAC standings look with five weeks left in the season. MSUJ Denver posted a four-game sweep of UCCS to move to 22-2 (.917) in league play and is followed by Colorado Christian and Colorado Mesa at 21-3 (.875). Regis is in fourth at 15-7 (.682) after sweeping Chadron State while Mines (12-10, .545) is in fifth following their sweep of Fort Lewis. Black Hills State (9-13, .409) currently holds the final playoff spot if the season were to end today with CSU Pueblo (9-15, .375) being the first team out in seventh. UCCS (8-16, .333) eighth followed by New Mexico Highlands (7-15, .318), Fort Lewis and Chadron State (5-15, .250) with Adams State (2-22, .083) bringing up the rear.
 
DEFENSE LEADS THE WAY
Through 30 games, Mines can lay claim to the best defense in the RMAC this season, fielding .976 and currently one of two teams with a percentage of .970 or better. They have committed just 19 errors, seven fewer than the next closest teams and have 14 players with a fielding percentage better than .970 as individuals. An area of emphasis under head coach Mike Coutts, the Orediggers went from fielding .954 in his season to .963 last year and are poised to maintain that upward trend again this year.
 
WELCOME TO THE NUKE ZONE
Prior to this season, the last time Cassidy Chvatal saw her name in the batting order on a semi-regular basis was her freshman season in 2022 when she often times hit for herself as the starting pitcher and posted some pretty stout numbers. In just 25 at bats, the Broomfield native hit .280 with a triple and two home runs while scoring five times and driving in seven.
 
This season with space to fill in the outfield following the departures of Lauren Decker and Renata Boyd, head coach Mike Coutts made the decision to reduce her time in the circle and make her the everyday right fielder to get her bat back in the lineup after pitching nearly exclusively in 2023. That decision seems to have paid off well as Chvatal is hitting .280 with 15 RBI and leads the Orediggers with 11 extra-base hits this season, including seven doubles, a triple and three home runs, and leads the team with a .500 slugging percentage and has slowly seen her average rise over 100 points during the last month. With five weeks of RMAC action left in the regular season, Chvatal figures to remain a key part of the lineup for the stretch run.
 
QUEEN SADRIENA
Had Sadriena Rodriguez hung up her spikes after four years in Golden, few would be able to find much wrong with a stellar career that included a 14-win season in 2023 and Second Team All-RMAC honors. However, the Imperial, California native had other plans as she used her fifth year of eligibility because of the COVID-affected season in 2020 as the only member of her class to come back in 2024. Last season, she hit the 200-strikeout mark in her career and became the program's first 10-game winner since 2019 and recorded a 2.18 ERA, the fourth lowest in a season in program history while her five shutouts were tied for fourth in a single season with her eight career shutouts checking in at fifth.
 
This season, Rodriguez has picked up right where she left off and is currently 8-5 with a 3.07 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 82 innings pitched with four shutouts and continues to mark her name in the record books at Mines. Last weekend against Fort Lewis, she became just the fifth player in program history to reach 300 strikeouts in a career and now has 31 career wins, tied for fifth all-time with the great Sydney Marchando. With her 12 career shutouts, she now ranks tied for second with Hallie Smith all-time and in all likelihood will take over sole possession of second before the season is out and will also see her name in the book for most shutouts in a season somewhere again this year with four to her credit and counting. In terms of innings pitched, her 339 for 30.2 back of current pitching coach Libby Balogh for seventh while her current career ERA of 2.81 would check in at sixth in Mines history.
 
One of the captains on this year's team and a dugout leader, Rodriguez's impact on the program will continue long after she spins her final pitch in the coming months as she'll be remembered as one of the all-time greats in the history of the Mines softball.
 
HAVE YOURSELVES A WEEK
There was plenty to cheer about over the last eight games if you're a Mines fan, as the Orediggers posted a 6-2 record going back to last week against Regis on Monday, with a few names standing out above the rest.
 
Kayleigh Krueger posted one of the best weeks of her career, batting .542 (13-24) with a double, triple, six RBI and six runs scored to lead the Mines offense, including a 6-8 performance Saturday in the final two games against Fort Lewis. Freshman Kellan ton also put up some big numbers, batting an even .500 (14-28) in the seven games she played, posting a pair of doubles, scoring eight times and driving in six runs in the series with the Skyhawks while going 5-5 on stolen bases.
 
Sidney Wilson batted .429 with two doubles, five RBI and four runs scored while Sara Larson also batted over .400, posting a mark of .417 with three doubles, three RBI, four runs scored and going 4-4 on steal attempts.
 
Throw Cassidy Chvatal and Lexie Semeyn into the conversation as well, with the former batting .375 for the week and slugging .708 with two doubles, two home runs, six RBI and six runs scored with the latter hitting .346 and slugging .615 with two triples, a home run five RBI and eight runs scored.
 
It was a lot of softball over the course of six days, but it seems like the Orediggers handled it pretty well and enjoyed putting up some big numbers while doing it.
 
CHECKING THE STAT SHEET
Following the weep of the Skyhawks, Kendall Aragon remains the clubhouse leader in hitting at .382 and hits at 39 with a career-high 16 RBI and counting with three doubles and 12 runs scored. Freshman Kellan Ton has forced her way into becoming a regular in the lineup, batting .373 with seven RBI, six of which came last weekend, and has scored 17 times, tied for the team lead, and is a perfect 10-10 on stolen bases. Sara Larson is batting .356 and now has nine RBI and is tied for the team lead with seven doubles and showed her speed over the weekend and is now 5-7 on stolen on the year.
 
Sidney Wilson has found her groove and is batting .315 with two doubles, two home runs and 15 RBI while Kayleigh Krueger's big weekend has her average up to .307 with four-extra base hits and 14 RBI. Cassidy Chvatal belted two home runs last week and now has a team-leading three on the season as part of her 11 extra-base hits which also includes seven doubles as she's batting .280 and slugging .500 with 15 RBI and 13 runs scored. Lexie Semeyn is tied with Aragon for the team lead in RBI with 16 and is batting .275 with four doubles and a team-leading four triples this season while splitting time between left field and catcher.
 
In the circle, Rodriguez posted a 3-0 week to improve to 8-5 on the season with a 3.07 ERA in 14 starts over 16 games with 65 strikeouts against 27 walks in 82 innings of work with a BAA of .247. Kat Miller continues to thrive as the #2 starter and is 4-3 with a save in 18 games with 10 starts, sporting a 3.81 ERA and 24 strikeouts with 17 walks in 57 innings and a BAA of .313. Allison Westbrook has been the go-to reliever this season, coming out of the bullpen 16 times in 17 games and is 4-2 with a save in 35.3 innings and 11 strikeouts to go with a 5.89 ERA. Chvatal has also seen time in the circle, working 20 innings in eight games with five starts while freshman Ellen Shull has worked 3.2 innings in four outings with two strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
Prior to last weekend, the Yellow Jackets had won a program-record eight games in a row, matching their entire win total from last season and surpassing their RMAC win total from a year ago under the direction of first-year head coach Ashlyn Englehorn. Unfortunately, they ran into the buzzsaw that is Colorado Mesa last weekend, playing the Mavericks at River Ridge High School in Thornton and getting swept by scores of 14-0, 16-5, 19-4 and 10-2 and getting tagged for 26 home runs.
 
Offensively, Alyssa Wong leads the team with a .391 average and is tied for second on the second with six doubles and 14 RBI. Speedster Kayla Lee is 13-13 on stolen bases, tied for the most on the team, and is hitting .337 with five extra base hits, seven RBI and 13 runs scored. Lily Simmons is batting .333 with six doubles and 10 RBI with a team-leading 17 runs scored while Ashlynn Pauwels leads BH with eight doubles, three home runs and 19 RBI and is slugging .519.
 
Audrey Foras' four home runs lead the team as she also has two doubles and has driven in 14 while batting .264 with Gianna Haley batting .293 with four extra-base hits, 10 RBI and 11 run scored.
 
Two other Yellow Jackets have double-digit stolen base counts as they rank third the RMAC as a team in the larceny department, stealing 47 in 50 tries. Tyler Whitlock (.233 AVG, 2 2B, 7 RBI) is tied with Lee with 13 steals while Taylor Dowden (.221 AVG, 10 R, 4 RBI) is 11-11.
 
In the circle, Shalya Tuschen returns and leads the staff with a 5-6 record and a 5.60 ERA over 13 games with 10 starts for 55 innings, striking out 47 against 18 walks and has a BAA of .317. She's also batting .289 with three doubles and six RBI. Laci Peskey is 4-8 with a 6.60 ERA in 12 starts over 14 games in her freshman season with 37 strikeouts and 36 walks, working a team-high 70 innings and has a .368 BAA while Malaya Colemen is 1-3 in 11 games with five starts and a 9.91 ERA, striking out eight with 11 walks over 35.1 innings.
 
Defensively, BHSU is 10th in the RMAC with a .952 fielding percentage but has committed just the third-fewest errors in the league this season at 31.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Looking at the all-time series with BHSU, Mines is 29-8-1 and is coming off a four-game sweep of the Yellow Jackets at home last season. When playing on the road, the Orediggers are 6-0-1 and will be heading to Spearfish for the first time since 2021, when they went 2-0-1, taking the first two games 4-2 and 6-2 before rain forced a stoppage of play on day two, seeing the third game of the weekend called at 4-4 through nine innings and game four subsequently canceled. The only other trip Mines has made to South Dakota to play Black Hills State came in 2017 and resulted in a four-game sweep.

ON DECK
After the first leg of their eight-game road trip this weekend takes them north, the Orediggers will head south to Pueblo to open the month of April with a four-game set against CSU Pueblo April 7-8.
 
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.