LAS VEGAS, N.M. – Mines baseball and New Mexico Highlands split Friday's doubleheader at Brandt Field. The Orediggers claimed a 4-1 win in game one before the Cowboys earned a 3-2, walk-off victory in game two.
At the plate,
Trent Nielsen provided a majority of the highlights. Across two games he scored two runs and had one RBI on two hits including a double and a home run.
Mason Andrews also notched two hits on the day with one home run and three RBI.
Jackson Woolwine turned in a multi-hit day with a double as well.
I-Ly Hsue,
Canon Humphreys, and
Tyler Pina each came across the plate once.
Wayne Moeck and Hsue tallied one RBI apiece.
On the mound,
Alex Honeyman (4-2) started the first contest and tossed a complete game. In seven innings, Honeyman struck out eight and walked one while giving up just one run on eight hits. He surrendered zero hits for extra bases.
Ben Schoneman started game two of the day, but did not factor in the decision. He provide 2.2 innings of one-run, five-hit work which featured two strikeouts and zero walks.
Marcus Lee (2-2) took the loss due to two runs on two hits in 3.2 frames of relief. He struck out three and walked one.
As a team, Mines (16-13, 9-6 RMAC) was limited to a team batting average of .229, but the Oredigger pitchers posted a staff ERA of 2.70. New Mexico Highlands (7-22, 3-8 RMAC) produced a .316 clip at the plate and rode its arms to a combined ERA of 2.57. Mines did slug .438 thanks to four doubles and two home runs while limiting NMHU to a pair of doubles. In the field, the Orediggers committed three errors in 13.1 innings. The Cowboys had two errors in 14.0 innings.
GAME ONE: Mines 4, New Mexico Highlands 1
The Orediggers failed to record a hit through the first four innings of action and had just three baserunners over the same span. Honeyman and the defense shouldered the early load and kept the Cowboys off the scoreboard until the fourth inning. New Mexico Highlands used three straight singles and a wild pitch to take a 1-0 lead in the home half of the fourth. Two Honeyman strikeouts limited the damage and ended the threat. Mines immediately answered in the top of the fifth. Back-to-back, one-out doubles off the bats of Nielsen and Moeck tied the score.
Two innings remained and the score was tied 1-1 when NMHU's half of the sixth started with an Oredigger error. Honeyman and the defense answered the call again thanks to two balls in the air and one on the ground for another zero on the scoreboard. The top of the seventh started with a bang as Nielsen smacked a leadoff, go-ahead home run. An error by the Cowboys eventually allowed Pina and Hsue to score as well. The home team's last gasp was cut off by a leadoff line drive to Hsue at second, Tanaka gunning down a runner on the base paths, and a groundball to Humphreys at shortstop.
GAME TWO: New Mexico Highlands 3, Mines 2
Any chance of a no-hitter was eliminated for both teams in the very first frame. However, the chance for a shutout stayed alive until the third inning. Mines broke through first thanks to Hsue's double and Andrews' groundball RBI. A single and a double for NMHU helped the home team clap back and tie the game at 1-1. But offense remained at a premium. Both teams posted zeroes in the fourth and fifth before the sixth brought another swap of runs. Andrews broke the 1-1 tie for the Orediggers with a one-out home run. Two hits and one error brought the Cowboys back even with one inning to play. Mines failed to capitalize on two walks in its half of the seventh. Eventually, a one-out, bases-loaded error by the Orediggers ended the game.
NOTABLES
- Since 2008, Mines is 38-32 against New Mexico Highlands.
- The Orediggers had taken seven straight games from the Cowboys before the loss in game two on Friday.
- Honeyman has thrown three complete games during the 2024 season. He leads Mines with 36 strikeouts.
- Andrews' home run was his 10th of the season and 31st of his career. He's now tied for #16 in single-season home runs and #4 in career home runs in the program record book.
- The only Orediggers with more career home runs than Andrews are Mikey Gangwish (46), Trevor Kehe (37), and Derek Daly (36).
- Nielsen's long ball was his sixth of the season and 14th in less than two years at Mines.
- Andrews also moved to #12 on the Orediggers' all-time runs list and #14 on Mines' all-time RBI rankings.
- Schoneman took over #9 on Mines' career strikeouts list. His two punchies on Friday gave him 155 as a collegian.
- Woolwine has reached base safely in every game this season.
- Oredigger Head Coach
Robby Bales is 133-98 in his sixth season leading Mines.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes its series at New Mexico Highlands with a Saturday finale starting at 12 p.m. Live stats and free video on the RMAC Network will be linked 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.
