DENVER, Colo. – After two days of subfreezing temperatures and several inches of snowfall, Sunday was sunshine, 60 degrees and clear skies as the Colorado School of Mines softball team opened their final series away from home with two games against MSU Denver. The day's results saw the teams trade shutouts as Sadriena Rodriguez pitched a three-hitter in the opener to lead the Orediggers (25-19, 21-15) to a 3-0 win in the opener before the Roadrunners (36-14, 29-9) managed to snap their six-game losing streak with a 6-0 win in game two.
 
Game one saw both teams get traffic on the bases in each of the first two innings, but it was Mines who finally broke through in the third to get on the board first. A defensive misplay at first allowed the speedy Kellan Ton to reach leading things off as the freshman promptly stole second before advancing to third on a bunt single by Kendall Aragon. Sidney Wilson stepped in next and delivered an RBI knock through the left side to score Ton and advance Aragon. The sophomore took a free 60 feet a few pitches later on a wild delivery from Jenna Medhus before scoring on an RBI groundout to second by Sara Larson to make it 2-0 Orediggers.
 
Rodriguez (16-6) took those runs and ran with them in the circle, setting down MSUD in order in the in each of the next three innings as part of a stretch of 12 consecutive batters retired spanning from the third inning all the way to the sixth before a two-out single broke things up but the Roadrunners still failed to crack the scoreboard.
 
The Orediggers added an insurance run in the seventh against a potent MSUD lineup as Emily Rogers worked a one-out walk and stole second with a great slide to get around the tag at the bag. Following a groundout back to the circle that moved her up to third, Rogers crossed home on a high infield pop up off the bat of Ton that saw the left side of the Roadrunners infield have a hard time fighting the sun and the high sky as the ball dropped in between them to make it 3-0.
 
Now with an extra run to work with in the lead, Rodriguez went right at MSU Denver in the home seventh, getting two quick outs before a pinch hit single through the left side provided a glimmer of hope, but the fifth-year left-hander was having none of it as she froze the next pinch hitter to post her fifth strikeout of the day to post a shutout victory in the opener.
 
Following senior day festivities for the Roadrunners between games, the home team came out swinging in game two, scoring a run in less than 10 pitches in the bottom of the first as a leadoff single came around to score three batters later on a sacrifice fly to right field. Two more runs came across in the second on consecutive two-out doubles with a runner on before Allison Westbrook (5-4) tossed a 1-2-3 third for her first scoreless frame of the day.
 
It took one turn through the lineup before Mines cracked the hit column in game two as Kellan Ton single just inside the bag at third and worked her way around to third following a sacrifice bunt and an infield single by Sidney Wilson, but nothing came of it as MSUD pitched out of trouble and a good scoring chance went by the wayside.
 
In the home fourth, the Roadrunners added another run but did so in bizarre fashion. After the first two batters reached base, Westbrook induced an infield pop up and got a strikeout before getting lifted for Kat Miller, whose first pitch was hit hard on the ground to Hannah Roberts at second, who misplayed it but recovered in time to throw home to Lexie Semeyn for a play at the plate as the runner on second was tagged out trying to score. MSUD then brought an item to the attention of the umpires and Mines was called for an illegal substitution on Miller, who was wearing her regular #19 jersey but a printing error on the lineup card had her listed as #29. As a result, both team came back out onto the field as the previous play was wiped out and all the original actors returned to the correct bases, as the second time around things ended up playing out almost the same way with a ball hit on the ground to second, being mishandled and the runner on second being wheeled around third, but this time sliding in safe to make it 4-0.
 
A Kayleigh Krueger leadoff single in the fifth went by the wayside before the Roadrunners added two more runs in their half of the inning. Back-to-back doubles quickly scored a run to open the frame before a single and a wild pitch signaled the end of the afternoon for Miller as Ellen Shull took over in relief. Despite allowing a sac fly to the first batter she faced as the score moved to 6-0, the freshman kept the game going as she left two runners on base with a line out to third to prevent being run ruled and send things to the sixth.
 
Kendall Aragon singled with one in the sixth as Mines looked to rally in their final at bats of the day, but a tailor-made 4-6-3 double play dashed any hopes of that as Shull went back to work. A leadoff single set the table for the Roadrunners, but a pair of flyouts and a run of the mill 1-4-3 groundout ended the inning.
 
Krueger reached base again in the seventh with a two-out walk, but a hard lineout to center signaled the end of the festivities Sunday as MSU Denver took game two 6-0 to split the first day of the series.
 
NOTABLES
-Aragon led the way at the plate, going 3-6 on the afternoon and hitting safely in each game including a 2-3 performance with a run scored in the opener to extend her hitting streak to eight games, her second such streak of the season
-Wilson also hit safely in each game while driving in a run in game one as she is now six RBI away from 100 in her career and 17 hits away from 200, as her 183 move her past Sonoma Toot (2015-18) for 12th all-time in program history
-Krueger singled in each game of the doubleheader while Semeyn and Ton also hit safely over the course of the day
-Ton also stole a base in game one, giving her 20 on the season now and sole possession of fourth all-time as she eyes the single season record needing four to tie and five to break over the next six games before the postseason
-Rodriguez went the distance for the 13th time this season and posted a clean sheet for the fifth time, striking out five and scattering three hits for her 13th career shutout, passing Hallie Smith (2015-18) for second all-time at Mines
-Rodriguez's win was her 16th of the season and 39th of her career as she is now tied for the sixth-most wins in a single season with the trio of Katie Kocman (2008), Kelly Unkrich (2012) and Sydney Marchando (2019) and is one win shy of tying Claire Stringfellow (2017-20) for fourth all-time in Mines history and becoming the fifth 40-game winner ever
-Shull tied her longest outing of the season with two innings of one-hit relief and did not allow a run for the second time this season in seven outings
 
UP NEXT
Mines and MSU Denver wrap up their series with two more games Monday starting at 12 p.m. at the Assembly Athletic Complex.
 
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.