PUEBLO, Colo. – After a weekend fraught with high winds and difficult playing conditions, the forecast Monday gave way to much more hospitable weather as the Colorado School of Mines softball team took the field to close out their series with CSU Pueblo at the Rawlings Sports Complex. In a repeat of action Saturday, the Orediggers (20-18, 16-14) took game one by a final of 6-3, but errors led to their undoing in game two as the ThunderWolves (16-27, 14-18) scored nine runs and held off a seventh-inning rally as the teams split their weekend series by way of a 9-8 result in the finale.
 
After a scoreless first inning that saw both sides leave runners on base, Mines got on the board first in the second as Lexie Semeyn set the table with a leadoff double. After a sacrifice bunt and a fielder's choice that saw Cassidy Chvatal reach, Emily Rogers grounded out to second to score Semeyn before Hannah Roberts doubled to left to bring Chvatal around from second to make it 2-0.
 
After issuing a couple of free passes in the first, Sadriena Rodriguez (12-6) settled in and retired the side in order in the second and third before CSU Pueblo got their bats going in the fourth. After a leadoff groundout, a single by Darleen Falcon was followed by a two-run home run to right field by Madelyn Huerta to tied things up at 2-2. After an infield single, Rodriguez managed to retire the next two batters with a couple of flyouts to strand the potential go-ahead run.
 
The Orediggers regained the lead in the fifth, manufacturing three runs with two outs to go back in front for good. Roberts reached on a muffed grounder at first base to start things and was lifted for pinch runner Sam Whisenand, but a bit of bad luck on a ball off the bat of Kellan Ton resulted two outs on the play as CSUP looked to keep it tied and get out of the inning. Kendall Aragon had other plans as she singled before being joined on base by Sidney Wilson with a walk to put two on for Sara Larson, who reached on a fielder's choice to the left side of the infield to load the bases for Semeyn. The junior catcher took a first pitch offering the other way into the right field corner for a long bases-clearing single as all three runners came across to make it a 5-3 game.
 
After a 1-2-3 home fifth from Rodriguez with a pair of strikeouts, Mines looked to add some more runs in the sixth as Chvatal led off with a walk, but the ThunderWolves defense back up McKenna James and stranded two Orediggers on base. A leadoff home run in the home sixth by Emma Case made it a two-run game, but Rodriguez responded by retiring the next three batters in order and capping the inning once more with a strikeout.
 
In the seventh, Mines worked some more two-out magic as they pushed across another run. After a bunt single by Larson that saw Wilson put out trying to go first third, Larson swiped second ahead of a walk by Semeyn. A flyout to right put runners at the corners for Chvatal who delivered a single into right that went in and out of the glove of the right fielder on a diving attempt and allowed Larson to trot home to make it 6-3.
 
There was some drama in the bottom of the seventh as after a leadoff walk and two flyouts, back-to-back singles from the top of the ThunderWolves lineup loaded the bases for Case, but Rodriguez wasted little time with her, striking her out on three pitches to close out the winning complete game effort.
 
Game two saw CSU Pueblo jump out to an early 1-0 lead Caitlyn Cole came around to score on a single by Case after leading the home half of the inning off with a double to center field. The Orediggers responded in the top of the second as Lexie Semeyn hit a towering solo home run against the wind and over the scoreboard in left field for her second long ball of the season to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Following a shutdown 1-2-3 inning by Kat Miller (4-5), Mines added a pair in the third starting with a trio of walks by Hannah Roberts, Kailey Morales and Kellan Ton to load the bases. After a force out at home, Sidney Wilson singled home Morales before Sara Larson plated Ton on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1. Unfortunately, the lead didn't last long as CSUP plated four runs in their half of the frame, taking advantage of two errors and collecting four hits to regain the lead 5-3.
 
The Orediggers kept fighting and got a run in the fourth on an RBI triple into the right field corner by Ton to score Roberts and after a scoreless home fourth, tied the game at 5-5 in the fifth on a Kayleigh Krueger RBI single to score Larson. Things didn't stay even long as the ThunderWolves went for three in their half of the fifth, again taking advantage of some shaky defense and posting three hits to go back up 8-5.
 
Mines countered the scoring with two runs of their own in the sixth, working hard with two outs as Ton scored on a Kendall Aragon single before the sophomore outfielder scored on an infield single by Larson to draw back within a run at 8-7. Reliever Ellen Shull, who came on in the fifth, looked to keep it a one-run game but a leadoff walk came in to score on a double by Case to push it back to a two-run game at 9-7.
 
In need of a rally, Mines again looked to work some two-out magic. With two runners on, Aragon singled up the middle to score pinch runner Emily Rogers before Wilson walked to load the bases. A quick pitching change by the ThunderWolves was enough for them to escape with the win as a pop up to the catcher ended things with a final score of 9-8.
 
NOTABLES
-Semeyn went 3-3 with a double, a stolen base and three RBI and followed that up by going homering in and going 1-2 with a pair of walks in game two
-Roberts went 2-3 with a double and an RBI in the opener and finished the series with a 1-2 performance with a run scored and two walks in the finale
-Chvatal went 1-3 with an RBI and a run in game one
-Rogers went 1-3 with an RBI in the opener
-Aragon went 1-3 with a run game one and closed the series by going 2-5 with a run scored and two RBI
-Wilson went 1-3 in both games with a run, RBI and a pair of walks on the day
-Larson with 1-4 with a stolen base and two runs scored in game one before going 2-4 with a double, run and two RBI in the finale
-Ton tripled as part of a 2-4 day with an RBI, two runs and a steal in game two
-Rodriguez fanned six in her complete game effort, allowing three runs on six hits and is now seventh all-time in innings pitched at Mines, passing current pitching coach Libby Balogh (2010-11) who spun 369.2 innings in her career
-Rodriguez's win was her 12th of the season and 35th of her career, as she is now five back of Claire Stringfellow (2017-20) for fourth all-time at Mines
-Shull worked two innings of relief in game two, allowing a run on a hit and working around two walks
 
UP NEXT
Mines returns to Golden and Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field this weekend April 13-14 when they play host to UCCS.
 
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.