GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team battled to one elimination-game victory on Friday, toppling CSU Pueblo 4-1, before a 12-2 loss to Regis in the nightcap ended the Orediggers' 2024 RMAC tournament and the season.
 
Luke Folsom finished his career hot like fire at the plate. In two games on Friday, he went 5-for-8 with two runs, two RBI, one double, and one home run. Mason Andrews, I-Ly Hsue, and Canon Humphreys had multiple hits in game one. Andrews added a double in the same contest while Evan Bilter hit a home run. Game two of the day saw multiple hits from Bilter and Trent Nielsen who combined for three doubles. Ben Leiphart went 1-for-1 off the bench, and Andrews scored a run in the final game of the season as well.
 
On the mound, Ben Schoneman (3-2) was the starter and winner in the final appearance of his collegiate career. He tossed 5.0 innings of one-run (zero earned), three-hit baseball featuring three strikeouts and two walks. Marcus Lee (3) closed out his Oredigger tenure by spinning the final 4.0 innings on the way to the save. He gave up three hits and zero runs while fanning three and walking two. Gray St. Amant (0-1) started game two and took the decision. Jackson Bakovich's swan song for Mines was written across 4.2 innings of relief which included zero earned runs and seven unearned runs. Bakovich struck out three and walked zero. Carter Gorling was the final pitcher of the night, giving up no runs on no hits with two walks and a strikeout.
 
Mines closes its 2024 campaign with an overall record of 29-21 after winning multiple games in the RMAC tournament for the first time since 2019. CSU Pueblo's loss to the Orediggers ended the ThunderWolves' season. With the win, Regis advances to championship Saturday where the Rangers will have to beat top-seeded Colorado Mesa twice in order to win the 2024 RMAC Baseball Tournament title. Overall, Mines racked up five doubles and two home runs in its final two games of the season. For the year, the Orediggers batted .326 as a team and touted one of the best pitching staffs in the RMAC with a combined ERA of 6.52.
 
GAME ONE: Mines 4, CSU Pueblo 1
Two solid innings on offense along with lights-out pitching and defense was the tale of the tape for the Orediggers. Tyler Pina drove in Luke Folsom in the second inning for a 1-0 lead. Then, Bilter and Folsom hit back-to-back home runs with Bilter scoring Jackson Woolwine in the top of the third. That was all Schoneman and Mines' defense needed. They shutout the ThunderWolves through the first five innings. An error to start the sixth frame eventually allowed CSU Pueblo's lone run of the game. Lee worked through one hit in the seventh and one hit in the eighth before retiring the ninth in order to keep the Orediggers alive in the tournament.
 
GAME TWO: Regis 12, Mines 2
A sharp start from St. Amant on the mound, combined with two early runs for the Orediggers provided early promise for a trip to the final day of the tournament. St. Amant fanned two in a 1-2-3 first frame, and he retired the second inning in order as well. Andrews wore a pitch with two outs in the third and Bilter doubled after that, setting up a two-run single by Folsom. Unfortunately for Mines, it was the lower seeded team's only lead of the night. The Rangers scored five runs on four hits in the home half of the third frame. They added two unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth. The straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was a two-out error in the bottom of the eighth inning which led to five more Regis runs – all unearned. The Orediggers did put two on base during their final chance at the plate, but the runners were purely academic as RU closed out the win.
 
NOTABLES
- Folsom's home run was his 11th of the season and 32nd of his career, giving the senior sole possession of #5 on Mines' all-time list.
- Bilter hit his second home run of the season and the second of his career. He also finished his first collegiate campaign with 17 doubles and a .426 batting average.
- Folsom also notched his 17th double of 2024. He finishes his time as an Oredigger with 60 total doubles, ranking #2 in program history.
- Two hits on Friday pushed Hsue into the program's all-time top-10 with 211.
- Twelve different Orediggers closed their collegiate careers on Friday with multiple listed numerous times in the program record book. That list includes Ben Schoneman, I-Ly Hsue, Jackson Bakovich, Chandler Cole, Weston Siefken, Nic Roma, Keene Tanaka, Brady Veltien, Marcus Lee, Luke Folsom, Henry Novicki, and Rodney Gregg.
- Oredigger Head Coach Robby Bales is 146-106 after six full seasons leading Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers enter the offseason with all-region, all-America, and multiple academic awards yet to be announced. All postseason awards and the signing class for the 2025 season will be announced on social media and at www.minesathletics.com in the coming weeks and months.

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.