GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Looking to stave off elimination and get another game on day two the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Softball Championship, the Colorado School of Mines softball team took the field Friday in the day's second game against MSU Denver. Unfortunately for the Orediggers (29-23), they couldn't keep pace with the Roadrunners (42-17) offensively, who belted four home runs as they advanced in the tournament with a 14-0 result in five innings.
 
After Sidney Wilson reached with two outs in the first, things got off to a rocky start in the bottom of the inning, as MSUD went up 3-0 four batters into the game on a one-out three-run home run against the wind to left field. After Sadriena Rodriguez (18-9) induced a foul out to second, three straight base hits including a double plated two more runs to make it 5-0.
 
Rodriguez rebounded and pitched a scoreless second, working around a two-out double to leave a runner as she looked to keep her offense in the game. Trystin Oshiro-Sano lined a single for her second hit of the tournament leading off the top off the third and was joined on base by Hannah Roberts with a six-pitch walk, but nothing came of the scoring chance as the next three batters went down in order. In their half of the inning, the Roadrunners added another tally with a solo shot to left field to make it 6-0.
 
Mines left another runner in the fourth as Kayleigh Krueger drew a two-out walk before a well-struck by Cassidy Chvatal unfortunately found the glove of the shortstop to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, MSU Denver went off for an additional eight runs, six of which came on a pair of three-run home runs. Kat Miller, who came on in relief as the third Mines pitcher of the inning, struck out the first batter she faced before getting a lineout and groundout to turn the page to the fifth.
 
Needing to score to keep their postseason alive, the Orediggers looked to Oshiro-Sano, Roberts and Kellan Ton to spark a rally, but it wasn't meant to be as the book closed on the 2024 season with a 14-0 result in five innings.
 
NOTABLES
-Rodriguez concludes her career as one of the greatest to ever toe the slab in Golden, posting a final record of 41-19 with three saves a 2.71 ERA in 102 appearances with 62 starts, including 34 complete games and 14 shutouts in 418.1 innings of work and striking out 376 against 155 walks and limiting the opposition to a .239 batting average in close to 2,000 plate appearances
-Her 18 wins are tied with Kristen Prudhomme (2014) for the fourth-most in a season all-time, while she ranks second in program history in shutouts, fourth in strikeouts, wins and earned run average, fifth in innings pitched
-Wilson concludes her time at Mines as a legend in her own right, starting each of the 184 games she played out of a possible of 187 and posted a career batting average of .345 and an on-base percentage of .431 with 189 hits, 32 doubles, five home runs, 95 RBI, 90 runs scored, 60 walks, 28 hit by pitches and a mere 23 strikeouts in 649 plate appearances; she finishes her time in Golden ranked 11th all-time in hits and eighth all-time in walks
-Krueger's final numbers include 182 starts in 184 games and a career .320 batting average, a .446 slugging percentage, 179 hits, 37 doubles, five triples, eight home runs, 117 RBI and 84 runs scored; her name can be found in the record books in 10th all-time in doubles and tied for eighth with Sami Springer (2011-14) in runs batted in
-Larson finished out her time in Golden with a .300/.320/.397 line over 154 games with 145 starts and recorded 139 hits, 27 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 75 RBI, 66 runs scored and 35 stolen bases, which is good for eighth all-time
-Oshiro-Sano went 2-3 in the RMAC tournament to finish out her time as an Oredigger with 84 starts in 101 games and a .265 on-base percentage and a .396 slugging percentage, as 25 of her 69 career hits went for extra-bases including 20 doubles, a triple and four homes runs as she drove in 46 runs and scored another 30
-Ton finishes her freshman campaign as the program's single-season stolen base record holder with 25, becoming the fourth player with 20 or more steals in a season all-time
-Cassidy Chvatal's first season as a regular in the everyday batting order concludes with eight home runs and 27 RBI and is the most home runs in a season since the 2021 season when Clara Larson belted 10
-Head coach Mike Coutts posted his first winning season at the helm of the Orediggers and now sports a record of 70-79 (.470) while in Golden and a career mark of 164-208 (.422) as the 29 wins by Mines this season are a new single-season high
-The 29 wins by Mines in 2024 are the most in the last seven seasons and are just three shy of the best mark in the last decade of 32 which came in 2017 and is the first winning season for Mines since 2021
 
UP NEXT
The offseason awaits the Orediggers now as they toward 2025. Stay tuned to minesathletics.com for upcoming postseason awards, the announcement of the incoming signing class and more.
 
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.