(3) Mines (27-19) vs. (4) Adams State (24-26) – Wednesday, 11 a.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network-PPV]
The Diamond at the Bus Bergman Sports Complex – Grand Junction, Colo. [Bracket] [Tournament Central]

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NEW SEASON
A proverbial new season starts Wednesday for the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team as the Orediggers open the 2024 RMAC Baseball Tournament. They'll start the postseason as the #3 seed and face fourth-seeded Adams State at 11 a.m. in Grand Junction, Colo., where six teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket for the right to hoist the RMAC cup and advance to the NCAA tournament. It marks Mines' seventh appearance in the conference tournament in the last nine seasons. The Orediggers will look to win four games before losing two in hopes of winning their first RMAC title.
 
GET YOUR TICKETS
Fans planning to attend are encouraged to pre-purchase their tickets online through the RMAC's official ticketing partner, HomeTown Ticketing. Adult general admission is $15 per day or $48 for a full tournament pass. Seniors and children (65 and older/ages 6-17) are $10 per day or $33 for a full tournament pass. Children five and under get in free. There are no refunds. Colorado School of Mines students get in free with their BlasterCard.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
New for the 2023-24 school year is a pay-per-view format for the conference postseason on the RMAC Network. Fans can purchase access to this week's tournament games at $9.95 for a day pass (all games to be played that day) or $40 for a tournament pass. Additionally, free live statistics will be linked at www.minesathletics.com and on the Tournament Central page.
 
FOLLOW US
Fans can follow Colorado School of Mines Baseball on Twitter and Instagram at @OrediggersBSB. The Twitter page features in-game updates along with featured players, news and schedule updates and other applicable Mines baseball news. Instagram also includes player features, awards, and other outstanding photography from the Mines Athletics Communications staff as well as other contributors.
 
WEATHER REPORT
As of Tuesday afternoon, the forecast for Grand Junction, Colo., from Wednesday-Saturday looks relatively pleasant. Wednesday will be cooler with a high of 61 degrees, but each day gets warmer and tops out at 75 degrees on Saturday. Every day offers a 20-percent chance of precipitation. Wind speeds are projected under 10 MPH, but are always unpredictable on the Western Slope. Fans who are familiar with Grand Junction know a rain shower can pop up any minute, but also moves out just as quickly. Sunscreen, a rain jacket and some light layers seem like the right move for those planning to attend.
 
FILLING OUT THE BRACKET
Referenced in the opening section of this preview, the RMAC Baseball Tournament bracket features six teams and is double elimination. It's one of the most confusing brackets in all of sports. That being said, here are the basics. Mines and Adams State are the first game of the tournament at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. For the sake of the bracket, that is considered "Game 2." The second game of the day features top-seeded Colorado Mesa and sixth-seeded CSU Pueblo at 3 p.m. That is "Game 1." Rounding out the tournament field are #2 Regis and #5 MSU Denver. They play at 7 p.m. in "Game 3." The winner between the Orediggers and Grizzlies faces the winner from the Regis-MSU Denver contest at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The loser of the Mines-ASU game plays the winner between CMU and CSUP at 3 p.m. on Thursday. The loser between the Mavericks and ThunderWolves gets the loser from RU and MSUD at 11 a.m. on Thursday. After that, everything has the potential to fall apart in regards to logic. If five teams remain after game five (Thursday at 3 p.m.) there is an alternate bracket. Then, if two teams remain after game nine, it stays in that bracket. But if there's three teams after game nine, there is a third alternate bracket. Generally speaking, two to three wins should get a team to the championship game, but all that changes when alternate brackets come into play. Four wins all but guarantees a team is hoisting the RMAC cup.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Mines baseball closed the 2024 regular season last Friday and Saturday with a pair of doubleheaders against UCCS at Jim Darden Field. The Orediggers won the series thanks to victories of 6-5, 13-4, and 12-5. They took both ends of the first doubleheader before dropping game three, 15-4, and winning the finale. Jackson Bakovich, Ben Schoneman, and Alex Honeyman were the winning pitchers. Bakovich also earned a save. At the plate, Evan Bilter hit .538 and scored five runs with four doubles and three RBI. Trent Nielsen batted .500 and scored seven runs with two doubles and a home run on the way to five RBI. Also notable were two home runs and two doubles for Luke Folsom along with single home runs from Mason Andrews, Keene Tanaka, and Grant Johnson. With the wins, Mines moved into a tie with Regis for #2 in the conference standings. It took the fourth tiebreaker to decide the seeding for the tournament.
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
Adams State finished its regular season with a huge series split against nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa in Alamosa, Colo. The Grizzlies won the opener, 28-16 (in eight innings) and the finale, 14-10. In between, CMU took wins of 36-6 and 24-7. Those results gave ASU a 24-26 mark for the regular season including a 19-13 record in RMAC play. In a lineup filled with big bats, Mike Bathauer's is the biggest. He's hitting .432 with 58 runs on 82 hits including 14 doubles, two triples, and 15 home runs with 74 RBI. His brother Matt Bathauer touts a .380 average and has 49 runs along with 18 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 56 RBI. Ayden Tauscher's .398 batting average is notable as well, having led to 49 runs thanks to 11 doubles, four triples and five home runs. On the mound, Cesar Loma and Brian Walters are the top arms. Loma is 4-3 in 11 starts and owns a 5.64 ERA. He has struck out 52 batters and walked 33 in 52.2 innings of work. Walters' ERA sits at 7.32. He's 3-4 in 11 starts thanks to 57 strikeouts and 25 walks in 51.2 innings. Ty Addington serves as the closer. His ERA is 4.43 and he boasts five saves and one loss in 19 appearances. Addington also has 18 strikeouts compared to eight walks. As a team, Adams State's combined batting average ranks #3 in the nation. The Grizzlies rank #12 in slugging percentage as well.
 
MINES AGAINST THE GRIZZLIES
The Orediggers hosted Adams State during the regular season and they split the series. Mines took the opener, 13-10, after a late rally from ASU. Luke Folsom was the winning pitcher and Brian Walters wore the loss. Trent Nielsen had a home run in the victory. Adams State took both ends of the Saturday doubleheader, 11-5 and 28-15. The Orediggers bounced back for a 6-2 win on Sunday, dealing Cesar Loma his second loss of the season. Mason Andrews hit a home run in that victory. That split moved Mines to 35-11 against the Grizzlies since 2013. The Orediggers took 12 straight games from ASU between 2017-21. Mines hasn't lost a regular-season series to Adams State since 2015. The Orediggers and Grizzlies last met in the postseason in 2016 when Mines ended ASU's season with a 9-8 win in the conference tournament.
 
THE REST OF THE FIELD
Overall in 2024, Mines went 8-8 against the rest of the 2024 RMAC Baseball Tournament bracket. The Orediggers split their regular-season series with Regis. They also took three of four from both CSU Pueblo and MSU Denver. Colorado Mesa swept Mines in Grand Junction, Colo., in the middle of March, but the Mavericks did have to come from behind in all four games.
 
RMAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This section is not fully comprehensive, but does provide a snapshot of Mines' history in the league tournament. The Orediggers qualified for the 2023 RMAC Baseball Tournament as the #4 seed. They dropped a 7-8 heartbreaker to third-seeded Regis on Friday and a 2-4 nailbiter to top-seeded Colorado Mesa on Thursday for a quick exit from the postseason. Mines was the #5 seed in the 2022 conference postseason and defeated Regis before losing to MSU Denver and Colorado Mesa. The Orediggers missed the 2021 tournament and there was no RMAC tournament in 2020. In 2018 and 2019, Mines did make consecutive runs to the league championship game. Mines appeared in four straight conference tournaments from 2016-19. The Orediggers' record in the RMACC tournament since 2016 is 11-12.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS
The NCAA South Central Regional rankings have not been updated since last week's release featuring Mines at #8. The newest rankings, including the Orediggers' series wins against MSU Denver and UCCS, should come out sometime on Wednesday. For those who don't know, the NCAA Regional rankings are what determines the teams that qualify for the national postseason – nothing else. The South Central Region features a six-team bracket. Two of the six spots will be claimed by the conference tournament champions (automatic qualifiers) from the Lone Star Conference and RMAC. The regional rankings have a variety of factors/criteria including, but not limited to, record against NCAA Division II opponents, in-region record, Rating Percentage Index (RPI), strength of schedule, head-to-head record, common opponents, and performance indicator. Mines will either need to move from #8 to #6 (or better), or win the RMAC tournament to punch a ticket to the national postseason.
 
GRADUATION WEEKEND
The upcoming week doesn't just mark the start of the postseason, it's also commencement week for Colorado School of Mines. Instead of attending the traditional ceremonies in Golden, 13 Orediggers will celebrate their matriculation from Ines in their hotel in Grand Junction, Colo. Those earning their silver diplomas are Mason Andrews (B.S., Civil Engineering), Jackson Bakovich (M.S., Computer Science), Chandler Coles (B.S., Mechanical Engineering), Luke Folsom (B.S., Mechanical Engineering), Rodney Gregg (B.S., Civil Engineering), I-Ly Hsue (M.S., Additive Manufacturing), Marcus Lee (M.S., Engineering & Technology Management), Wayne Moeck (B.S., Civil Engineering), Nic Roma (B.S., Mechanical Engineering), Ben Schoneman (M.S., Engineering & Technology Management), Weston Siefken (M.S., Engineering & Technology Management), Keene Tanaka (M.S., Engineering & Technology Management), and Ryan Vermeer (B.S., Quantitative Biosciences & Engineering). Additionally, former player and current volunteer assistant coach Shuta Araki will receive a bachelor's degree in person this weekend.
 
WALTER PENNINGTON UPDATE
Walter Pennington continues to dominate at the Triple-A level for the Kansas City Royals. So far in 2024 for the Omaha Storm Chasers, Pennington sits 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA and one save thanks to 28 strikeouts compared to three walks and 13 hits in 13 games and 20.0 innings of work. Earlier this spring, the former Oredigger starter reported for Big League Spring Training. There, he made seven appearances and finished 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA thanks to 11 strikeouts and two walks across 5.1 innings. Last year in the minor league system, the Broomfield, Colo., native went 7-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 49 appearances including one start. He earned one save as well while striking out 75 batters in 70.2 innings of work. Across four years in the MLB's minor league system, Pennington is 18-8 with a 3.70 ERA. He boasts 204 career strikeouts and has only walked 83 batters in 123 games for a total of 201.2 innings pitched. The lefty also touts two starts, nine saves in 13 opportunities and 15 holds.
 
IN THE PROS
Over the last six years, four Orediggers have entered baseball's professional ranks. Mikey Gangwish (2016-19) was the first as he played professionally in Australia before returning to a contract with the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League. He has since retired and earned his master's degree at Mines. The second was Trevor Kehe (2017-19) who was drafted in the 36th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. He worked in the Orioles organization for three years and advanced as far as High-A ball with the Aberdeen IronBirds before retiring. Rounding out but leading the trio is Walter Pennington (2017-20).
 
THE SKIPPER
The 2024 campaign marks Mines' sixth season with Robby Bales as head coach. During his tenure as the Oredigger skipper, Bales holds an overall record of 144-104 with a mark of 95-71 in RMAC play. He has coached 17 All-RMAC players, 10 all-region players, three all-Americans, two RMAC Pitcher of the Year winners, one RMAC Freshman of the Year, seven CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, one MLB Draft Pick and had one player signed as a free agent in the MLB. Additionally, Bales has guided Mines to the NCAA Tournament once, and RMAC Tournament four times, advancing to the regional and conference tournament final in 2019. Bales' teams have also performed in the classroom as the squad brought home the RMAC Brechler Award in 2020, 2021, and 2023 as the team boasting the highest combined GPA in the conference.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
If Mines wins the RMAC tournament, it will advance to the NCAA South Central Region Tournament running May 16-19. If the Orediggers fall, they'll await the NCAA Selection Show set to air on Sunday, May 12, at 8:30 p.m. Multiple postseason awards have yet to be announced. All updates on awards and signings will be available on www.minesathletics.com and on social media at @minesathletics.

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.