Mines (0-0) at Southwestern Oklahoma State (0-0) – Friday, 1 p.m. (CT) – Weatherford, Okla. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (0-0) at Southwestern Oklahoma State (0-0) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (CT) - Doubleheader – Weatherford, Okla. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (0-0) at Southwestern Oklahoma State (0-0) – Sunday, 12 p.m. (CT) – Weatherford, Okla. [Live Stats] [Live Video]

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OPENING DAY
Another season has arrived for the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team and opening day is just around the corner. After a Thursday road trip late into the evening, the Orediggers will begin their 2025 campaign on Friday at Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford, Okla. The premier weekend includes a single, nine-inning game at 1 p.m. CT on Friday. A noon doubleheader on Saturday features two seven-inning affairs. The series finale comes Sunday at 12 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All four games this weekend will have free live stats linked above and at www.minesathletics.com. There will also be live video available through Wright.Media. Throughout the season, all of Mines' home games and each Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contest will include live stats and free live video on the RMAC Network. Conference postseason play will be pay-per-view on the RMAC Network.
 
WEATHER FORECAST
The calendar may say January, but it's baseball season in the Sooner State – almost. The three-day forecast for Weatherford, Okla., includes partly-cloudy skies with a high temperature of 51 degrees on Friday. Saturday and Sunday bring temperatures into the 60s. It will be windy, but that's Oklahoma. As of Thursday, there is very little chance of rain.
 
SCOUTING SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
Southwestern Oklahoma State, or SWOSU, finished the 2024 season with an overall record of 25-24 while going 14-19 in Great American Conference (GAC) play. During the offseason, the Bulldogs promoted 10-year assistant coach JR Head to the top position. He'll begin his inaugural campaign as skipper this Friday. Southwestern Oklahoma's 2024 conference performance put SWOSU ninth in the final conference standings and just outside the GAC tournament bracket. The league's 2025 preseason poll tabbed the Bulldogs to finish ninth again. Coach Head did lose three All-GAC selections from last year's team but does have 19 returners and 16 newcomers to make up his 35-person squad. The upside for SWOSU is the return of Reece Burke and Ty Eastwood. That duo combined to hit 22 doubles, one triple and 13 home runs in 2024. They also produced 71 runs and drove in 63 more. On the mound, Josh Rains is also back after recording two saves in 13 appearances while totaling 41 strikeouts compared to 25 walks across 27.1 innings of work.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Despite being somewhat close geographically, Mines and Southwestern Oklahoma State have only played twice in baseball since 2012 and both were on neutral ground in Canyon, Texas. The Orediggers won both meetings in the last decade plus. On Feb. 18, 2012, Mines claimed a 9-7 decision. Then, on Feb. 6, 2016, the Orediggers struck again with a 13-1 win in just seven innings. That game featured doubles off the bats of Logan Smith, Nate Olinger, and Jace Selsor. Olinger smacked a home run and Tyler Thomas was the winner on the mound. He struck out six and walked zero in 6.0 innings.
 
THE RETURNERS
Mines' 2025 roster features a total of 22 Orediggers returning with experience from 2024. That list includes 13 bats/position players and nine arms on the mound. Highlighting the group of veterans are five players who were named All-RMAC last season. Mason Andrews was a First-Team All-RMAC selection as an outfielder. Alex Honeyman and Tyler Pina were Second-Team All-RMAC on the mound and behind the plate, respectively. Evan Bilter and Jackson Woolwine round out the list as Honorable Mention All-RMAC with Woolwine starting in the outfield and Bilter swinging a hot bat as designated hitter. Additional returning starters from last year's roster are Canon Humphreys, Trent Nielsen, and Wayne Moeck.
 
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
During the offseason, Mines Baseball Head Coach Robby Bales added 19 newcomers to his roster for the upcoming season. Bales' signing class included 15 true freshmen and four transfers. The incoming freshmen include Jackson Babcock, Ethan Johnson, Luke Parker, Cade Burghardt, Will Niles, Joseph Steidel, Grady Booth, Avery Sinnes, Matt Potter, Jack Magnus, Neil Mallik, Kenji Bray, Wynn Drewes, Fischer Sims, and Trevor Nordstrom. The list of transfers includes Brody Duvall, Grant Reising, Sam Monk, and Tyler Easter. Duvall played prep ball in Spanish Fork, Utah, and then junior college at College of Southern Idaho. Reising is a NCAA Division I transfer from Canton, Mich., by way of Eastern Michigan. Monk calls DeLand, Fla., home and played junior college baseball at Danville Area CC. Tyler Easter rounds out the list as another junior college transfer from Sandy, Utah, by way of Western Nebraska CC.
 
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Oredigger redshirt senior Mason Andrews was named a Preseason Second-Team All-American by D2 Baseball earlier this month. He earned the recognition after an outstanding 2024 season in which he hit .372 with 65 runs on 67 hits including 12 doubles and 17 home runs leading to 56 RBI. The McKinney, Texas, native slugged .722 and had an on-base percentage of .464. He also stole 10 bases. For his career, Andrews boasts 153 runs on 158 hits including 33 doubles, seven triples, and 38 home runs with 131 RBI and 67 walks. Those numbers put him position to make moves in the program record book this season. Most notably, he's nine home runs away from becoming the program's all-time home run king.
 
IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were picked #5 in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll released earlier this month. The ballots from all nine head coaches provided Mines 37 points, putting the squad just seven points back of #4 CSU Pueblo. Colorado Mesa earned the top spot on the list thanks to 64 points and eight first-place votes. Regis claimed the remaining first-place vote and totaled 56 points to place #2. MSU Denver grabbed the #3 slot. Rounding out the bottom four in order were UCCS, Adams State, Colorado Christian, and New Mexico Highlands.
 
2025 RMAC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Colorado Mesa – 64 (8)
2. Regis – 56 (1)
3. MSU Denver – 48
4. CSU Pueblo – 44
5. Mines – 37
t6. UCCS – 25
t6. Adams State – 25
8. Colorado Christian – 14
9. New Mexico Highlands – 11
 
LAST SEASON RECAP
Mines finished 2024 with an overall record of 29-21 while posting a 20-12 mark in RMAC play. That conference record was good enough to tie for second in the league standings. Tiebreakers with Regis gave the Orediggers the #3 seed in the RMAC tournament. During the postseason, Mines defeated Adams, lost to Regis, defeated CSU Pueblo, and ended its season with a loss to Regis. Individually, the 2024 Oredigger squad had nine earn postseason honors. Luke Folsom topped the list as a First-Team All-RMAC pitcher and utility player which led to NCBWA, D2CCA, and ABCA All-Region distinction. Folsom was also crowned all-America by the D2CCA and NCBWA. Other winners included Mason Andrews who was First-Team All-RMAC and Second-Team All-Region. Alex Honeyman, Tyler Pina, Keene Tanaka, Evan Bilter, I-Ly Hsue, Ben Schoneman, and Jackson Woolwine rounded out the list of conference award winners.
 
IN THE PROS
Over the last seven years, three 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).
 
WALTER PENNINGTON
Walter Pennington had a milestone season in 2024. After spending 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 in the Kansas City Royals minor league system, the former Oredigger left-handed pitcher broke into the big leagues. He made his MLB debut with the Royals against the Rockies at Coors Field, just miles from his childhood home. That appearance made the Broomfield, Colo., native just the second Mines player to ever make the big leagues and the first in over a century. Eventually, Pennington was traded to the Texas Rangers for known-veteran Michael Lorenzen. Pennington moved between triple-A Round Rock and the Rangers' big-league club. For the year, the lefty's big-league resume featured a 1-0 record with a 3.00 ERA in 16 games and one start. He struck out 17 and walked 11 across 18.0 innings of work. For his career in the minor leagues, Pennington is 23-11 with a 3.49 ERA in 149 appearances and four starts. He also boasts 10 saves and 258 strikeouts with 245.0 innings under his belt. To round it all out, Pennington named to the International League (AAA) All-Star team. More to come on Pennington as the season progresses.
 
THE SKIPPER
The 2025 campaign marks Mines' seventh season with Robby Bales as head coach. During his tenure as the Oredigger skipper, Bales holds an overall record of 146-106 with a mark of 95-71 in RMAC play. He has coached his players to 26 All-RMAC awards, 19 all-region awards, eight all-America nods, seven CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, one MLB Draft Pick and had one player signed as a free agent in the MLB. Furthermore, Bales touts two RMAC Pitchers of the Year during his time at the helm including RMAC Pitcher of the Year, NCBWA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year, D2CCA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year and the RMAC's all-time wins leader in Tyler Blomster. 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
After opening weekend, Mines heads to California for one game at Cal State San Marcos and three more at #5 Point Loma. A full preview and live coverage information will be available next week at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines baseball on Twitter at @OrediggersBSB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.