COLORADO SPRINGS – Oredigger freshman
Jackson Babcock hit for the cycle on Saturday as the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team bull rushed Adams State in a 19-10 win on the campus of UCCS. The game was ended after eight innings due to darkness.
Babcock finished game 5-for-5 with five runs and six RBIs. He hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and then the hitting-for-the-cylce requisite single, double, and tripl. Not in that order.
Alex Dunagan had four hits and scored twice. Leadoff man
Jackson Woolwine was 2-for-5 with two doubles on the way to four runs and one RBI.
Tyler Pina had a three-hit day which included two doubles.
Canon Humphreys hit a home run as well and tallied three RBI.
Peter Lynch was Mines' starting pitcher but did not factor in the decision despite seven strikeouts compared to zero walks. He gave up four runs (one earned) on seven hits in 4.0 innings.
Gray St. Amant (1-2) was the winning pitcher in relief. He also struck out seven batters, but surrendered five runs on three hits and six walks. Murray (0-3) of UCCS took the loss.
Mines (4-7) scored its 19 runs on 20 hits. Ten of those hits went for extra bases. Adams State (2-12) recorded 10 hits including six doubles and one home run. The Oredigger pitching staff struck out 14 and walked six. The Grizzly arms combined for 10 strikeouts and six walks. In the field, Mines committed two errors. Adams State suffered from three fielding errors. The Grizzlies lost their 10th straight game after falling to UCCS earlier in the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saturday's matinee was never close. Babcock's first home run of the day came in the top of the first after a Woolwine double. That sparked a six-run frame for Mines. Adams State got one run back in its first turn at the plate. Babcock started the second inning by collecting his triple. Pina drove in Babcock with a single, but Humphreys eventually hit a three-run home run in the same inning to remove all doubt. A shutout home half made the score 10-1 in favor of the Orediggers after just two innings. Two Mines runs in the third came off a ASU error and a Pina double. Babcocks' second home run of the game was a grand slam in the top of the fourth. After four complete, the visitors on the scoreboard owned a 16-4 lead.
Adams State did manage to keep Mines off the scoreboard in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. However, the Grizzlies' only scoring in that span was three-run home run off the bat of Rico in the fifth. Back-to-back doubles from Woolwine and Babcock to start the eighth setup RBI for
Ryan Vermeer and
Ben Leiphart. The double for Babcock also completed his cycle. Adams State worked three more runs off St. Amant in the bottom of the eighth. Eventually, as a non-conference game without a mercy rule, the game was ended before the start of the ninth inning due to darkness.
NOTABLES
- Mines has taken two straight games from the Grizzlies and won 36 since 2013.
- Babcock is the first Oredigger to hit for the cycle since Adam Houghtaling did it in 2023. Ironically, Houghtaling hit for the cycle twice in his career at Mines and one time came at UCCS.
- Babcock tied the program's single-game record for runs in a game. Five other Orediggers, including
Mason Andrews have scored five runs in a game.
- Babcock hit the second and third home runs of his collegiate career on Saturday. Two of his three home runs as an Oredigger are grand slams.
- Babcock also registered a hit in six straight at-bats dating back to last weekend's home openers against Fort Hays State.
- Additionally, Babcock's triple against Adams State was his first as a collegian.
- Humphrey's home run was his fourth as an Oredigger. His last long ball came against Adams State in the 2024 RMAC Baseball Tournament.
- Woolwine is now tied with Trevor Kehe with 43 career doubles at Mines.
- Vermeer notched his first RBI since 2023.
- Seven strikeouts apiece for Lynch and St. Amant were collegiate highs for both Orediggers.
- Babcock, Woolwine, and
Trent Nielsen have recorded at least one hit in the last five games.
- Babcock boasts six multi-hit games so far in 2025.
- Oredigger Head Coach
Robby Bales is now 150-112 in his seventh season leading Mines.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers play UCCS on Sunday at 12 p.m. in Colorado Springs. Free live video on the RMAC Network and free live stats will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
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.
