Mines (5-13, 4-3) at Colorado Mesa (6-8, 4-4) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (DH) – Grand Junction, Colo. [Live Stats Game 1] [Live Stats Game 2] [RMAC Network]
Mines (5-13, 4-3) at Colorado Mesa (6-8, 4-4) – Sunday, 11 a.m. (DH) – Grand Junction, Colo. [Live Stats Game 1] [Live Stats Game 2] [RMAC Network]

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN   
After spending the first three weeks of the 2025 season away from home, the Colorado School of Mines softball team will take to the road once more, opening a two-week road trip this weekend as they head west to Grand Junction for a four-game series with defending regular season champion Colorado Mesa Saturday and Sunday.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
This week's games will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network. Free live stats will also be available. Links for video and stats can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP
On December 2, 2024, Tobin Echo-Hawk was named the 13th head coach of Mines softball. A Colorado native from nearby Louisville and most recently the head softball coach of Erie High School, Echo-Hawk brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Golden.
 
An All-American infielder at Nebraska during the Huskers' ascendance to a national powerhouse, Echo-Hawk holds numerous single-season and career records from a highly decorated career. After her time in Lincoln, Echo-Hawk got her coaching start at Portland State University as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator before being elevated to the head position after two seasons. She led the Vikings for five years before moving onto the University of Texas El Paso for six seasons as head coach. Her most recent stop at the collegiate level was at New Mexico State where she spent two seasons as an assistant coach.
 
Read more on the new leader of the Orediggers here.
 
WEEK 4 RECAP
Mines christened the new surface at Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field over the weekend with a 3-1 series win over Fort Lewis. The Orediggers swept both ends of Saturday's doubleheader 5-2 and 6-2 and missed out on a series sweep Sunday, dropping game one 4-1 before rallying for a series win in the finale with a 7-6 final.
 
Taylor Wayne scattered seven hits and allowed two runs in a complete game effort in game one of the weekend as Cassidy Chvatal led the way at the dish with a two-run home run to left field that went about as high as it did far while Emily Rogers and Lauren Romero also drove in runs.
 
Game two saw Allison Westbrook turn in her best outing of the season in the circle, working into the fifth inning and allowing two runs on four hits before turning things over to Kat Miller for an eight-out save as the junior struck out three and did not allow a hit on the way to her first save of the season. Kailey Morales went 2-3 and drove in two runs while Kendall Aragon also went 2-3 with an RBI in the winning effort.
 
Mines was unable to solve freshman Chloe Padilla in the opener Sunday as Wayne came out the hard-luck loser as she went the distance and posted five shutout innings. Emiaj Self drove in the lone run of the game with her first career triple to right center.
 
In the finale, Mines had to come from behind after spotting the Skyhawks a 4-0 lead through two innings before they scored a touchdown in the bottom of the fourth, plating six runs to take the lead. Chvatal again provided the fireworks with her second big fly of the series, a no-doubt three-run shot to left field. FLC battled back to tie things in the fifth before the Orediggers ultimately went ahead for good in the home sixth as Morales laced a single to left field with two outs to score Aragon. Miller picked up the win in the circle, her first of the season, after coming on in the second with bases loaded and no outs trailing 3-0 and getting out of trouble on her way to spinning six innings of relief and allowing just two runs on six hits.
 
IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were picked to finish seventh in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll as announced back on January 16. Colorado Mesa was voted as the favorite to win the league in 2025 followed by Colorado Christian, MSU Denver, Regis and CSU Pueblo. UCCS was one spot ahead of Mines in sixth while behind the Orediggers, Fort Lewis, Black Hills State, Chadron State, New Mexico Highlands and Adams State round out the 12 teams.
 
This week's national poll saw UT Tyler remain at #1 while Angelo State moved up to #4. East Stroudsburg rose to #15 this week while Nova Southeastern moved to #21.
 
MEET THE CAPTAINS
A new group of captains will lead the Orediggers into the 2025 season as seniors Cassidy Chvatal, Kailey Morales and Hannah Roberts will be joined by redshirt junior Taylor Wayne and junior Kendall Aragon.
 
Chvatal transitioned into a new role as the everyday right fielder for Mines in 2024 and had an outstanding season, starting all 50 games she played and batting .285 and leading the team with eight home runs and 10 doubles while driving in 27 runs and scoring 30.
 
Morales, a veteran catcher with 47 games behind the dish, belted her first career home run last season and added a pair of doubles while scoring seven times and driving in seven while helping guide the pitching staff to a 3.73 ERA in 2024.
 
Roberts emerged as the full-time starter at second base last spring after platooning there her first two seasons. She started 45 times in 47 games and batted .283 with six doubles, 10 RBI and 19 runs scored and hit .411 over the final three weeks of the season, as well as posting a career-best .956 fielding percentage.
 
Wayne missed the entirety of 2024 recovering from a hand injury and will look to contribute in multiple positions in 2025. In 2023, she won three games in the circle and struck out 30 in 62 innings of work with her best performance coming at Chadron State on March 20, when she spun a one-hit shutout.
 
Aragon, a two-time All-RMAC performer in her first two seasons, has been a fixture in the outfield since the day she stepped on campus. A starter in all 101 games she has played, Aragon is a career .390 hitter and has scored 59 runs while driving in 46 and turning in back-to-back 60-hit seasons.
 
OFFSEASON UPGRADES
Fans coming to Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field in 2025 will notice the venue got a facelift over the offseason. The latest in a long series of facility improvements saw the complete resurfacing of the field with artificial turf thanks in large part to the vision and generosity of numerous individuals, headed up by a trio of softball alumni in Kerry Siggins '01, Kari Gonzales '02 and Kim Alanis '04. Take a look at the completed project here.
 
NEW YEAR, NEW LOOK
The Orediggers have completed a full update of their uniforms ahead of the 2025 season with the addition of a new navy uniform. Last spring, two new uniforms took to the field with the addition of new white and gray kits reflective of the recent branding updates across the athletic department. Take a look at the new threads Mines will be rocking this spring here.
 
QUITE THE WEEK
Over the eight-day stretch from February 16-23, there were few hitters as hit as Mines first baseman Cassidy Chvatal. In eight games against UCCS and Fort Lewis, the senior from Broomfield hit safely in seven games, posting a .385/.467/1.115 slash line with a double, six home runs and an eye-watering 17 runs batted in. as a result, she's currently tied for the RMAC lead in RBI and home runs while her .649 slugging percentage is inside the top 20. A mainstay in the lineup since her conversion to a full-time field player last spring, the Orediggers will continue to rely on Chvatal in the middle of the lineup as the season progresses.
 
SEEING WHAT WE'VE GOT
The next four weeks of action for the Orediggers will offer them little reprieve from the already challenging schedule they have faced in 2025. Four teams who made the RMAC Tournament last season await Mines in their upcoming stretch with three of those four series being contested on the road. First up is defending regular season champion Colorado Mesa and the 2025 preseason favorite to win the RMAC. MSU Denver is on deck and finished third last season, was picked to finish third this season and currently holds down third in the standings. The Roadrunners ended the Orediggers' season in the RMAC Tournament last May and await Mines March 8-9. Current league leader Colorado Christian, who swept the RMAC titles most recently in 2023, comes to Golden March 15-16 before Mines heads to last year's RMAC Tournament champions Regis March 22-23. Suffice to say, the next 16 games will go a long way in determining what kind of year 2025 will be for the Orediggers as they look to start it off right in Grand Junction Saturday.
 
FOR THE RECORD
For eagle-eyed fans of Mines softball who take time to check the schedule, standings and read these previews, you may notice that despite playing two full weekends of games against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents with four games at UCCS and four games at home last weekend against Fort Lewis, the Orediggers have a league record of 4-3. The game lacking from the league record is the second game of the doubleheader between Mines and UCCS on Sunday February 16. While the weather the whole series in Colorado Springs was cold and windy, Sunday's second game was played to completion while not adhering to the RMAC's minimum temperature guidelines, which state that the "real feel" temperature must be 25 degrees. As a result, since the game was played to completion, all stats will count and the result will remain official but 14-8 win in eight innings for the Orediggers will not count toward the league standings. Mines and UCCS are now two of four teams in the league who will be missing games from their league schedule, joining MSU Denver and Fort Lewis. The final game of the series between the Roadrunners and Skyhawks on Monday February 17 in Denver was cancelled as a result of conditions not meeting the league's weather policy.
 
CHECKING THE STAT SHEET
Despite a recent cold streak, Lindy French remains the top hitter for Mines with a mark of .400 with two RBI. Kellan Ton is batting .367 with two doubles, a triple, four RBI and 13 runs scored while going a perfect 7-7 on stolen bases. Kendall Aragon remains a fixture at the top of the lineup, batting .358 and has already tied her career high of five doubles in a season and is slugging .453 with seven RBI.
 
Emiaj Self hit her first career triple last weekend and has six RBI behind a .324 batting average while Lexie Semeyn rounds out the .300 club for the Orediggers with a .310 mark and a .690 slugging percentage behind a double and five home runs as she has driven in 11 and scored 12.
 
Cassidy Chvatal is tied for the top spot in the league in home runs with six has eight extra-base hits already as she is batting .291 with 19 RBI and slugging .673. Emily Rogers and Kailey Morales each have eight RBI as Morales already has a new career-best mark in run production this season. Meanwhile Hannah Roberts is batting .205 with two home runs, a triple and 12 RBI.
 
In the circle, Kat Miller paces the pitching staff with a 5.57 ERA and is 1-5 with a save on the season in 32.2 innings of work across nine appearances with four starts. Taylor Wayne is 3-3 with a 5.89 ERA in six starts across eight outings and has worked a staff-leading 46.1 innings with a team-leading 21 strikeouts. Ellen Shull is 0-3 with a 6.38 ERA in eight appearances with six starts across 26.1 innings while Allison Westbrook is 1-2 in five games with two starts for 9.1 innings and is coming off her best performance of the season last Saturday.
 
As team, Mines is batting .93 with a .389 on-base percentage and a .420 slugging percentage. The pitching staff carries a 6.47 ERA and a .356 batting average against with 37 strikeouts against 80 free passes. Defensively 34 errors have been reflected in the team's .936 fielding percentage.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
The reigning league champs are off to a slow start in 2025, standing at 6-8 overall and 4-4 in the RMAC standings after splitting their first two weekend with Regis and MSU Denver following a 2-4 weekend at the DII First Pitch Invitational in Conroe, Texas. Last weekend the Mavericks swept the first day of play against MSU Denver on the road by scores of 8-3 and 9-3 but were swept Sunday 6-5 and 7-5.
 
Three regulars are batting north of .300 this season for the Mavs led by Ally Distler's mark of .378 with a .933 slugging behind five doubles, a triple and six home runs as she has 15 RBI and 13 runs scored. Myah Arrieta is hitting .370 and slugging .674 with three doubles and three home runs with six RBI and 11 runs scored. Makayla Westmoreland checks in at .333 with three doubles and four RBI while freshman Brynn Escobar is hitting .303 with a home run, two doubles and six RBI. Distler, Westmoreland and Escobar are all 2-2 on stolen bases this season along with Jenna Salcido, who has a home run and a double despite hitting just .194.
 
Chloe Valdez rounds out the .300 club and is the only other player for CMU with double digit RBI with 10 on the strength of three doubles and two home runs. Kamdryn Hagerty has five extra-base hits including three doubles and has three RBI to her credit.
 
Redshirt freshman Jessalyn Gallegos leads the way in the circle with a 2-1 record and two saves in nine games with four starts, posting a 1.96 ERA over 35.2 innings with 36 strikeouts against 12 walks while holding teams to a .235 batting average. Chico State transfer Sophia Tassinari follows with a 2-2 record and a 3.55 ERA in seven appearances with five starts for 23.2 innings and has 13 strikeouts against nine walks with a .286 BAA. Preslee Christensen, who burst onto the scene last spring, is 1-3 in six appearances with four starts and carries a 7.16 ERA in 14.2 innings with 12 strikeouts as teams have hit .321 against her.
 
Marisa Nehm is 0-1 in five games with one start for 11.2 innings and sports an ERA of 3.60 with five strikeouts while Hagerty rounds out the staff with a 1-1 record in two outings with an ERA of 7.00 in seven innings of work, striking out six and posting a .250 BAA.
 
On the season, Colorado Mesa is batting .277 with a .347 on-base percentage and a .478 slugging percentage. They have a 3.63 ERA as a pitching staff with 72 strikeouts against 45 free passes and held teams to a .279 batting average. Defensively they have only committed 20 errors and are fielding .952.
  
SERIES HISTORY
History hasn't been kind to Mines when playing Colorado Mesa as the Mavericks lead the all-time series 137-19 with a mark of 64-5 when playing in Grand Junction. Mines dropped a four-game series to the Mavericks on the road last season by scores of 4-2, 3-1, 13-4 and 10-4 and are in search of their first wins against CMU away from home since the 2020 season when they split a four-game series with a doubleheader sweep on day one by scores of 2-1 and 5-2.

ON DECK
Mines will be on the road next week, but closer to home as they head to MSU Denver March 8-9.
 
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.