GOLDEN, Colo. – Taking the field Sunday at Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field on another outstanding Colorado April day, the Colorado School of Mines softball team looked to secure a series win and their first sweep of the season against Adams State. The results of the doubleheader couldn't have been more different to wrap the weekend as the Orediggers (17-29, 14-19) handled business with a 14-6 five-inning win in the opener before staving off the Grizzlies (5-43, 3-33) in the finale to secure a 7-6 win and polish off the four-game sweep.
 
The Orediggers jumped out front in the first inning of game one, plating three runs and taking advantage of three errors by the Grizzlies. After a leadoff single by Kellan Ton was erased on a caught stealing, Emiaj Self restarted things by reaching on an error by pitcher Aubree Davis. Kendall Aragon was next up and reached on an error at second base on a potential double play ball as a second misplay in right field allowed the ball the roll all the way to the fence, allowing Self to score and Aragon to race all the way around to third on the sequence. After a walk and a wild pitch Cassidy Chvatal stood at second to put a pair in scoring position for Lexie Semeyn who delivered a two-run single down the left field line to take a 3-0 lead.
 
Adams State cracked the scoreboard in the second as Cailie Eiguren came around to score on a rather bizarre 6-9-6 fielder's choice force out at second after she led the inning off with a double. ASU added another run to make it 3-2 in the third as Raegan Johnson scored on a single to left center by Sydney Rodriguez, but Mines got that run right back on an RBI groundout to second by Chvatal after Aragon led off the home half of the inning with a triple.
 
Ellen Shull (1-5) came back to hang a zero in the fourth, stranding a runner with two outs before the Orediggers seemingly broke the game open in the bottom of the inning on their way to five two-out runs. Following a fielder's choice off the bat of Ton that saw Sam Whisenand forced out at second, Self stepped in and delivered a 1-0 triple to left field to score Ton. Aragon kept the line moving with a single to center to score Self and after Chvatal singled through the left side, Semeyn doubled down the left field line to plate Aragon and make it 7-2. After a Brooke Gonzales walk, Emily Rogers singled back up the middle to bring home two more and extend the lead to seven heading to the fifth.
 
The fifth inning started with a pitching change as Allison Westbrook took over in the circle, but things didn't start well as consecutive four-pitch walks prompted Mines to put Shull back in the circle as a third four-pitch walk loaded the bases for ASU. A Rodriguez single scored a run as the Grizzlies went station to station to make it 9-3. After a strikeout and a fielder's choice force at home, the sophomore looked as if she might get out of the inning, but a bases-clearing double by Grace Hendrickson dashed those ambitions and closed the gap down to three at 9-6 before a lineout finally ended the inning.
 
Undeterred, the Orediggers responded with another two-out rally that ultimately ended things early. After Ton reached on a fielder's choice for the second time in the game, she stole second and advanced to third to put runners on the corners following a single by Self. An RBI groundout to second by Aragon drove in a run to make it 10-6 before Chvatal and Semeyn drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Gonzales was next up and delivered a critical bases-clearing double of her own the other way to right center to make it 13-6 and bring the run rule back into effect. Rogers dug in next and singled a 3-2 offering through the right side of the infield as the throw home as not in time with Gonzales sliding in just ahead of the tag to walk off for the second time in the series 14-6.
 
Game two again saw Mines strike in the first inning as a one-out single by Emiaj Self was cashed in two batters later on a single through the left side by Cassidy Chvatal. After Taylor Wayne (5-8) and Celie Page traded zeros in the second, Adams State got on the board in the third on a double down the right field line with two outs by Eiguren that scored Rodriguez to tie things at 1-1. ASU then took the lead briefly in the fourth as an RBI single by Johnson scored Hendrickson after she reached on a one-out error to make it a 2-1 game.
 
The Orediggers came right back to tie things up at 2-2 immediately as Lexie Semeyn led off with a solo home run to left field before taking the lead four batters later as Sam Whisenand followed a two-out single by Lauren Romero with a smash to straightaway center for a go-ahead two-run homer.
 
Wayne came back with a 1-2-3 fifth an worked around a leadoff single in the sixth to keep it a two-run game before Mines hung another crooked number on the board. A one-out double by Brooke Gonzales started the rally as Romero followed with a single the other way to right field. After a groundout put two in scoring position, Ton singled the other way through the left side to score pinch runner Mia Lopez and move Romero to third. After Ton stole second, Emiaj Self singled to right center to bring in both runners and extend the lead to 7-2.
 
Those three runs turned out to be pivotal heading to the seventh as the Grizzlies did not go quietly into the Colorado afternoon. Kat Miller came on looking to finish things off but got more than she bargained for as ASU had a comeback on their minds. A leadoff walk was followed by a single and a three-run home run to left field by Eiguren as suddenly it was a two-run game at 7-5. Miller bounced back with a groundout to first, but Mackenzie Simon had other ideas as she went deep to left field to make it a one-run affair. Miller then regathered herself to get a big strikeout of Hendrickson before a groundout against pinch hitter Malia Coit to end the game and secure the win.
 
NOTABLES
-Self capped off the weekend by going 5-8 Sunday with a triple, four runs scored and three RBI as she recorded two hits in the opener followed by three in the finale
-Romero had four hits on the day bolstered by a three-hit outing in game two in which she also scored two runs
-Shull recorded her first collegiate win in game one, working five innings with two strikeouts and allowing four runs on five hits in the run-rule shortened contest
-Wayne recorded her 100th career strikeout in game two on the way to her fifth win of the season, allowing two runs (one earned) on nine hits over six innings with three punchouts and one walk
-Semeyn homered for the 12th time in 2025 in the finale to cap a three-hit day as she went 2-2 with a pair of walks, a double, three RBI and two runs scored in game one
-Whisenand's weekend saw her register a hit in each game Sunday including her first home run of the season in the series finale as she ended the series 5-11 (.455) with three runs scored and two RBI in her first four starts of 2025
-Gonzales' fine weekend at the plate continued Sunday in her first career starts, as she went 3-6 on the afternoon with the first two doubles of her career with one in each game, the first three RBI of her career in game one and the first multi-hit effort of her career in game two
-Chvatal drove in a run in each game and scored three times in game one while hitting safely in both games
-Aragon went 2-4 with three runs, two RBI and a triple in the opener Sunday
-Ton had a hit in each game, stole a pair of bases, drove in a run and scored three times over the doubleheader
-The sweep is the first of the season for the Orediggers under the direction of head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk and is the fourth series win of the season
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers hit the road for the final time in the 2025 regular season next weekend April 18-19 at CSU Pueblo.
 
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.