PUEBLO, Colo. – Playing their final road games of the 2025 regular season, the Colorado School of Mines softball team braved the elements once again Saturday at the Rawlings Sports Complex to close out their series with CSU Pueblo. For the second day in a row, the teams split doubleheader action with the Orediggers (19-31, 18-21) taking an 8-3 win in the opener before the ThunderWolves (27-20, 26-14) took the series finale 9-2.
 
For the third time in the series, the Orediggers struck first with a pair of runs to open the action. Emiaj Self's one-out single through the left side was followed by a steal of second and a single back up the box by Kendall Aragon for the first run of the game. Aragon, who took second on the throw, scored four pitches later as Cassidy Chvatal laced a single up the middle to make it an early 2-0 lead.
 
The ThunderWolves came back with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second by Caitlyn Cole to make it a one-run contest, but following a scoreless third, Mines broke things open in the fourth inning with three runs on five hits. Aragon started the frame with a walk before stealing second and scoring on another single to centerfield by Chvatal. Consecutive bunt singles by Lexie Semeyn and Brooke Gonzales loaded the bases for Lauren Romero, who lined an 0-1 pitch the other way to right field to score two runs as Semeyn's slide home just beat the tag on the throw back in. That forced a pitching change for The Pack as McKenna James replaced Lucy Carney. Emily Rogers kept things going as she laid down a bunt single to load the bases again, but a strikeout, fielder's choice force out at home and a flyout to left allowed CSUP to escape the inning before things escalated further.
 
CSU Pueblo did come back to make it 5-3 over the next two innings, scoring lone runs in the fourth and fifth, first on a two-out steal-and-stop play with runners on the corners before an two-out RBI single immediately after a no-call of interference on a grounder to second that could have ended the inning.
 
Though their lead had been reduced back to two, the Orediggers showed no signs of concern, plating three runs in the sixth to pull ahead by five. Rogers singled through the right side to lead things off and ended up at third following an error off the bat of Mia Lopez to put runners on the corners and turn the lineup over. Lopez went in motion at first, but the throw down instead went to third in an attempt to back door Rogers who scored easily when the throw sailed into left field. Lopez ended up at third when all was said and done before scoring on an infield single to first by Ton to make it 7-3. After Ton stole second, Aragon singled to put runners on the corners before Chvatal walked to load the bases. After a foul out to third, a wild pitch allowed Ton to cross before a grounder to shortstop ended the inning.
 
Ellen Shull (2-5) then had all the run support she needed to close out the first seven-inning complete game win of her career. The sophomore worked 1-2-3 innings in the first and third innings and after allowed the single tallies in the fourth and fifth, worked around a pair of baserunners in the sixth thanks to a 6-4-3 double play before recording the final three outs in the seventh on just eight pitches to close out the 8-3 win.
 
The finale meanwhile saw CSU Pueblo jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first and never look back. After Mines left a pair of baserunners in Kendall Aragon and Cassidy Chvatal in the top of the inning, CSUP scored first with a single to right center by Madelyn Huerta after the first two batters of the game reached on walks. After a sacrifice bunt, Emma Case's bunt single plated Delaney Barela to make it 2-0.
 
Trouble was brewing in the second as a single and two more walks by Allison Westbrook (4-6) loaded the bases again. Taylor Wayne came on in relief and in a remarkable display of pitching, escaped the inning with no runs coming across thanks to a strikeout and an 8-2 double play as a flyball to Aragon in center was snagged before the junior delivered a strike to Kailey Morales for the tag at the plate to end the inning.
 
After Kellan Ton was stranded in the third, ThunderWolves took command of the game with seven runs in the bottom of the frame, six of which came with two outs. Huerta led off with a double and following a sacrifice bunt and a walk, scored on a designed play with runners at the corners in which Darleen Falcon was tagged out while the score moved to 3-0. A single by Cali Cole to right was followed by an E5 off the bat of Tori Cordova as the inning spiraled out of control. Both runners ended up in scoring position thanks to the error and scored on a single up the middle by Ashley Tosh before she came around to score on a wild pitch. A passed ball on a walk to Caitlyn Cole plated Raelynn Rogers after she followed Tosh with a single to make it 7-0. Huerta, now batting for the second time in the inning, capped the scoring with a two-run single to left following a walk from Barela to extend the deficit to nine.
 
Lexie Semeyn notched the second hit of the game for Mines in the fourth as they looked to crack the scoreboard, but nothing came of it as Carney, making her second start of the day, was able to pitch out of the inning without issue. Wayne, to her credit, came back and worked a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the frame to keep it a 9-0 game as the Orediggers looked to avoid being run-ruled in the fifth.
 
Mines did just that as they extended the game thanks to a rally sparked by the bottom third of the order. Kailey Morales led off with a single before moving up 60 feet on a sac bunt by Lauren Romero. Emily Rogers then followed with a single up the middle to put runners on the corners and turn the lineup over. Ton reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop that allowed Morales to cross home before scoring on a two-out double to left by Emiaj Self to make it 9-2.
 
Danger once more abated for Mines in the home fifth as an E4 and two walks loaded the bases for the ThunderWolves with one out as they looked again to end the game early, but Wayne retained her poise in the circle to escape danger for the second time in the game as she induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play to send things on to the sixth.
 
Both Carney and Wayne spun 1-2-3 innings as the action went the distance to the seventh with the Orediggers in need of a rally to win the series. Romero reached base with a one-out walk before advancing to second on a wild pitch, but that was as far as things got as a fielder's choice off the bat of Ton saw Romero tagged out at third to end the game with a final score of 9-2.
 
NOTABLES
-Shull recorded her second win of the season and tied her season high of seven innings pitched in the complete game win, striking out two and allowing three runs on six hits
-Chvatal went 2-2 with two walks, two RBI and a run scored in game one while reaching on a walk in the finale; the senior now has 60 RBI on the season and with four games left stands four back of the single season record set by Clara Larson in 2018 while needing six more RBI to hit the century mark for her career
-Ton stole two more bases in game one to bring her season total to 23 while going 1-5 with an RBI and a run scored; the sophomore now has 48 career stolen bases to rank fourth all-time as she looks to become just the third player in program history to record 50 steals in a career next weekend
-Ton also drove in a run and scored in game two to break up the shutout with her 16th RBI of the season
-Rogers went 3-4 in the opener with a run scored before closing the series with a 1-2 performance in the finale
-Aragon continued her fine weekend in game one by going 2-3 with an RBI, a stolen base and two runs scored with a walk and capped the weekend by going 1-3 in the finale
-Romero drove in a pair of runs in game one to raise her season total to seven
-Eight of nine starters for the Orediggers all recorded at least one hit in game one
-Semeyn and Self notched their 13th and ninth doubles of the season in game two with the latter also driving in a run
 
UP NEXT
Having been eliminated from postseason contention over the weekend, the Orediggers return to Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field for their final games of the 2025 season April 25-26 against New Mexico Highlands. Senior Day ceremonies will be held following the conclusion of the series on Saturday afternoon.
 
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.