Mines (0-8) at Fort Hays State (2-5) – Saturday, 12 p.m. CT – Doubleheader – Hays, Kan. [Live Stats] [MIAA Network]
Mines (0-8) at Fort Hays State (2-5) – Sunday, 12 p.m. CT – Hays, Kan. [Live Stats] [MIAA Network]

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HEADED TO THE HEARTLAND
Valentine's Day on Saturday means the Colorado School of Mines baseball team will be looking for love in America's Heartland as the Orediggers travel to Hays, Kan., for a three-game set across Saturday and Sunday. Saturday features a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. CT. Sunday's slate includes a single, nine-inning, series finale. Rain in the forecast means the schedule could shift, so fans should keep an eye on social media and www.minesathletics.com.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Fans can watch all three games this weekend with a subscription to the MIAA Network. There will also be free live stats linked above and at www.minesathletics.com. Miles Dunklin will provide play-by-play for the Orediggers' home contests.
 
WEATHER FORECAST
As mentioned above, there's rain in the weekend forecast for Hays, Kan. The chance of precipitation on Saturday is 75 percent with a high of 51 degrees and a gentle wind just over 10 mph. Fortunately, Sunday features clear skies and a high of 62 degrees with the same breeze. The chance for rain drops to 10 percent and the humidity plummets from over 80 percent to just under 60. Layers and a rain jacket seem like the best recommendation for fans planning to attend. Any schedule changes will be announced on social media and at www.minesathletics.com.
 
LAST WEEKEND
The Orediggers faced Regis in their home openers as part of a split weekend last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The series started at Jim Darden Field on Friday, marking Mines' first home game of the 2026 season. Regis eventually won that contest, 17-13. On Saturday, the teams played a doubleheader at RU, giving the Rangers their first home games of the season. They took both ends from the Orediggers, 12-11 and 13-12. Sunday brought the series back to Golden for the finale which ended with Regis winning, 24-9. For the series, Mines hit .393 as team with Justin Kubojiri individually swinging at a .625 clip. He stacked five hits, scored seven runs, and drove in four more. Jackson Babcock finished with six runs and seven RBI thanks to a double and a triple while hitting .474. Ben Leiphart, Alex Freund, Evan Bilter, and Owen Hicks all contributed one home run each. The starters on the mound were Alex Honeyman, Will Niles, Matthew Turner, and Alex Piscotty. The pitchers of decision were Grady Booth, Mateo Aldecocea, Joseph Steidel, and Piscotty.
 
SCOUTING FORT HAYS STATE
After a 32-16 campaign in 2025, Fort Hays State has started the 2026 season 2-5. The Tigers took two of three from UCCS in Colorado Springs on opening weekend. Then, last weekend they went 0-4 at the Henderson State Invitational, losing to Ouachita Baptist, Harding, Henderson State, and Harding again. Three of those four losses were decided by two runs or less. All that being said, this Saturday and Sunday will be FHSU's first home games of 2026. Derek Woolwine swings the big bat for the Tigers. He's hitting .520 with eight runs on 13 hits including five doubles and four home runs with 12 RBI. If that name sounds familiar, it's because he's the younger brother of former Mines outfielder Jackson Woolwine who is playing is final collegiate season at NCAA Division I William & Mary. Tyson Jimenez has scored 10 runs for FHSU and Garretson Cook is hitting over .400 as well. On the mound, Brandon Chavez represents the Tigers' early-season ace. He's 1-0 in two starts with a 3.00 ERA and 1.17 WHIP thanks to 17 strikeouts compared to eight walks across 12.0 innings of work.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Fort Hays State used to be a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, making its history with Mines quite lengthy. According available records which are incomplete, the Tigers own a 48-15 advantage in the all-time series including a 38-3 mark in RMAC play. However, the Orediggers have found success in recent history. Mines is 8-2 in its last 10 meetings with the Tigers including eight straight wins from 2020-2025. Last season the Orediggers and FHSU split a doubleheader in Golden. Mines won the front end, 6-3, before Fort Hays State won the back end, 14-12. That win was the Tigers first over the Orediggers since Feb. 8, 2020. Last year's doubleheader was played on Valentine's Day.
 
THE RETURNERS
The 2026 roster for Oredigger baseball features 19 players who saw action for Mines in 2025. That list includes 10 bats and nine arms with Luke Parker touting experience at the plate and on the mound. Highlighting the group of veterans at the plate are Evan Bilter, Tyler Hummel, Jackson Babcock, and Tyler Pina. Bilter, Hummel, and Babcock had the top three batting averages among everyday players on the team last year with Pina serving as the starting catcher and a 2024 Second-Team All-RMAC selection. On the mound, the Orediggers will benefit from returning starters Will Niles, Alex Honeyman, and Grady Booth who all started at least nine games in 2025.  
 
FRESH FACES
Mines Baseball Head Coach Robby Bales put in work during the offseason and brought in 19 fresh faces to bolster the Oredigger roster. The list of newcomers includes 14 true freshmen and four transfers, and one familiar face who worked his way back on the team. Logan Burchfiel, Owen Elser, Justin Kubojiri, Owen Hicks, Keyan Lundvall, Tai Nguyen, Justin Holcomb, Brandon Schaff, Alex Piscotty, Drew Fairman, Matthew Turner, Mateo Aldecocea, Brady Syers, and Sam Strong are the true freshmen. Alex Freund (College of the Canyons), Dylan Burke (Sacramento City College), Jake Verwiel (San Francisco), and William Schulte (Johnson County CC) represent the transfer class. Dillon Alcouffe was a member of the Mines squad in 2023 and 2024. He rejoined the team this fall.
 
IN THE PROS
Over the last eight 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 the trio is Walter Pennington (2017-20).
 
WALTER PENNINGTON
Walter Pennington was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Royals in the summer of 2020. He spent 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 in the Royals' minor league system where he found success including a nod to the International (AAA) All-Star team. In 2024, Pennington 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. Last year, Pennington was moved from the Texas Rangers to the Baltimore Orioles where he was eventually designated for assignment as he worked through injuries. Pennington was recently released by the Chesapeake Baysox, the double-A affiliate of the Orioles.
 
THE SKIPPER
The 2026 campaign marks Mines' eighth season with Robby Bales as head coach. During his tenure as the Oredigger skipper, Bales holds an overall record of 159-144 with a mark of 103-93 in RMAC play. He has coached his players to 27 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
Mines has next weekend off before hosting Colorado Christian in a non-conference series Feb. 27 through March 1.
 
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.