DURANGO, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines softball team collected their first series sweep of the season Sunday afternoon at Aspen Field over Fort Lewis by scores of 6-3 and 9-1 in six innings. The Orediggers (10-8, 6-2) powered their way to a win in the opener behind the bats of Katie Bauer and Emiaj Self, while freshman Madyson Ortiz stymied the Skyhawks' (1-17, 0-8) in game two as the offense erupted for 16 hits in the finale.
 
Sunday's opener started with a pair of scoreless innings as Chloe Padilla and Kat Miller (2-2) matched each other as the game settled in. Mines broke through first in the third inning, scoring four runs to take the lead. After Sam Whisenand was cut down at the plate trying to score the first run of the game on a ball off the bat of Lauren Romero, Kendall Aragon doubled the other way to left center allowing Romero to race all the way around from first for the opening run of the game. Emily Rogers kept the line moving with a hit by pitch to set the table for Katie Bauer, who turned around the first pitch she saw for a three-run home run to right center to make it a 4-0 Mines lead.
 
Miller continued to cruise in the circle, working around walks in the third and fourth innings to maintain the four-run advantage before running into some trouble in the fifth. A one-out walk by Paige Fuller followed by a steal of second ended the day for Miller as she gave way to Taylor Wayne. After a passed ball and a walk put runners on the corners, a double steal of second and home got the Skyhawks on the board before an RBI single up the middle made it 4-2. Wayne averted the big inning as she worked a strikeout and a groundout to first to keep Mines in front.
 
Fort Lewis inched closer in the home sixth, as Amiah DeClusin came around to score on a two-out single by Fuller after starting the rally with a one-out double. Up 4-3 heading to the seventh, the Orediggers tacked on some insurance, taking advantage of walks by Aragon and Bauer in the form of a two-run triple to right field by Emiaj Self to make it a three-run game. The bottom of the seventh unfolded quickly, as Wayne locked in to retire FLC in order as she ended the game with back-to-back strikeouts to clinch the series win.
 
Mines kept things rolling to open the finale as Lauren Romero scored the first run of the game on a one-out single up to middle by Kendall Aragon to jump in front three batters into the action. Working with a lead right away, freshman Madyson Ortiz (1-1) was on cruise control, as she retired six straight to begin the game before stranding a leadoff single in the third.
 
Ortiz's efforts were backed by her offense as the Orediggers added two in the fourth, three in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Kellan Ton's two-out two-run single in the fourth plated Grace Weiler and Ryen Herman to make it a 3-0 lead and after another 1-2-3 inning by Ortiz, a Katie Bauer RBI single and a two-run single by Emily Rogers doubled the lead to 6-0. Sydney Pendowski, who entered in the fifth to run for Bauer, remained in the game as she stepped to the dish in the sixth and delivered a bases-clearing three-run double the other way to right center to made it a 9-0 game and brought the eight-run rule into effect. Heading to the home seventh, Ortiz lost the shutout with an RBI groundout before FLC loaded the bases with a single, double and a walk as they looked to force things to the seventh. Ortiz had other plans as a grounder back to her in the circle closed out the series with the 9-1 win in six innings.
 
NOTABLES
-Bauer went 4-6 with four RBI on the afternoon including a three-run home run in game one; for the weekend, she batted .615 (8-13) with three doubles, a home run and five RBI
-A day after collecting her first save, Ortiz picked up her first career win in the series finale as she struck out four against one walk in six innings and allowed just one run on four hits while retiring the side in order in four of her six innings of work
-Aragon hit safely and drove in a run in each game, as she ended the series by going 3-3 with a double and a triple in the finale
-Miller earned her second win of the season in game one, tying her season-high with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work as she allowed just one run on one hit
-Herman capped a strong weekend at the plate by going 1-2 with a run in the finale
-12 different players accounted for a season-high 16 hits in the finale, including pinch hitters Miquela Tammaro and Mia Lopez and four different players doubled in the game as well
-Pendowski's three-run double in the sixth was the first hit of her collegiate career in her first career at bat
-Lucy Herston made her collegiate debut pinch hitting in the sixth and reached base with a walk in her first plate appearance
-Kiyana Tsuei made her first start of the season in game one and first career appearance at third base and reached base with a walk
-For the series, Mines batted .359 (42-117) with nine doubles, three triples and a home run while the pitching staff posted a 2.00 ERA over 28 innings of work, allowing eight earned runs while striking out 16 and walking 11
 
ON DECK
The Orediggers head home for five straight weeks of action in Golden starting next weekend March 7-8 against Colorado Mesa.
 
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.