Mines (9-17, 6-6 RMAC) at #3 Colorado Mesa (26-3, 12-0 RMAC) – Friday, 6:05 p.m. – Grand Junction, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (9-17, 6-6 RMAC) at #3 Colorado Mesa (26-3, 12-0 RMAC) – Saturday, 1 p.m. – Doubleheader – Grand Junction, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (9-17, 6-6 RMAC) at #3 Colorado Mesa (26-3, 12-0 RMAC) – Sunday, 12 p.m. – Grand Junction, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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HEADED WEST
The Colorado School of Mines baseball team heads west this weekend to face its first ranked opponent of the season in #3 Colorado Mesa. The Orediggers and Mavericks start their conference series under the lights Friday with a 6:05 p.m. first pitch. Action continues Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Sunday's finale features a 12 p.m. start and a single, nine-inning game. Colorado Mesa, the league leader and defending champion, is riding an eight-game win streak while Mines is looking to snap a four-game skid.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Fans can watch all Oredigger home games and conference contests with a subscription to the RMAC Network. There will also be free live stats linked above and at www.minesathletics.com. Miles Dunklin will provide play-by-play for a majority of the Orediggers' home contests.
 
WEATHER FORECAST
It looks to be a perfect weekend for baseball on the Western Slope. Friday's forecast features partly-cloudy skies and a high of 75 degrees with minimal wind. Saturday is nearly identical, but the breeze will kick up a bit. Sunday brings cloudy skies, but temperatures will remain around 75 degrees. Sunscreen and shade will be critical for those planning to attend in person.
 
REMEMBERING THE ROADRUNNERS
Mines' last action was a four-game home series against the MSU Denver Roadrunners. The Orediggers battled hard, but ended up dropping all four games. Friday's final score was 13-7 despite Jackson Babcock's four-hit game. The first game of Saturday's doubleheader ended with a 17-3 margin as Brody Duvall went 3-for-4 with a triple. The second game of the doubleheader was a 4-3 pitcher's duel which featured a complete-game effort from Will Niles who struck out seven and walked zero. Tyler Hummel hit a home run as well. On Sunday, the visitors claimed the finale and the sweep, 14-4. In the loss, Evan Bilter smacked three triples.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
The #3-ranked Colorado Mesa baseball team touts an overall record of 26-3 while sitting 12-0 in RMAC play. As stated above, CMU is riding an eight-game win streak. The Mavericks haven't lost to a NCAA Division II opponent since Saturday, Feb. 7 (opening weekend), at Cal Poly Pomona. Colorado Mesa's last loss was a 6-4, midweek contest at NCAA Division I Utah Valley in Orem, Utah. Two weeks ago, the Mavericks played four games in a 24-hour span due to facility and air-quality issues at CSU Pueblo. All four games went to CMU. Last weekend, Mesa swept Colorado Christian in Lakewood, Colo. The Mavericks outscored the Cougars 57-29. Seven starting hitters for CMU are batting over .325 on the season. That list includes recognizable names such as Kolby Felix and Cameron Cartwright. Ezra Farmer tops the list with a .402 batting average. Farmer also has 30 runs, 10 doubles, two triples, and five home runs. Felix leads the team with nine home runs. On the mound, Jackson Eisenhauer and Caleb Ruter have both made seven starts. However, Cole Seward has been the ace since the beginning of March. He is 2-0 in three starts and four appearances with a 1.93 ERA thanks to 13 strikeouts compared to five walks across 14.0 innings of work. Sage Ferguson leads the bullpen with his three saves thanks to a 1.29 ERA. Ferguson boasts 20 strikeouts and just one walk across 11 appearances and 14.0 innings of relief.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Colorado Mesa owns a comfortable lead in the all-time series against Mines at 122-20. This weekend, the Orediggers will look to snap a 15-game losing streak against the Mavericks. Mines last beat CMU on March 14, 2022. That was in Golden. The Orediggers' most successful run against Colorado Mesa was from 2016-18 when the Orediggers earned seven of their 20 wins against the Mavericks.
 
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 is currently a free agent. He was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Royals in the summer of 2020. Pennington 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 168-153 with a mark of 109-99 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 baseball returns home after its trip to Grand Junction, Colo., for a home series against CSU Pueblo April 2-4. Fans can watch the series with a subscription to the RMAC Network. There will also be free live stats at www.minesathletics.com.
 
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.