GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines baseball team played a doubleheader at #3 Colorado Mesa on Saturday and lost by scores of 18-4 and 10-2.
 
Evan Bilter collected four hits across the two games for Mines (9-20, 6-9 RMAC) and finished the day batting .667 with a run scored. Tyler Pina posted a .600 average thanks to three hits with one urn and one RBI. Alex Dunagan recorded two hits including a double. Owen Hicks also had two hits with a home run and three RBI. Will Niles (1-4) and Matthew Turner (0-1) were the Oredigger starters on the mound and both took their respective decisions. Kenji Bray, Ryan Semin, and Dillon Alcouffe all posted 0.00 ERAs out of the bullpen. Grady Booth, Grant Reising, and Jake Verwiel added innings of relief as well.
 
As a team, Mines totaled 14 hits for a .269 batting average and .346 slugging percentage. In comparison, Colorado Mesa (28-3, 14-0 RMAC) hit .484 and slugged .774 thanks to nine doubles and three home runs. On the mound, the Oredigger pitchers combined for seven strikeouts and 13 walks. Maverick arms tallied 13 strikeouts and four walks. Mines' defense committed one error in each game while CMU put together a pair of clean sheets in the field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game one of the day and the second of the weekend series started with a shutout first inning. Then, Colorado Mesa plated a trio of runs in the second frame to take a 3-0 lead. Hicks' homer in the third inning put Mines on the board, but the Mavericks rattled off 11 unanswered runs across the next three innings. The Orediggers loaded the bases in the top of the sixth inning and walked away with three more runs. Four runs of insurance for the home team in the bottom of the sixth made the final tally.
 
The second game of the day also featured stacked zeroes on the scoreboard in the opening frame. The hot-hitting Mavericks quickly changed that with five runs in the second, three in the third, and two in the fourth. The 10-0 score stood until the top of the sixth when Brody Duvall hit a leadoff single and Dunagan followed with a double. Eventually, Jackson Babcock brought in Duvall and Pina scored Dunagan. There wouldn't be anymore offense after Bray retired CMU in order in the home half of the sixth, and the Mavericks did the same to Mines in the top of the seventh.
 
NOTABLES
- Hicks' home run was his second of the season and of his college career.
- Dunagan now leads the team with 13 doubles on the year.
- Niles moved up to 27 strikeouts compared to seven walks in 39.2 innings and eight starts this spring.
- Evan Bilter has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games.
- Head Coach Robby Bales is now 168-160 in his eighth season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines and #3 Colorado Mesa close their series Sunday with a 12 p.m. game in Grand Junction, Colo.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines baseball on "X" (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @OrediggersBSB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, "X" and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.