GOLDEN, Colo. – Mines baseball opened the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference portion of its schedule Sunday with a doubleheader against Adams State at Jim Darden Field and won both sides by scores of 13-11 and 17-9.
 
Jackson Babcock was the most productive Oredigger across the two games. He finished the day batting .600 with four runs and six RBI on six hits including a home run. Ben Leiphart stacked five hits with four runs and four RBI, coming just a triple short of the cycle in the second game of the day. Tyler Easter and Tyler Pina both went 2-for-3 and combined to score six runs. Pina, Leiphart, Babcock, and Evan Bilter all hit home runs. Brody Duvall and Justin Kubojiri each notched a triple. Leiphart, Justin Holcomb, and Alex Dunagan combined for five doubles. Also notable for the home offense were Bilter's five runs scored while hitting .444.
 
Matt Potter and Alex Honeyman were the starting pitchers. Potter left the game after 2.0 innings of work and did not factor in the decision in game one. Honeyman (3-1) tossed 6.0 innings and earned the win after striking out four and walking two with four runs (three earned) on six hits. Kenji Bray (1-0) accounted for the other win on the mound thanks to 2.2 innings of shutout relief featuring five strikeouts compared to one walk and one hit. Brandon Schaff (2) added a save after 3.0 innings out of the bullpen which included three strikeouts and zero walks. Ryan Semin, Nicholas Spidel, Cade Burghardt, Jackson Kay, and Joseph Steidel also appeared for the Orediggers. Cain Gostenik and Julian Garza were the losing pitchers for Adams State.
 
As a team, Mines (5-11, 2-0 RMAC) hit .429 at the plate and slugged .729 thanks to five doubles, two triples and four home runs. Adams State (5-15, 0-2 RMAC) batted .281 but slugged .547 after collecting five doubles and four home runs. The Oredigger pitching staff totaled 15 strikeouts and 14 walks which led to a combined ERA of 10.69. Grizzly arms accumulated 10 strikeouts and 14 walks on the way to a 16.71 staff ERA. Also notable were five stolen bases on seven attempts for the home team and just three fielding errors. The visitors were hindered by six errors on defense along with three hit batters, three wild pitches, and a balk.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mines took an early, 3-0 lead in the first game of the day after Bilter, Babcock, and Pina sprinkled three solo home runs across the first two innings. Adams State answered with three runs in the third inning and five more in the fourth. That production overshadowed the Orediggers' single runs in each frame. A shutout fifth inning brought the contest past the halfway mark with ASU touting an 8-5 lead. Then, the home team exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to two-run hits off the bats of Dunagan, Babcock, and Leiphart. The outburst pushed Mines back ahead, 11-8. Pina plating Dunagan and Tyler Easter coming in on a wild pitch in the eighth inning proved key when the Grizzlies staged their rally with three runs on two home runs in the ninth. However, Schaff struck out the final batter on four pitches to close out the win.
 
While Adams State scored first in the second game of the day, the contest was all Orediggers. Four quick runs by Mines in the opening frame made the score 4-1 after one full inning of play. The home team proceeded to score in every inning it came to the plate. Leiphart's homer came in the third inning. Four runs in the fifth inning and six more in the sixth were the last two nails in the proverbial coffin. An Adams State grand slam in the top of the seventh frame made things a little tricky, but Semin came on and worked through a walk and a hit batter to get the final out.
 
NOTABLES
- Bilter's home run was his team-leading fifth of the season.
- Leiphart now has two long balls in 2026.
- Babcock and Pina both hit their first home runs of the year.
- Holcomb notched his first collegiate double, and Logan Burchfiel came off the bench to make is college baseball debut.
- Semin closing out the second game on Sunday marked his first appearance of 2026.
- Honeyman's four strikeouts against Adams State moved him to #12 on Mines' all-time list with 131 in his career.
- Head Coach Robby Bales is now 164-151 in his eighth season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines and Adams State finish their first conference series of the season on Monday with a noon doubleheader at Jim Darden Field.
 
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.