CHADRON, Neb. – The Colorado School of Mines softball team polished off a four-game sweep of Chadron State Sunday afternoon, winning by scores of 10-0 and 8-1 to get themselves right back in the thick of postseason contention. Madyson Ortiz led the Orediggers (20-22, 16-16) on both sides of the ball in the opener, while in game two Katie Bauer brought the thunder as Ellen Shull stymied the Eagles (4-37, 4-28) in the circle on the way to running the team's winning streak to five games.
 
It was a battle of high school teammates in game one Sunday as Riverdale Ridge products Brynn Trujillo and Madyson Ortiz (5-5) squared off in the circle. Mines struck first when Kendall Aragon's one-out single cashed in a leadoff single to open the ballgame by Kellan Ton to take the early lead. The freshman pitchers continued to duel it out over the following innings as it remained a one-run game. Despite having several chances to add to their lead with runners in scoring position after the first inning, it wasn't until the fifth when the Orediggers managed to score again as Lauren Romero's single up the middle scored Sam Whisenand after she reached on an error to open the frame.
 
After a 1-2-3 home half by Ortiz, she flexed into the lineup in the sixth with two on and one out and worked a nine-pitch at bat that saw her foul off four consecutive pitches before delivering an opposite field shot over the left field fence for a three-run home run to make it a 5-0 lead. After the first two reached in the home sixth on an error and a hit by pitch, a mound visit settled Ortiz down as she retired the next three batters on seven pitches to end the inning.
 
Mines kept pouring it on in the seventh, scoring five runs behind a slew of substitutions. After a one-out bunt single by Aragon, Grace Weiler's double to left center made it 6-0 and spelled the end of the day for Trujillo. Pinch hitter Rylee Church stepped in to greet reliver McKenna Sides and immediately delivered an RBI single through the left side to make it a seven-run lead. A pinch hit walk by Taylor Wayne followed by an E1 off the bat of Mia Lopez saw pinch runner Kiyana Tsuei score as the lead moved to 8-0. Emily Rogers was next off the bench and needed just three pitches to deliver a two-run single to score Emiaj Self, who re-entered to run for Wayne, and Lopez. After a walk to Kylie Bickford, Sides was able to record the final two outs to prevent further damage. Ellen Shull came on to pitch the seventh working with a 10-run lead and after head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk and the plate umpire got the clerical work completed, action resumed. Shull's 13th appearance of the season was a quick one as working with new battery mate Ryen Herman, she needed only eight pitches to close things out and claim the series with a 10-0 win.
 
A three-run first inning in the finale set Mines out front early. After Kendall Aragon and Grace Weiler each worked their way aboard with two outs in the inning, Katie Bauer stepped in and homered to straightaway centerfield for the second home run of the afternoon. Kat Miller got the opening assignment in the circle and was tagged for a run by Chadron State in the bottom of the first as Sydney Lowery's single to right field scored Macie Selfors with two outs. A groundout to third ended the inning as Miller stranded a pair to limit the damage. After stranding two more Eagles in the second, Miller ceded the circle to Ellen Shull (2-2) in the third as she two had to navigate some traffic on the bases after a single and an error put two runners on base, but a force out at second ended the inning and kept it a 3-1 game.
 
The Orediggers hung another crooked number in the fourth, scoring four times to break things wide open. Lindy French led off with a single and was pinch run for by Mia Lopez at first base. After a sacrifice bunt, Sam Whisenand singled to shortstop to turn the lineup over with runners at the corners. Kellan Ton hit one on the ground back to pitcher Belle Akins, who checked Lopez back at third before throwing the ball away over the head of Brogan Allen at first base, allowing both Lopez and Whisenand to score as Ton ended up at second when the dust settled. After another sac bunt, Aragon hammered a double the other way to left center that scored Ton with ease and made it 6-1. Weiler stepped in next and beat out an infield single to Allen at first with a headfirst dive, while Aragon wheeled around from second with two outs to slide home safely and extend the lead to six at 7-1.
 
Chadron State threatened to mount an answer in the home fifth as another error and a hit by pitch put two runners on with one out. After a groundout to third put two in scoring position, Shull buckled down and got a lineout to Ton in left to get out of the inning unscathed. Heading to the sixth, the Mines offense went back to work as after reaching on an error to open the frame, Ton scored from third on a one-out single to left center by Aragon that made it a seven-run game. Pitching with a comfortable lead, Shull worked a six-pitch sixth before leaving a runner in the seventh as a 4-6-3 double play closed the book on series sweep with an 8-1 win in the finale.
 
NOTABLES
-Ortiz struck out two and scattered four hits over six shutout innings in the circle in the opener while also adding her first career home run at the plate on her second hit of the season; she's now the ninth Oredigger to hit a home run this season,
-Bauer reclaimed the team lead with her third home run of the season in the finale, as she went 5-7 Sunday thanks to 2-3 with a run in game one before going 3-4 with three RBI and a run in game two
-Ton saw her hitting streak end at 11 games in the finale but did go 2-3 with two stolen bases and a run scored in the opener while adding a stolen base and two runs to close out the weekend
-With a pair of steals in game one Sunday, Ton also reset her own single-season stolen base record and following the weekend now has 29 stolen bases in 2026 and 81 in her career
-Shull made two scoreless appearances in relief Sunday, working a 1-2-3 seventh in the opener to close things out before picking up her second win of 2026 with her longest outing of the season, going five shutout innings in relief with a strikeout and allowing just four hits
-Aragon went 5-8 at the plate Sunday with three RBI, three runs scored and a double while stealing a base in each game
-Weiler hit safely and a drove in a run in each game Sunday
-Church recorded the first base hit of her career with her pinch hit RBI single in the seventh inning in game one
-Miller allowed a run on two hits with a strikeout in two innings of work in her start in the finale
-Morgan Stewart made her second appearance of the season as she recorded her first career plate appearance pinch hitting in game one Sunday
-Nina Sammoury also made her second appearance of the season, pinch running in the sixth inning in the finale
-Lucy Herston also made her second appearance of the season with a pinch hit appearance in the seventh inning of game two
-On the weekend, Mines pitching held Chadron State to .170 (17-100) at the plate with a 0.25 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 28 innings of work
-Another single-season team record went by the wayside Sunday, as with eight stolen bases on the afternoon Mines broke the stolen bases record of 86 set in 2023 with 91 acts of larceny and counting
-The Orediggers improved to 8-0 on the season when playing on a natural surface
-Head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk has now hit the 20-win mark for the second time at Mines and the ninth time in her 13 seasons at the collegiate level
-Following the conclusion of play Sunday, Mines is now 16-16 in RMAC play, one game behind Black Hills State for sixth place in the standings
 
ON DECK
The Orediggers are back on the road next weekend for the second leg of their two-week road trip at Adams State April 18-19.
 
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.