COLORADO SPRINGS – Sunday's baseball doubleheader saw Mines drop a pair of games to UCCS by scores of 17-16 and 8-4 as the Oredigger and Mountain Lions closed out their RMAC series.
Alex Dunagan had the hot bat for the visitors, hitting. 667 with three runs on six hits including two doubles and one home run with four RBI.
Evan Bilter bated .556 with three runs thanks to two doubles and one home run with three RBI.
Jackson Babcock,
Brody Duvall, and
Tyler Pina all posted four-hit days with respective batting averages of .444. Duvall scored five times and Babcock had five RBI. Pina and Babcock both hit home runs.
Tyler Easter also went long.
Jackson Kay and
Will Niles were the starting pitchers. Kay did not factor in the decision for his game as
Nicholas Spidel (0-1) took the loss. Niles (1-5) wore his decision after one inning of action on the mound. Other relief pitchers for Mines included
Matthew Turner,
Kenji Bray,
Tai Nguyen, and
Mateo Aldecocea.
Sunday's losses provided UCCS (29-12-1, 18-5-1 RMAC) a series sweep after hitting .437 on the day. The Orediggers (15-27, 12-16 RMAC) batted .370 and slugged .740 courtesy of 12 doubles and five home runs. Six doubles, one triple, and five home runs for the home team afforded UCCS a .761 slugging percentage. Two defensive errors for Mines resulted in two unearned runs. The Mountain Lions committed three errors which led to three unearned runs. Mines' pitchers struck out 12 and walked 10. The UCCS arms struck out six and walked three.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mines found itself facing a 12-4 deficit after three full innings to start Sunday's doubleheader. The Orediggers bounced back with one run in the fourth, six runs in the fifth, two in the sixth, and two in the seventh inning to take 15-13 lead. Home runs off the bats of Dunagan, Pina, Babcock, Easter, and Bilter fueled the rally. Three UCCS runs after the stretch pushed the home team back into the lead. Then, Dunagan hit a one-run single in the top of the ninth and tied the game at 16-16. However, the second pitch in the bottom of the ninth ended with a solo, walk-off home run for the Mountain Lions.
Game two of the day and the fourth of the series was unlike any other installment on the weekend. Three full innings of action saw UCCS leading 3-1 despite another Dunagan double. The Mountain Lions made it 4-1 after four full innings. Babcock's double to right field in the fifth cut Mines' deficit to 4-2. One run in the bottom of the fifth and a trio in the sixth gave UCCS an 8-2 cushion. Babcock put a ball in play with bases loaded and brought
Ben Leiphart in to score. Then, Bilter doubled to right-center and made the score 8-4. That was all the offense remaining as a fly ball ended the game before darkness became a factor.
NOTABLES
- Bilter's home run was his seventh of the season and 13th of his college career.
- Dunagan now has six home runs in 2026 and 11 as an Oredigger.
- Pina registered his third home run this spring and 16th at Mines.
- Babcock, a sophomore, touts three home runs this season and 10 in his college career.
- Easter's home run was his first of the season and second at Mines.
- With 21 doubles in 2026, Dunagan is tied for #6 in the Oredigger record book.
- Bilter is tied with Mikey Gangwish for career doubles with 45 in less than three active seasons and moved up to #14 in career RBI.
- Duvall's 72 hits have him tied for #11 in Mines' record book, and he's tied for #16 in single-season runs.
- Duvall also has a hit in 12 consecutive games.
- Furthermore, Duvall has reached base safely in 14 straight games and Bilter touts a reached-base streak of 12 games.
- Head Coach
Robby Bales is now 174-167 in his eighth season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts Colorado Christian next weekend 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.
