Mines (13-21, 9-15) vs. Black Hills State (19-16, 16-8) – Friday , 12 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network PPV] [Tickets]
Mines (13-21, 9-15) vs. Black Hills State (19-16, 16-8) – Saturday, 11 a.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network PPV] [Tickets]

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CLOSING THE HOME STAND
Five consecutive weekends from Golden comes to an end for the Colorado School of Mines softball team this weekend as they welcome Black Hills State to town ahead of the Easter weekend for Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action to begin the month of April.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
This weekend's games will be available for purchase on the RMAC Network. Alex Becker will have the call Friday with Kienan Dixon on the mic Saturday. Free live stats will be available as well. Links for video and stats can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
FAN ADVISORY
For fans planning to attend Friday's game, a reminder that on-campus parking will be enforced until 5 p.m. In order to avoid parking citations, fans will need to pay for parking.
 
RMAC NETWORK CHANGES
As was announced on June 30, this year the RMAC Network is moving to a pay-per-view model for all events beginning with the 2025-26 season.
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. For technical support questions, fans may submit a support ticket with Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.
 
WEEKEND WEATHER REPORT
It will be cooler for this weekend's action against Black Hills State and, at least on Friday, much windier. The forecast for the opening day of the series calls for a high of 51 and partly sunny skies, with winds out of the northwest at 20-30 miles per hour. Saturday will be sunny and clear with a high around 60 with winds dropping to 5-10 miles per hour.
 
AT THE HELM
2026 will be the second season of the Tobin Echo-Hawk era in Golden as the Orediggers look to return to the postseason after missing out in 2025. In Echo-Hawk's first season, Mines went 22-32 overall and 21-22 in the RMAC. The 2026 season will be Echo-Hawk's 13th as a head coach at the NCAA level which has included stops at Portland State and UTEP as she sports a career record of 287-387 (.426). Eight times her teams have won 20 or more games in a season and twice recorded 30-win seasons as she looks to elevate the Orediggers in 2026 and beyond.
 
JOINING THE STAFF
Some new faces will be in the dugout this spring for Mines as Zoe Bacon joined the program as the top assistant in the summer of 2025. Most recently the assistant coach at St. Edward's University in Texas, Bacon will work primarily with the pitching staff this season. Get to know Coach Bacon more ahead of the 2026 season here. Also joining the program in a more prominent role this season is Jordan Ruiz, who was a part-time assistant last fall.
 
WEEK 9 RECAP
Mines split their four-game set with Regis last weekend, taking games two and three 4-3 and 11-1 in five innings while dropping the series opener and finale 11-2 in five innings and 8-5. Kellan Ton shined at the plate batting .571 with seven RBI and four runs scored along with a double and a triple while Grace Weiler batted .556 with a double and three RBI. Sam Whisenand hit .500 and stole three bases while Kendall Aragon batted .417 with three extra-base hits and scored four times. Rylee Church led things in the circle, picking up her second career win and in game two and striking out eight over 11 innings in two appearances. Madyson Ortiz also picked up a win on the weekend and worked 7.2 innings across two outings.
 
MEET THE CAPTAINS
A new year means a new group of captains as in 2026 Kendall Aragon, Taylor Wayne, Lauren Romero, Emiaj Self, Lindy French and Kylie Bickford will be leading the way on the field this spring.
 
Aragon has been an undisputed leader for the Orediggers since her arrival in 2023 and has been of the best defensive outfielders and hitters in the RMAC during her time at Mines. Last season she led the team ranked near the top of the conference with a .409 average while slugging .454 with 16 doubles, four triples and two home runs while scoring 43, driving in 38 and stealing 12 bases as she posted career numbers across the season on her way to Second Team All-RMAC honors. Go ahead and pencil Aragon's name into the lineup in center field and somewhere in the top half of the batting order this weekend.
 
After missing all of 2024 with injury, Wayne returned to action in 2025 and made 16 starts in 27 appearances on her way to a 7-9 season with a 5.43 ERA and 57 strikeouts over 120 innings of work. She led the team in strikeouts and innings pitched and spun 10 complete game efforts while recording statistical bests across the board. She also hit .200 at the plate while seeing some late-season action in right field. The fifth-year senior will bring valuable experience to a deep pitching staff this spring as she looks to lead the Orediggers back to the postseason.
 
Romero quietly had herself a stellar sophomore season as she took over duties at third base full-time as the season went on. She started 37 times in 41 games and posted a strong second half to close the year fourth on the team with a .337 average, four doubles, a triple, 19 runs and nine RBI. Entering her junior season, Romero will remain a fixture on the Mines infield and may slide over to second base in 2026.
 
In her debut season in 2025, Self emerged as the everyday starter at shortstop for the Orediggers and finished third on the team with a .349 batting average and posted 10 doubles, five triples, 24 RBI and 31 runs scored. Her five triples were tied for the sixth-most in a single season, three of which came on the final day of the season against New Mexico Highlands.
 
French started 31 of 33 games in her debut season before having things cut short with an injury at the end of March. Despite missing the final 21 games of the year, French batted .341/.363/.364 with two double, 10 runs and eight RBI while platooning between second and third base. She led the team in batting average for the first month of the season and went 7-11 in her first weekend of action in 2025. The Festus, Missouri native returns to action this weekend and figures to see time around the infield in 2026, particularly at first base.
 
Following a strong fall, Bickford will factor into the Orediggers' plans this spring right away as a true freshman at the hot corner. A second-generation Mines student with family ties to the softball program, the Littleton native was a three-time All-Conference selection at the prep level and batted .393 with a .466 OBP while also fielding .960 defensively.
 
IN THE POLLS
Mines was voted to finish sixth in the RMAC in January's Preseason Coaches' Poll. Defending champions Colorado Christian was picked to repeat as champions ahead of Colorado Mesa. MSU Denver was voted third followed by UCCS and CSU Pueblo to round out the top five.
 
EARNING THAT SILVER
A pair of Orediggers have already earned one silver-plated diploma and are working on their second as they wrap up their careers in 2026. Fifth-year pitcher Taylor Wayne wrapped up her undergraduate work in Mechanical Engineering last May and is now working toward a graduate degree in the same field. Senior outfielder Kendall Aragon meanwhile picked up her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering in just three years and is now working on a Master's in STEM Education.
 
ONE OF THE BEST
One of the most prolific hitters in program history, Kendall Aragon enters 2026 with her name on several lists in the program record book. Presently, the Legacy High School alum ranks third all-time in career batting average at .394 (235-596) and now resides alone in sixth on the all-time hits list, having passed Katie Kocman (2006-09) and her mark of 223. She now sets her sights on fifth all-time currently held by Paige Noerhing (2014-17) with 239 hits. Her 16 doubles from last season are tied for the eighth-most in a single season while she owns three career hitting streaks of 10 games or more including a 15-game streak that's the seventh-longest all-time, and is the only player in program history to have three such hitting streaks.
 
RMAC RESET
With Colorado Christian seemingly running away with the regular season title at 24-0, CSU Pueblo is trying to chase them down in second with a record of 19-5 in league play. MSU Denver and Colorado Mesa both dropped into a tie for third after series losses over the weekend and stand at 17-7. Black Hills State is fifth at 16-8 while UCCS holds the coveted sixth spot at 14-10. Mines is five games back of the Mountain Lions at 9-15 and two games up on Regis at 7-17. New Mexico Highlands and Adams State are both 6-18 while Fort Lewis has moved out of the basement as they improved to 5-19 while Chadron State slid to 12th at 4-20.
 
THE MOST EXCITING PLAY IN SOFTBALL (TWICE!)
Last Saturday's series opener against Regis saw something that never previously happened in the history of Mines softball,l as Lauren Romero and Kellan Ton each recorded their first career home runs on inside-the-park home runs. Ton raced around the bases to lead off the home first inning as a low-liner to right field got over the head of the Regis right fielder and rolled all the way to the fence. Romero's race around the bases came with one out in the third, as her sinking liner to left snuck under the glove of the left fielder and rolled into the corner allowing her to wheel around the bases. While inside-the-park home runs aren't that common, Mines already has three this season after Emily Rogers recorded one on the first Sunday of the season in Texas. Looking back through program records, while there have been plenty of multi-home run games by multiple individuals, Saturday is believed to be the first time that two players have recorded inside-the-park home runs in the same game in program history.
 
WHITE-HOT WEILER
As the Orediggers look to make a second-half push and contend for a spot in the RMAC Tournament, Grace Weiler figures to factor into the mix after her performance over the last two weekends. In two games against CCU and four games against Regis, Weiler has jumped in defensively and played well at first base but has been even better at dish, batting .500 (8-16) with three multi-hit outings, two doubles and four RBI including pair of clutch pinch hit appearances that resulted in runs. Now batting .333 on the season with three doubles and six RBI, Weiler may have forced her name into the starting conversation more heading down the stretch.
 
BAUER POWER
Katie Bauer's first season as an everyday player continues to be a productive one. Sunday against the Regis, the fourth-year junior belted her team-leading 10th double of the season and now has 14 extra-base hits bolstered by two home runs and two triples on her way to a .610 slugging percentage. Nearly half of Bauer's hits this season have gone for extra bases and most of them have resulted in runs as she's tied for the team lead with 21 RBI.
 
SWITCHING IT UP
Keen-eyed observers of the Orediggers may have noticed something different this weekend when they saw Sam Whisenand step up to the plate in game two of Saturday's doubleheader against Regis. That's because earlier this season, after hitting .270 and three home runs from the right side of the plate to start her career, Whisenand changed things up and converted to a left-handed slap hitter prior to the Fort Lewis series in late February. Making her first home appearance from the left side of the box, Whisenand hit safely in each of the final three games of the series, going 3-6 at the dish and 3-3 on stolen bases. In fact since her lefty debut in Durango, Whisenand is batting .400 with a walk in five games. The early returns may be a limited sample size, but definitely seem promising.
 
NEAR THE TOP
Mines ranks first in the conference with 23 triples heading into week seven of action and are fourth with 64 stolen bases. Their .964 fielding percentage fourth in the RMAC, while their 4.89 ERA is sixth in the conference.
 
Individually, Kellan Ton is 10th in the league with a .410 batting average and is third with 23 stolen bases. Emiaj Self and Kellan Ton are tied for second in the RMAC with five triples while Emily Rogers is right behind in a tie for fourth. Katie Bauer is tied for seventh in the league with 10 doubles after action with Regis. Mines also boasts three pitchers in the top 20 in ERA as Rylee Church is 11th at 3.55 followed by Taylor Wayne in 15th at 4.09 with Madyson Ortiz in 17th at 4.49. Ortiz is also fourth in fewest walks allowed this season with 13.
 
FASTEST WOMAN IN GOLDEN
Back in February against UCCS, Kellan Ton took a step into history as she passed Renata Boyd (2020-23) for the Mines program record for stolen bases with 59. Heading into this week against Black Hills State, Ton is up to 23 stolen bases in 34 games in 2026 and is now has 75 in 134 games for her career. And oh by the way, she's just a junior. By the time Ton is done terrorizing teams on the bases when she hangs it up, she's got potential to set a mark that will stand for a long time.
 
CHECKING THE STAT SHEET
Kellan ton continues to top the stat sheet with a .410 average and 28 runs, two doubles five triples, a home run and 13 RBI while going 23-27 on stolen bases. Kendall Aragon is heating up and is batting .385 with nine doubles, two triples, a home run and 19 RBI ahead of Katie Bauer, who is batting .366 and slugging .610 with 10 doubles, two triples and two home runs while tying for the team lead with 21 RBI. Emily Rogers is batting .292 after her fifth double of the season Sunday to go with four triples, two home runs, 12 RBI and an 11-12 season on the bases. Lauren Romero is up to .290 on the season with five doubles, a home run and 13 RBI and is on the cusp of double-digit steals with nine. Emiaj Self rounds out a group of six regulars with 30 or more starts by batting .258 with seven doubles, five triples and a home run as 13 of her 25 hits have been for extra bases and tied her with Bauer in runs batted in with 21.
 
Grace Weiler, Sydney Pendowski and Sam Whisenand are all batting .333 and have seen more action in recent weeks. Weiler has three doubles and six RBI from first base, while Pendowski and Whisenand have split time in right field with the former posting two doubles, two triples and driving in seven and the latter going 6-6 on stolen bases. Kylie Bickford has also come on lately and is batting .298 with three doubles, a triple and a home run with six RBI while freshman running mate Miquela Tammaro is batting .273 with three doubles, a triple and eight RBI as a pinch hitter and as the designated player.
 
Looking in the circle, Rylee Church now leads the way with a 3.55 ERA and a 2-3 record in 12 appearances with two starts for 43.1 innings and is tops on the team with 35 strikeouts and a .285 BAA. Taylor Wayne will look to shrug off a tough weekend against Regis as she's 5-7 in 17 appearances with four starts and a 4.09 ERA in a team-leading 77 innings pitched with 24 strikeouts and a .296 BAA. Madyson Ortiz is 3-5 with a save in 12 games with six starts for 48.1 innings and has struck out 27 on her way to a 4.49 ERA. Kat Miller is 2-3 in 12 appearances with seven starts for 30.1 innings and has struck out 14 in that span while posting a 6.23 ERA. Ellen Shull is 1-2 in 11 appearances including five starts for 23.2 innings and has five strikeouts, while Ariana Hughes has appeared twice for two innings.
 
On the season, Mines is batting .303 with a .379 on-base percentage and is slugging .448. They have been outscored 196-159 this season and have recorded 84 extra-base hits (51 2B, 23 3B, 10 HR) while going 64-74 on the bases. The pitching staff has worked a 4.89 ERA over 224.2 innings and struck out 105 against 154 free passes and posted a .315 BAA. Defensively Mines is fielding .964 with 37 errors in 1,035 chances.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
The Yellow Jackets are coming off an impressive series win over MSU Denver at home last weekend, taking three of four from the Roadrunners to maintain fifth in the conference standings. Over their last 16 games, BHSU is 13-3.
 
A top five offensive team in the RMAC in most categories, the Yellow Jackets feature five regulars batting better than .350 on the season led by freshman Brooklyn Theiler and her mark of .407 with 20 runs, two doubles, a triple, 11 RBI and eight stole bases. Carly Reyes Mims is batting .381 and slugging .638 thanks to eight doubles, two triples and five home runs with 19 RBI and is also 10-10 on the bases. Sammie Kaufman-Warner is hitting .362 and leads the team in doubles, home run and RBI with 11, six and 35 respectively and is slugging .612. Desi Hernandez enters the week batting .355 with five doubles, five home runs and two triples to go with 26 RBI while Alyssa Wong is batting .301 with three doubles.
 
Caylee Mann checks in with 10 doubles and 24 RBI to back a .298 average while Lily Simmons is hitting .286 with two doubles, two homers, 19 RBI and eight stolen bases. Audrey Fouras is hitting just .197, but has been effective with nine of her 13 hits going for extra bases (7 2B, 2 HR) and driving in 15. Off the bench Carli Maley is batting .351 with six extra-base knocks including three home runs and has driven in 13. Delaney Milanowski is also one to watch with a .271 mark in limited action highlighted by four extra-base hits and 10 RBI.
 
The departure of RMAC Pitcher of the Year Laci Peskey hasn't seemed to affect the BHSU pitching staff in 2026 as Division I transfer Sophia Honse has emerged as the team leader in the circle. The Western Illinois transfer is 5-1 on the season in 14 appearances with six starts and has featured more in recent weeks as she sports a 3.53 ERA in 39.2 innings of work with 24 strikeouts, 24 walks and a .287 BAA. Kaitlyn Geschwill is 10-6 in 24 outings with 12 starts as the staff workhorse as she owns a 4.56 ERA with 87 strikeouts and a .284 BAA om 89 innings. Paige Goodell is 2-3 in 13 games with 11 starts for 47.1 innings and a 5.92 ERA with 27 strikeouts and 29 walks. Dakota Poag is 2-6 in 16 appearances with six starts and carries a 6.77 ERA in 50.2 innings with 36 strikeouts and 36 walks, while Skylar Bedlan rounds the staff out with two appearances for 1.2 innings.
 
As a team, Black Hills State is batting .315 with a .404 on-base percentage and is slugging .481. They have outscored teams this season 213-209 and have amassed 96 extra-base hits (60 2B, 8 3B, 28 HR) and are 44-53 on stolen base attempts. The pitching staff has a 5.15 ERA in 228.1 innings pitched and has struck out 175 while issuing 164 free passes and holding teams to a .312 BAA. Defensively, BHSU ranks 11th of 12 teams in the RMAC with a .942 fielding percentage and is tied for the league lead in errors with 59 in 1,023 chances.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Last season, Mines took three of four from the Yellow Jackets in a series in which they were the visiting team on their home field after the weekend was moved from Spearfish due to weather conditions. The Orediggers took games one, two and four 4-2, 10-7 and 7-2 with a close 8-7 loss in game three. Mines leads the all-time series 34-11-1 and is 18-6 when playing as the home team.

ON DECK
Mines ends the regular season with three of four weekends on the road, starting with at two-week road trip at Chadron State next weekend April 11-12.
 
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.