GOLDEN, Colo. – Ben Leiphart, Joe Reitz, and Luke Parker were the stars for Mines baseball Friday as the Orediggers defeated CSU Pueblo 14-13 and 5-2 during their doubleheader at Jim Darden Field.
 
Leiphart helped complete a comeback victory by tying game one with a three-run double. Reitz delivered the walk-off hit in the same game. Parker (2-1) started game two and pitched all seven innings, giving up just two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Brody Duvall added to the home highlights on offense by batting .857 across the two games while scoring three runs with two RBI and one double. Reitz finished his day hitting .667 with one run and two RBI on two hits. Tyler Easter swung the bat at a .500 clip and accumulated one run, two doubles, and five RBI. Tyler Pina and Justin Holcomb also posted .500 batting averages. Evan Bilter scored three times as well.
 
Parker's performance on the mound topped the list of pitching highlights. Will Niles was the starting arm in game one but departed after 2.2 innings and didn't factor in the decision. Dillon Alcouffe (1-0) earned the game-one victory after providing one flawless out on three pitches of relief. Nicholas Spidel and Matthew Turner came out of the bullpen as well. Spidel posted a 0.00 ERA across 1.1 innings of work. Turner struck out three and walked two across 2.2 innings on the mound. Clayden Brandon (0-1) and Luke Ruby (2-1) took the losing decisions for the visitors.
 
Overall, the Orediggers (12-21, 9-10 RMAC) hit .393 as a team and slugged .518 thanks to 22 hits including seven doubles. The ThunderWolves posted a .322 batting average and slugged .525 with three doubles and three home runs. Four errors in the first game hindered CSU Pueblo. Mines committed two errors in the field, both in the first game as well. The home pitching staff combined for a 9.00 ERA thanks to 11 strikeouts and nine walks. The visiting arms had a 10.66 ERA after striking out 10 and walking 13.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After two turns at the plate, CSU Pueblo owned a 10-1 lead in the first game of the day and the second of the series. Seven runs in the first and a three-run home run in the second accounted for the visitors' advantage. Despite the overwhelming odds, Mines didn't quit. An error in the bottom of the first allowed Bilter to score. Dunagan plated Leiphart with a single in the second as well. That made the score 10-2.
 
Meanwhile, the Orediggers' defense and pitchers quieted the ThunderWolves' bats and the offense continued to tally runs in every inning. The third frame featured a Leiphart single which scored Pina. The fourth inning brought a three-run double off the bat of Easter and suddenly the score was 10-6. Bilter's two-run double in the fifth inning cut the gap to two runs at 10-8. A single run for CSU Pueblo came on an error and a wild pitch in the top of the sixth, but didn't slow the "Big Blue Machine." Reitz singled in the bottom of the sixth inning and Pina scored again. Duvall made it back-to-back, RBI-singles as Tyler Hummel came across the plate and made the score 11-10. When CSU Pueblo smashed a two-run home run in the top of the seventh, the score became 13-10, but Mines didn't blink an eye.
 
Bilter started the bottom of the last frame with a walk before the ThunderWolves found their first out. Then, Easter hit a one-out double to put baserunners on second and third. Pina worked a walk and that loaded the bases with one out in the Orediggers' last scheduled turn at bat. The visitors made a pitching change and immediately got their second out by way of strikeout. After Owen Elser entered as a pinch runner, Leiphart stepped to the plate with the game on the line. He hit the first pitch of his at-bat to left-center field. As the ball rolled to the fence, Elser, Easter, and Bilter all raced across the plate and tied the game at 13, but the rally wasn't over. Reitz came to the plate and wasted no time. He laced the first pitch he saw through the right side. Leiphart got on his proverbial horse and ran what might have been the fastest 180 feet of his life to score the game-winning run in walk-off fashion.
 
After the thrilling roller coaster of game one, the second game of the day and third of the series took on a very different tone early in the action. Parker worked around two hits in the first inning and one in the second for a pair of zeroes on the scoreboard. On the other side, CSU Pueblo held Mines hitless through the first two frames. The ThunderWolves used two hits in the top of the third to take a 1-0 lead, but the advantage wouldn't last long. Two walks in the bottom of the third kept the no-hit bid alive for the visitors. Bilter quickly ended that by laying down a one-out bunt that The Pack's catcher couldn't get to in time. The bunt single also loaded the bases and Pina delivered a wind-blown single down the left-field line – tying the game, 1-1. Easter's first-pitch single brought in two more runs and made the score 3-1 in favor of the Orediggers. Then, Parker and Mines' defense closed the door.
 
Parker used eight pitches for the first two outs of the fourth inning and worked around a walk and a double to fan the final out of the frame. Dunagan's double in the bottom of the same inning plated Duvall and provided insurance for Mines. The top of the fifth inning required just 10 pitchers from Parker as he worked a ground-out, foul-out, and a strikeout – retiring the ThunderWolves in order. Another 1-2-3 frame in the sixth put the Orediggers just three outs away from clinching the series. Duvall made it even easier for Mines by hitting a single in the bottom half and scoring Alex Freund for a 5-1 lead. A leadoff home run in the seventh muddied the waters. However, Parker bounced back with a three-pitch pop-up to Hummel at shortstop before Freund tracked down a line drive at the fence in right field. Two pitches later, Hummel scooped up a groundball and ended the game.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines improved to 45-54 against CSU Pueblo dating back to 2007.
- The Orediggers are now 7-3 in their last 10 meetings with the ThunderWolves.
- Duvall recorded a hit a six consecutive at-bats from Thursday night into Saturday afternoon. He went 4-for-4 in game one on Friday and now has three four-hit games this spring.
- Alcouffe's win on the mound was the first of his college career, marking a remarkable comeback for the Mines senior.
- Parker made his first collegiate start on the mound, making Friday his first complete game as an Oredigger. His previous longest outing was 4.0 innings of relief at CSU Pueblo in 2025.
- Parker's performance boosted him to #1 on the team in ERA and #2 in strikeouts with 24 in 24.0 innings.
- Dunagan now has 15 doubles in 2026.
- Mines has won three straight games without hitting a home run.
- Elser recorded his first stolen base at Mines.
- Head Coach Robby Bales is now 171-161 in his eighth season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines and CSU Pueblo close their series Sunday at noon 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.