Mines (12-22, 9-11 RMAC) at Regis (13-20-1, 4-11-1 RMAC) – Friday, 3 p.m. – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (12-22, 9-11 RMAC) at Regis (13-20-1, 4-11-1 RMAC) – Saturday, 12 p.m. – Doubleheader – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (12-22, 9-11 RMAC) at Regis (13-20-1, 4-11-1 RMAC) – Sunday, 12 p.m. – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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LOCAL ROAD TRIP
The Oredigger baseball team returns to action this weekend with a four-game, RMAC series at Regis. Mines will make the quick trip east on I-70 for Friday's opener at 3 p.m. Saturday calls for a doubleheader at 12 p.m. On Sunday, the Orediggers and Rangers face off in the series finale at 12 p.m. Mines is fresh off a series win and looking for more as the Orediggers attempt to cement their spot in the top-four of the conference standings.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Fans can watch all Oredigger home games and conference contests with a subscription to the RMAC Network. There will also be free live stats linked above and at www.minesathletics.com. Miles Dunklin will provide play-by-play for a majority of the Orediggers' home contests.
 
WEATHER FORECAST
There is a small chance of precipitation every day this weekend with the percentage peaking at 35 on Saturday. Friday and Saturday both project cloudy skies but tolerable temperatures in the low- to mid-70s. Sunday clears to partly-cloudy skies and a high of 75 degrees with just a 10-percent chance of rain. It's Colorado in the spring so fans should be prepared for anything.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines hosted CSU Pueblo last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Jim Darden Field. The Orediggers won the opener on Thursday in a back-and-forth, 14-12 decision. Grady Booth was the winning pitcher and Alex Piscotty got the save. Brody Duvall was 4-for-6 at the plate with a triple, three runs and three RBI. On Saturday, Mines walked the ThunderWolves off in game one of the doubleheader thanks Ben Leiphart's three-run double and Joe Reitz's game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh, clinching a 14-13 victory. Dillon Alcouffe needed just three pitches for one out to get the win in relief. Mines then clinched the series in game two of the doubleheader behind Luke Parker's complete-game effort on the mound. He surrendered just two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Alex Dunagan hit a double and Tyler Easter drove in two. The visiting ThunderWolves dodged a sweep by winning on Sunday, 10-6. Alex Dunagan and Jackson Babcock both hit home runs and Brody Duvall powered out two doubles. Jackson Kay provided a brilliant start on the mound, but took a no-decision. Kenji Bray wore the loss.
 
SCOUTING REGIS
Regis, like Mines, scores plenty of runs but sometimes struggles to get outs which has led to an overall record of 13-20-1 with a conference mark of 4-11-1. Last weekend, the Rangers split their series with Colorado Christian in Lakewood, winning the first two games 12-6 and 21-6 before falling 6-3 and 14-10 for a total of 78 runs in the series. Prior to that, RU also split with CSU Pueblo but was swept by MSU Denver and went 0-3-1 at UCCS. Individually, Ethan Wood leads Regis at the plate with his .474 batting average which ranks #4 in the nation. He's scored 48 runs with six doubles, 10 home runs and 45 RBI while walking 23 times. Also notable is Jack Moulin who's hitting .365 with 10 doubles, two triples, and seven home runs. On the mound, Rocco Harmon is the defending RMAC Pitcher of the Week after spinning eight innings at Colorado Christian. For the season, he's 2-2 with a 3.63 ERA thanks to 19 strikeouts and six walks in 22.1 innings of work. Harmon has held opposing hitters to a .190 average in four appearances and three starts.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines and Regis played a non-conference series earlier this season. Three of the four contests were thrilling affairs that all went to the Rangers. They won 17-13 in Golden on Friday. Then, RU won 12-11 and 13-12 in Denver on Saturday. Sunday's finale was a 24-9, run-rule victory back in Golden. That pushed Regis to 48-36 in the series since 2009. The last time the Orediggers took a game off the Rangers was in 2024 in a 12-5 victory in Denver. That was part of a series split. Mines' last series win against RU was 2018. The two teams split their RMAC set in 2019 and 2022 with the 2020 and 2021 seasons impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
THE RETURNERS
The 2026 roster for Oredigger baseball features 19 players who saw action for Mines in 2025. That list includes 10 bats and nine arms with Luke Parker touting experience at the plate and on the mound. Highlighting the group of veterans at the plate are Evan Bilter, Tyler Hummel, Jackson Babcock, and Tyler Pina. Bilter, Hummel, and Babcock had the top three batting averages among everyday players on the team last year with Pina serving as the starting catcher and a 2024 Second-Team All-RMAC selection. On the mound, the Orediggers will benefit from returning starters Will Niles, Alex Honeyman, and Grady Booth who all started at least nine games in 2025.  
 
FRESH FACES
Mines Baseball Head Coach Robby Bales put in work during the offseason and brought in 19 fresh faces to bolster the Oredigger roster. The list of newcomers includes 14 true freshmen and four transfers, and one familiar face who worked his way back on the team. Logan Burchfiel, Owen Elser, Justin Kubojiri, Owen Hicks, Keyan Lundvall, Tai Nguyen, Justin Holcomb, Brandon Schaff, Alex Piscotty, Drew Fairman, Matthew Turner, Mateo Aldecocea, Brady Syers, and Sam Strong are the true freshmen. Alex Freund (College of the Canyons), Dylan Burke (Sacramento City College), Jake Verwiel (San Francisco), and William Schulte (Johnson County CC) represent the transfer class. Dillon Alcouffe was a member of the Mines squad in 2023 and 2024. He rejoined the team this fall.
 
IN THE PROS
Over the last eight years, three Orediggers have entered baseball's professional ranks. Mikey Gangwish (2016-19) was the first as he played professionally in Australia before returning to a contract with the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League. He has since retired and earned his master's degree at Mines. The second was Trevor Kehe (2017-19) who was drafted in the 36th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. He worked in the Orioles organization for three years and advanced as far as High-A ball with the Aberdeen IronBirds before retiring. Rounding out the trio is Walter Pennington (2017-20).
 
WALTER PENNINGTON
Walter Pennington is currently a free agent. He was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Royals in the summer of 2020. Pennington spent 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 in the Royals' minor league system where he found success including a nod to the International (AAA) All-Star team. In 2024, Pennington made his MLB debut with the Royals against the Rockies at Coors Field, just miles from his childhood home. That appearance made the Broomfield, Colo., native just the second Mines player to ever make the big leagues and the first in over a century. Eventually, Pennington was traded to the Texas Rangers for known-veteran Michael Lorenzen. Pennington moved between triple-A Round Rock and the Rangers' big-league club. For the year, the lefty's big-league resume featured a 1-0 record with a 3.00 ERA in 16 games and one start. He struck out 17 and walked 11 across 18.0 innings of work. Last year, Pennington was moved from the Texas Rangers to the Baltimore Orioles where he was eventually designated for assignment as he worked through injuries. Pennington was recently released by the Chesapeake Baysox, the double-A affiliate of the Orioles.
 
THE SKIPPER
The 2026 campaign marks Mines' eighth season with Robby Bales as head coach. During his tenure as the Oredigger skipper, Bales holds an overall record of 168-153 with a mark of 109-99 in RMAC play. He has coached his players to 27 All-RMAC awards, 19 all-region awards, eight all-America nods, seven CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, one MLB Draft Pick and had one player signed as a free agent in the MLB. Furthermore, Bales touts two RMAC Pitchers of the Year during his time at the helm including RMAC Pitcher of the Year, NCBWA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year, D2CCA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year and the RMAC's all-time wins leader in Tyler Blomster. Additionally, Bales has guided Mines to the NCAA Tournament once, and RMAC Tournament four times, advancing to the regional and conference tournament final in 2019. Bales' teams have also performed in the classroom as the squad brought home the RMAC Brechler Award in 2020, 2021, and 2023 as the team boasting the highest combined GPA in the conference.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines' heads to UCCS April 17-19. Fans can watch the series with a subscription to the RMAC Network. There will also be free live stats at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines baseball on Twitter at @OrediggersBSB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.