BILLINGS, Mont. – The Colorado School of Mines baseball team dropped two games Friday at MSU Billings by scores of 13-2 and 10-9 with the later coming in 11 innings.
On offense,
Alex Freund,
Jackson Babcock, and
Tyler Easter generated four hits apiece. Two of Babcock's hits were home runs as he posted two runs and four RBI. Freund and Easter each recorded a double and scored a total of three times. Also notable were three hits, three RBI and two runs for
Evan Bilter.
Tyler Hummel added a double to the box score as well.
Will Niles (1-6) was the starting pitcher in game one and took the loss despite surrendering just one earned one with zero walks across 4.0 innings.
Jackson Kay started on the mound in game two but took a no-decision.
Kenji Bray (3-2) was credited with the decision. Additional relief was provided by
Joseph Steidel,
Dillon Alcouffe,
Nicholas Spidel,
Alex Piscotty, and
Mateo Aldecocea.
Overall, Mines (17-31) batted .262 as a team while MSU Billings (26-20) hit .263. The Orediggers used two home runs and three doubles to slug .369. The Yellowjackets had three doubles, one triple, and one home run for a .362 slugging percentage. Nine defensive errors for Mines resulted in 12 unearned runs. The Oredigger pitching staff put up a combined ERA of 5.30. MSU Billings committed five errors in the field which allowed five unearned runs to score. The home pitching staff churned out a 2.70 ERA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tyler Pina drove in
Brody Duvall in the fourth inning, and Babcock hit a solo home run in the seventh inning. The long ball pulled Mines within three runs of the home team. However, MSU Billings stacked eight runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull away from the Orediggers in the 13-2 decision. Despite the lopsided score, Steidel still came out of the bullpen and used nine pitches for a flawless eighth inning on the mound.
Mines fell behind again in game two, trailing 6-0 after three full innings of action. Then, Hummel's one-run double in the sixth sparked an Oredigger rally. Babcock hit a three-run home run as part of a five-run outburst in the seventh inning. Bilter's two-run double in the eighth inning pushed the visitors ahead of the Yellowjackets, 8-6. The home team scratched out single runs in eighth and ninth frames to force extra innings. An MSU Billings' error in the 11th allowed Hummel to score, giving Mines a 9-8 lead. In the end, the Yellowjackets used a two-run home run to walk the Orediggers off in the bottom of the 11th.
NOTABLES
- Babcock now has six home runs this season and 13 as an Oredigger.
- Duvall surged to 81 hits on the year which ranks #6 in program history. His 63 runs in 2026 also rank #6 in program history.
- Head Coach
Robby Bales is now 176-171 in his eighth season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines and MSU Billings close their series and the regular season on Saturday with a single game at 4 p.m. in Montana.
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.
