BILLINGS, Mont. – Hot bats and solid pitching helped Mines baseball claim a 13-4 win Saturday at MSU Billings in both teams' regular-season finale.
Jackson Babcock and
Evan Bilter were the leaders at the plate. Babcock went 3-for-6 with two runs and one RBI. Bilter was 3-for-4 with two runs and five RBI thanks to a three-run home run.
Tyler Pina added a two-hit day with a double.
Brody Duvall and
Luke Parker had multiple hits in the game as well.
Alex Freund hit a home run and scored three times. Duvall scored twice and stole a base. Tyle Hummel added a stolen base too. Every Oredigger batter recorded at least one hit and contributed to the scoring of at least one run, or more.
Matthew Turner and
Tai Nguyen proved more than effective on the mound. Turner (1-2) started the game and earned the win. He lasted 5.0 innings and gave up four runs (two earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Nguyen (2) earned the save thanks to 4.0 innings of shutout relief. He gave up just two hits, walked four batters, and struck out three. Cade Queen was the starting pitcher for the home team and took the loss.
Mines (18-31) batted .381 as a team and slugged .548 after smacking one double and two home runs. On the other side, MSU Billings (26-21) posted a team batting average of .250 and only had two doubles for a .306 slugging percentage. The Oredigger pitching staff combined for a 2.00 ERA with eight total strikeouts and six walks. The Yellowjacket arms wore an 11.00 ERA despite 10 strikeouts compared to two walks. Mines committed two errors in the field and MSU Billings had one defensive error.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Freund started the scoring with a one-out home run in the top of the first inning. That helped Mines to a 4-0 lead after two full frames thanks to a trio of runs in the second inning. However, MSU Billings used two runs in the first and two in the third to tie the game, 4-4. After that, it was all Orediggers. Pina's one-run single highlighted a three-run sixth for the visitors. Bilter's three-run home run in the top of the ninth was icing on the cake as Mines scored a quartet to make the final tally. During the back third of the contest, Nguyen and the Oredigger defense retired the Yellowjackets in order in the seventh with just one baserunner in the eighth inning. Nguyen worked around a two-out walk and single in the ninth to keep his ERA at 0.00 for the day.
NOTABLES
- Freund hit his second home run of the season and as an Oredigger.
- Bilter boasts a team-high eight home runs in 2026 and 14 in just three seasons at Mines. His 77 hits this year rank #8 in program history in a single season.
- Furthermore, Bilter has 61 RBI this spring which puts him tied for #2 in the Oredigger record book, and Babcock's 58 RBI are tied for #5 in a season at Mines.
- Pina's double was the 25th of his college career.
- Turner earned his first collegiate win on the mound, and Nguyen notched his second save as an Oredigger.
- Duvall recorded his 83rd hit of 2026 which ties him for #3 in the program record book. The only Oredigger with more hits in a season is Trevor Kehe (2017-19).
- Duvall's 65 runs this season are tied for #5 in Mines history.
- Head Coach
Robby Bales is now 177-171 in his eighth season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines begins the postseason on Wednesday at the 2026 RMAC Baseball Tournament in Grand Junction, Colo. The Orediggers will play second-seeded MSU Denver in the third game of the day. More information on the RMAC Tournament will be available at
www.minesathletics.com early next week.
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.
