GRAND JUNCTION – Mines baseball survived and advanced on Thursday at the 2026 RMAC Tournament as the Orediggers rallied for a 19-17, come-from-behind victory over Regis in the first elimination game of the day.
Alex Dunagan powered the offense with a program-record eight RBI. He finished the game batting .800 with four runs on four hits including a double and two home runs. Dunagan also stole a base.
Tyler Pina contributed to the winning effort by going 3-for-5 with four RBI, one run scored, and one double.
Brody Duvall came around to score three times as well.
Luke Parker,
Jackson Babcock Ben Leiphart, and
Evan Bilter all scored two runs apiece. Parker and Babcock also combined for four RBI. Every Oredigger batter scored at least one run, and seven of the nine batters collected at least one RBI.
Jackson Kay was the starting pitcher but didn't factor in the decision. He departed after 3.0 innings of work.
Nicholas Spidel (1-1) claimed the win on the mound after 4.1 innings of gritty relief.
Tai Nguyen (3) came out of the bullpen to record the final out and collect the save.
Brandon Schaff and
Kenji Bray also provided innings of relief. Gio Casas was the Regis starter and Zach Gregory (2-1) wore the loss for the Rangers.
Overall, Mines (19-32) scored its 19 runs on 18 hits while batting .419 as a team. Regis (19-32-1) saw its season come to an end despite scoring 17 runs on 17 hits thanks to a .436 clip at the plate. The Orediggers offset four fielding errors by slugging .605 with two doubles and two home runs. Three errors for RU hindered the Rangers as they had just one double and one home run. There were only six total strikeouts in the game. Mines' pitching accounted for two strikeouts and eight walks. Regis arms totaled four strikeouts and five walks. There were a total of seven hit batters as well.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game started with Regis scoring three runs on two hits and two errors in the top of the first inning. Mines quickly bounced back and plated two in their half of the opening frame after Dunagan plated Duvall and then scored on a wild pitch. The Rangers quickly made it 4-2 by manufacturing one run in their half of the second inning. Dunagan's two-run double sparked a four-run second for the Orediggers and pushed them ahead, 6-4. That led to the only scoreless inning of the game as the third stanza finished with stacked zeroes on the scoreboard.
Through the middle third of the contest, Mines and RU combined to score 14 runs. Regis' posted three in the fourth, six in the fifth, and one in the sixth. Bilter provided the Orediggers an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Rangers' fifth-inning explosion put Mines in a 13-7 hole. Fortunately for the Orediggers, Dunagan came through with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth and kept the game within reach at 13-10. Mines was shutout in the sixth before the comeback began after the seventh-inning stretch.
Parker started the rally with a leadoff single. Leiphart and Duvall followed suit, loading the bases with zero outs. Then, Dunagan was hit by a pitch which brought Parker in to score while giving Dunagan his seventh RBI of the game. A controversial fielder's choice for Bilter allowed Leiphart to score. An initial inference call was overturned which kept a double play off the board and left runners on the corners and only one out for the Orediggers. Babcock worked a walk to reload the bases and Pina delivered a two-run double, tying the score at 14. A walk to
Tyler Easter setup back-to-back singles by
Tyler Hummel and Parker. Those knocks brought Babcock, Easter, and Pina across the plate and gave Mines a 17-14 advantage. Regis briefly stopped the proverbial bleeding there, but Dunagan picked things back up with a leadoff home run in the eighth inning.
Alex Freund, a pitcher runner in the same frame, scored on Pina's ground ball to second base. That run cemented the Orediggers' 19-14 lead. The Rangers loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth inning and eventually scored three runs. However, Spidel handed the ball off to Nguyen and the freshman delivered a fielder's choice, groundball to Hummel at shortstop to clinch the victory.
NOTABLES
- Dunagan's eight RBI not only broke the program record for RBI in a game but also made him the only Oredigger ever with multiple performances of seven RBI or more.
- The previous Mines record for RBI in a game was seven RBI which was achieved by multiple Orediggers including Dunagan,
Mason Andrews, Luke Folsom, Trevor Kehe, Mikey Gangwish, Cody Marvel, Connor Lambert, and Nate Olinger.
- Dunagan's home runs were his eighth and ninth of the season, bringing the senior to 14 home runs in his career.
- Additionally, Dunagan hit his 23rd double of the season which ties him for #3 in the program record book. The only Orediggers with more doubles in a season are Stefan Revielle and Luke Folsom.
- Finally, Dunagan surged to 65 RBI on the year which ranks #2 all-time at Mines. He only trails Mikey Gangwish who had 86 RBI in 2018.
- Duvall notched his 84th hit of the season and moved into a tie for #2 in the program record book with Trevor Kehe's 2018 performance. The single-season hits record at Mines is 85.
- Duvall also climbed to 68 runs on the year which is fourth-most by any Oredigger ever.
- Spidel collected his first win of the season and Nguyen notched his third save.
- Head Coach
Robby Bales is now 178-171 in his eighth season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines is guaranteed a game on Friday, but the opponent and time will be determined by the rest of Thursday's results. As of now, the Orediggers would play the loser between UCCS and MSU Denver at 3 p.m. However, that could change if CSU Pueblo defeats Colorado Mesa. The schedule will be up to date at
www.minesathletics.com once information becomes available.
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.
