GOLDEN, Colo. – Taking the field at Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field for the first time in 2023, the Colorado School of Mines softball team opened their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference slate by sweeping Black Hills State in doubleheader action Sunday, winning 8-0 in a run-rule shortened five inning affair before rally from a first inning deficit in game two to win 12-6 in the nightcap.
 
Sadriena Rodriguez (2-0) shined in the circle in game one, setting a new career-high with 10 strikeouts in the shutout win for the Orediggers (3-5, 2-0), while Kayleigh Krueger paced the offense with six RBI on the afternoon while the Yellow Jackets (0-2, 0-2) struggled on defense at times in both games and despite some solid pitching performances, were unable to keep pace at the plate.
 
Game one was all Orediggers from the firs pitch. After Rodriguez stranded a runner in the top of the inning, Sidney Wilson singled home Kendall Aragon in the bottom half for the first run of the game. Rodriguez struck out the side in both the second and third innings before Mines added two more in the bottom of the third when Kayleigh Krueger plated Aubree Karraker on an RBI groundout before Sara Larson singled to the left center gap to score Wilson and make it 3-0.
 
Rodriguez fanned two more batters in the fourth before a fly out broke up a string of eight-straight retired on strikes before the Orediggers broke the game open with a five-spot in the bottom half. Grace Gonzales doubled home Renata Boyd after she led off with a walk before coming around to score herself on a muffed throw error by BHSU to make it 5-0. Karraker doubled to centerfield to score Aragon one batter later before Krueger dropped a single in between to Yellow Jacket outfielders in shallow right center that scored both Wilson and Karraker to make it 8-0 and bring the run rule into effect.
 
Rodriguez finished things off with two more strikeouts in the fifth, facing just one over the minimum and retiring the last 15 batters she faced in the 8-0 win in the opener.
 
Seven different players recorded a hit in game one led by Karraker and Wilson who had two apiece, while five drove in at least one run with Krueger responsible for three.
 
Game two got off to an explosive start as both offenses put up four runs in the first inning. A one-out single followed by back-to-back doubles made it 2-0 in favor of the visitors as the Yellow Jackets chased starter Taylor Wayne after just five batters. An RBI single and a wild pitch later in the inning resulted in in two more runs to make it 4-0 after a half inning.
 
Mines responded in the bottom half of the inning, rallying with two outs as Kayleigh Krueger got things going with a double to left center that scored Sidney Wilson all the way from first after she reached on a single. A throwing error off the bat of Renata Boyd allowed Krueger to score before another error by BHSU on ball to second by Lexie Semeyn scored Sara Larson to make it 4-3. Trystin Oshiro-Sano tied the game with a single back through the box that brough Boyd home as the team headed to second right back where they started in an tied game.
 
A 1-2-3 inning from reliever Lauren Decker (1-1) was followed by a two-run double from Krueger in the bottom of the inning that put Mines ahead for the first time in the game 6-4.
 
A sacrifice fly by the Yellow Jackets in the third made it a one-run game but the Orediggers plated three more in the bottom half, as pinch hitter Sophie Furniss collected her first collegiate RBI on a single that scored Semeyn before Wilson singled to right and scored Furniss and Kendall Aragon with two outs to make it 9-5.
 
An RBI groundout plated another run for BHSU in the fourth off the third Mines pitcher of the game Cassidy Chvatal, but the offense answered with a run of their own as Aubree Karraker, who entered as a defensive replacement earlier in the inning, hit a screamer to third base that caromed off the foot of the defender and towards shortstop, allowing pinch runner Kailey Robb to scamper home and make it 10-6 as the Orediggers had a chance to add more, but ended up leaving three in the inning.
 
Chvatal worked around a one-out walk to work a scoreless fifth before the offense put up two more two-out runs, as Oshiro-Sano singled to right to bring pinch runner Paige Dompier and Boyd around to make it 12-6.
 
Nothing happened for either side in the sixth as Chvatal was able to retire the last six hitters she faced in order to complete a four-inning relief appearance and earn her second save of the season as she closed out the 12-6 win as Mines claimed the first two games of the series.
 
NOTABLES
-Mines scored 20 runs in the doubleheader
-Krueger finished the day 5-8 with six RBI and two doubles
-Oshiro-Sano went 3-4 with a double and three RBI in game two
-Wilson went 5-7 on the day with a double, three RBI and four runs scored
-Karraker went 3-4 over the course of the doubleheader with a double and two RBI
-Rodriguez allowed just one hit in a start for the second time this season and now has 20 strikeouts in 17.2 IP
-Decker recored two strikeouts and allowed a run on four hits in 2.2 innings of relief in game two
-Chvatal worked a season-high four innings in relief, allowing just one run on one hit and facing three over the minimum
-Mines went 25-57 (.439) at the plate over the course of the day, scoring 20 combined runs on 25 hits, seven of which went for extra bases
-11 different players found the hit column in the doubleheader

LOOKING AHEAD
After wrapping up this weekend's series with Black Hills State, the Orediggers are set to hit the road as they'll take on Fort Lewis in RMAC action next weekend February 25-26.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines softball on Twitter at @MinesSoftball and Instagram at @mines_sb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.