Mines (13-18, 12-10) at UCCS (9-22, 6-16) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (DH) – Colorado Springs, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (11-18, 10-10) at UCCS (9-22, 6-16) – Sunday, 11 a.m. (DH) – Colorado Springs, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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SEE YOU IN THE SPRINGS
After an abbreviated week at home to end the month of March, the Colorado School of Mines softball team will be back on the road this weekend, making the trek down I-25 to Colorado Springs to take on UCCS in a four-game series beginning Saturday at 12 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All games this weekend will be available free of charge on the RMAC Network and have live stats available on Sidearm.
 
AT THE HELM
Mike Coutts begins his second season at the helm of the Orediggers softball program and looks to improve off a 16-30 mark from 2022. Before arriving at Mines, Coutts was the head coach of the softball program at Maine for six seasons, where he posted a 94-129 record with two 20-win seasons in 2016 and 2018.
 
IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were picked to finish in the exact middle of the RMAC this year in the preseason poll, checking in at #7. Defending tournament champions Colorado Christian were tabbed to win the league followed by the reigning regular season champs Colorado Mesa. On the national stage, Colorado Christian remained at #12 this week while week one opponent Nova Southeastern continues to receive votes.
 
WEEK 8 RECAP
As much as Mines would have liked to play all four games last weekend against CSU Pueblo, Mother Nature had other plans as the final two games of the series were canceled due to below-minimum temperatures. Getting a few extra days off following a pair of wins is never a bad thing either, as the Orediggers rallied in each of the two games played Friday to pick up wins by scores of 5-4 and 7-6.
 
Mines led after the first inning in the opener and despite the ThunderWolves scoring single runs in four of the next five innings to take the lead, a two-run double by Aubree Karraker in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the difference and backed up another complete-game effort by Sadriena Rodriguez in the circle for the win. Game two saw six combined runs in the first inning before CSUP went up 5-3 after the third inning before a second three-run inning from the Orediggers in the fourth on three-straight run-scoring base hits made it 7-5 and while the ThunderWolves scored a single run in the sixth, the relief tandem of Allison Westbrook and Lauren Decker allowed no further damage and closed out the final 4 2/3 innings for the win.
 
MAKING A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
Freshman right fielder Kendall Aragon has been a staple in the leadoff spot for Mines in 2023 in her first season at the collegiate level. Currently on a five-game hitting streak, the third such streak of the season for the Legacy High School alum, Aragon has gone 6-12 over her last four games and went 8-18 since the final day of the series against Chadron State with a trio of two-hit games and five runs scored. She's hit safely in 23 of 30 games, reached base in 24 and leads the team with 19 runs scored and is second with 35 hits and in average a .347. Defensively, she's fielded .956 in 45 chances in the outfield with 41 putouts and two assists. All across the board, Aragon's numbers are definitely worth keeping an eye on as her career continues.
 
SO WE JUST STARTED RUNNING
31 games are in the books this season and Mines is currently atop the clubhouse in the RMAC with 58 stolen bases, passing MSU Denver last weekend and eclipsing their mark as a team from the entirety of last season in 46 games. That breaks down to an average of 1.87 swipes per game. Already nine different players have at least one steal to their ledger this season with three in double-digits, as Lauren Decker leads the team with 17 while Renata Boyd has 12 and Sara Larson has 10.
 
SPEED QUEENS
Speaking of Renata Boyd, three weeks ago against Colorado Christan, she became the program's all-time leader in stolen bases, passing Brielle Asato (2015-18) for most all-time with the 51st of her career on the first day of the series. Now the race is on to see how many Boyd will accumulate over the final five weekends of the season. Also working her way up the all-time rankings for steals is Lauren Decker, who entered the season with 25 in her first three seasons but with 17 already this year, has rocketed up the top 10 list and is now tied for fifth with 42 in her career with Sarah Van Lingen (2008-11) after passing Molly Thiebaut (2010-13). She's also passed her previous single-season career high set last season and could very well join Boyd with more than 50 swipes for her career.
 
MAKING STRIDES
Year two of the Orediggers under Mike Coutts has already seen some improvements across the stat sheet from 2022 to this point in 2023. As a team, Mines has an earned run average nearly a full run and a half lower than last season, entering the weekend with a mark of 4.00 compared to a 5.41 last season. Already Mines pitchers have recorded five saves this season, surpassing last year's mark of three and currently lead the RMAC as a staff. Expanding on pitching, the Orediggers have held opponents to a .264 batting average, the fourth-lowest mark in the conference to date and 61 points lower than the .325 opponents hit last season. On defense, Mines is second in the conference in fielding at .965, trailing only Colorado Christian following a 2022 that saw them field .954, and is currently tied for the fewest errors committed this season in the RMAC with 33.
 
CHECKING THE STATS
Entering play this weekend, Sidney Wilson remains the clubhouse leader when it comes to hitting, slashing .375/.445/.458 this season with a team-leading 36 hits, 18 runs scored and eight doubles in addition to driving in 16 and stealing five bases. Freshman Kendall Aragon follows with a .347 average at the top of the order with 35 hits and a now team-best 19 runs scored. Lauren Decker dropped below the .300 mark in recent weeks but is still hitting .289 with 17 stolen bases and 10 runs scored while Aubree Karraker boosted her average back up to .275 and has 10 RBI with five doubles and 17 runs scored to her credit.
 
Kayleigh Krueger picked up her 19th RBI of the season on Friday against CSUP and is tied with Wilson with eight doubles. Sara Larson (.258 AVG, 10 SB) has driven in 11 this season and stole a pair of bases Friday to get into double-figures for the first time in her career. Sophie Furniss has seen time as the designated player the last few games and figures to be in the conversation to be there again this weekend, batting .375 with four doubles and slugging .542 with five RBI, while Trystin Oshiro-Sano is hitting .333 with seven RBI and three doubles.
 
In the circle, Sadriena Rodriguez continues to be the ace of the staff, entering the weekend 562 with a 2.55 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 74 innings while holding opponents to a .216 average. A two-time RMAC Pitcher of the Week award winner this season, she currently ranks fourth in the league in ERA, third in opponent batting average, fifth in strikeouts and ninth in runs allowed. Taylor Wayne picked up her second win of the season against Chadron State to improve to 2-4 and sports a 5.60 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 45 innings of work. RMAC saves leader Cassidy Chvatal has split time between the bullpen and the rotation and is third on staff with 43.2 innings of works and 24 strikeouts while Allison Westbrook continues to pitch well and improved to 2-1 earning the win in relief over CSUP in game two Friday and enters this weekend with an ERA of 3.00 in 16.1 innings and an opponent batting average of .186.
 
Decker lowered her RA to 2.91 and earned her second save of the season and is currently 1-2 on the season with six strikeouts in 21.1 innings. Kat Miller made her first collegiate start against Fort Hays and is 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 12.2 innings with six strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING UCCS
Like Mines, the Mountain Lions only managed to get two of their scheduled four games in with Adams State in Alamosa last weekend and won the opener 2-1 before falling 7-6 in game two. Prior to that win, UCCS had lost 10 of their previous 12 games, getting swept by CCU and Colorado Mesa while working a split with Regis in between.
 
Paige White leads the team at the plate with a .340/.409/773 line and has 23 extra base hits, including 13 doubles and nine home runs, both of which rank second in the RMAC while scoring a team-high 25 times and driving in 19. Courtnie Heller is second on the team with a .321 average and has six doubles and three home runs with 23 RBI, while Mia Perez checks in at .320 with 10 doubles, 19 runs scored and 14 RBI but is prone to striking out, having done so 30 times in 97 at bats this season.  
 
Lexi Wagner's 26 RBI lead the team and 13 of her 25 hits have gone for extra bases, including seven home runs, as she's slugging .571 despite a .275 average. Morgan Hernandez-Belew (.273 AVG, 4 2B) has driven in 12 while scoring 15 herself, while Cassidy Hubner (.291 AVG, 3 2B) is batting just below .300 and has driven in nine.
 
In the circle, UCCS has used five different arms this season led by Autumn Kunze who is 3-3 with a save in 14 appearances with two starts and owns a 4.79 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 42.2 innings of work. Braelyne Crenshaw has been the usual starter, having done so 15 times in 19 outings and is 2-9 with five complete games and a 5.92 ERA, striking out 66 over 86.1 innings pitcher. Lexie Rayburn is 2-5 with a save in 14 games with nine starts and has struggled with command at times, walking 35 against 26 strikeouts in 34.2 innings and when combined with 13 home runs allowed has an ERA of 10.30. Ella Ebert and Mackenzie Rutkoff have each seen time, with the former working just four innings over two games and posting a 1-1 record and a 5.25 ERA, while the latter is 1-4 in nine games with five starts, having logged 28.2 innings and striking out 20 while walking 18 and posting a 6.10 ERA.
 
As a staff, not a single pitcher for the Mountain Lions has held opponents to below .300 batting and have seen their opponents bat .325 in 31 games while as a team, UCCS has been held to a .274 mark on offense and despite ranking fifth in the RMAC in both doubles and home runs, they have struck out the most of any team in the conference this season, having done so 185 times.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Orediggers and Mountain Lions have met 128 times previously with UCCS leading 69-58-1. The two teams played last season in Colorado Springs but it saw Mines as the home team due to weather and field conditions and resulted in a series split. In fact, the 12 of the last meetings between the teams have all been played in Colorado Springs, where Mines holds a 7-5 edge. All-time on the road, the Orediggers have a record of 23-34.
 
ON DECK
After opening the month of April on the road, Mines will be back at Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field April 6-7 to take on MSU Denver before the Easter holiday.
 
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.