LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Following a day in which they split doubleheader action with the ninth-ranked team in the land, the Colorado School of Mines softball was back at All Star Park Sunday for their final two games of the weekend against Colorado Christian. After falling victim to the long ball in a run-rule shortened 8-0 loss in six innings in the opener, the Orediggers (10-12, 7-9) got perhaps their best performance of the season in the circle as Sadriena Rodriguez spun a four-hit shutout in the finale against the Cougars (21-4, 13-3) and made two runs from her offense hold up in a 2-0 victory to split the series.
 
Both teams got a pair of baserunners in their first at bats of the day in the first inning as Kellan Ton and Kendall Aragon both single for Mines while Colorado Christian got a walk a pair of walks and a double, but neither was able to push across the day's first run. In the second it was CCU that got on the board first and did so with a pair of home runs, first getting a two-run shot to left center from the second batter of the inning Logan Menzies and after starter Kat Miller (2-2) got a pop out to second and flyout to center, the Cougars went deep again on a solo shot to left by RMAC home run leader Kenzie Middleton to make it a 3-0 game.
 
Leading off the third, Cassidy Chvatal took over in the circle and was rudely welcomed to the game by Kaila Eastburn, who took the second pitch she saw deep to center for Colorado Christian's fourth home run of the game. The next two batters reached on walks before a groundout to third looked like it might gain Mines some defensive momentum, but two more walks loaded the bases and then forced in another run to make it 5-0 as Ellen Shull took over in the circle and immediately got out of trouble, inducing an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play to limit the damage to just two runs.
 
Shull worked a scoreless fourth inning before running into some trouble in the fifth as a pair of walks along with a passed ball and two wild pitches resulted in another run that made it a 6-0 game, but the freshman limited the damage to just on getting a strikeout and lineout to right to end the frame.
 
Looking to get on the board in the sixth, Hannah Roberts singled to lead things off before being forced out at second a fielder's choice off the bat of Ton. Sidney Wilson was then hit by a pitch to put two runners on, but another fielder's choice with Aragon at the dish saw CCU force out Ton at third before getting out of the inning with a flyout. Heading to the bottom of the inning Mines looked to avoid being run-ruled and the fourth pitcher of the game Allison Westbrook looked on pace to do just that, getting two outs following a leadoff single, but two-run home run to left wrapped things up for CCU as they took the opener 8-0 in six innings.
 
Game two started off with a pair of scoreless innings before Mines broke through in the third for the first lead of the game as Sidney Wilson turned around a 2-0 pitch and left little doubt about the outcome as it sailed over the fence in left field for her second home run of the season to make it 1-0.
 
The pitcher's duel continued as Sadriena Rodriguez (5-5) continued to work around traffic on the bases in the home third, leaving a runner Kaila Eastburn answered back with a 1-2-3 fourth inning. In the fifth, the Orediggers managed to break through for an insurance run. Sidney Wilson led off with a single before getting lifted for pinch runner Emily Rogers. Kendall Aragon worked a walk before Sara Larson laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up 60 feet into scoring position. Kayleigh Krueger looked to drive in Rogers, but a comebacker to the circle resulted in a play at the plate and that second run having to wait. That wait turned out to be a short one as Hannah Roberts stepped up to deliver a 3-1 pitch into left center to score Aragon and double the lead to 2-0.
 
Already rolling with a one-run lead, Rodriguez kept it going with a two-run cushion, working around a pair of one-out baserunners in the home fifth to hang a zero before retiring the final six Cougars she faced in order to close out her complete game effort as Mines crashed the ring celebration for the reigning RMAC champions with a 2-0 win in the finale to earn a split of the weekend series.
 
NOTABLES
-Wilson posted her first three-hit outing of the season in the finale that included her second home run of the year as she becomes the second Oredigger to hit double-digit RBI this season with 10
-Aragon hit safely in both games, going 1-3 in the opener and 2-2 with two walks in the finale to cap off a five-hit weekend and raise her average back up to .411 and extend her active hitting streak to eight games, her second such streak of the year
-Roberts went 2-5 with an RBI on the day as she posted a hit in each game Sunday
-Ton singled in the opener to post her second 1-3 performance of the series at the plate
-Wilson and Kayleigh Krueger are both now on the north side of 150 hits in their careers while Sara Larson has cleared 100 career hits in a Mines uniform
-Rodriguez's third shutout of the season may have been her best work yet, as she held the best offense in the RMAC to just four hits over seven innings of work and allowed three walks while facing just seven over the minimum and needing only eighty pitches to do it
-The fifth-year lefty is now tied with pitching coach Libby Balogh for third all-time in Mines history with 11 career shutouts and is now one behind Hallie Smith (2015-18) for second on the list
-Shull worked a season-high 2.2 innings of relief and allowed just one unearned run without allowing a hit and striking out one in her fourth appearance of the season
-The shutout off CCU in game two was the first time this season the Cougars have been held scoreless and first time since May 14, 2023 when they were beaten 10-0 by West Texas A&M
-Mines in the first RMAC team to earn a split of a four-game series against Colorado Christian since Colorado Mesa did it April 23-24 during the 2022 season
-With the two wins this weekend, head coach Mike Coutts has now passed the 50-win mark in his two-plus seasons at the helm in Golden, becoming just the fifth coach in program history to reach that number behind Leah Glasgow (139), Mark Roberts (136), Annie Van Wetzinga (101) and Kristie Hawkins (105)
 
UP NEXT
Mines continues their 11-game road trip next week when they'll head down I-70 to the campus of Regis University for a four-game set against the Rangers March 16-17.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines softball on X at @MinesSoftball and on Instagram at @mines_sb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.