BILLINGS, Mont. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team dropped a 10-3 decision on Sunday afternoon in the series finale against MSU Billings at Pirtz Field.
 
Offensive highlights included home runs from Caden Bonds and Noah Kuzma with Bonds doing it inside-the-park style. Alex Bumpus also scored for the Orediggers and led the team with two hits. Bonds' two RBI were tops for Mines while Derek Daly and Jakob Pigati accounted for two other base knocks. For the pitchers it was Ben Schoneman (0-1) getting the start and taking the loss after four innings of work. Weston Siefken provided one inning out of the bullpen. Mitch Menard and Zachary Kriethe combined to toss 3.0 innings of flawless relief. Kriethe's lone frame featured three strikeouts.
 
Mines (6-6) came up with six total hits on the day as the Orediggers finish the weekend boasting seven home runs over three games. On the other side, MSU Billings (8-2) scored its 10 runs on 12 hits including two more home runs in the finale. While Mines finished the final game of the series with no errors on defense, the power production by the home team dropped Mines into a four-game losing streak.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sunday morning brought snow flurries to Golden and partly cloudy skies up north in Billings. Mines rolled to the park determined to find a win in the series, but MSU Billings made sure that would not happen. The Yellowjackets followed their blueprint from the first two games and came out swinging. After a scoreless first inning, MSUB plated runs in four straight frames to take a 10-0 lead.
 
The Orediggers fired back with two runs in the sixth inning. It started with a Bumpus single. Bonds followed up with a long fly ball to center field that resulted in four total bases and a two-run home run for the sophomore. Kuzma followed suit in the very next frame, but sent his ball all the way over the fence. His solo shot to right field cut the deficit to 10-3 and brought Kriethe into the game for the bottom of the eighth. Three straight strikeouts gave Mines its third shutout inning on defense and brought the bats up one more time. While three runners reached base in the top of the ninth, the Orediggers could not get their rally off the ground and the game went final with the same 10-3 score.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines and MSU Billings are even at 3-3 in the all-time series.
- Bonds currently touts an 11-game hitting streak including seven multi-hit performances during that run.
- Bumpus has reached base safely in every game of his Oredigger career, making up a 12-game streak.
- Through 12 games in 2020, Mines boasts 23 home runs at a rate nearing 2.0 long balls per game – one of the top power-hitting teams in the nation.
- As a team, Mines combined to slug .490 over three games in Billings, but hit just .229 while scoring 22 runs on 22 hits.
- Kuzma and Derek Daly both finished the weekend with multiple home runs.
- Robby Bales is 46-21 in two years as the head coach for the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines has next weekend off before opening RMAC play on March 6 at New Mexico Highlands. Live stats and video of the game will be available at www.minesathletics