LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Oredigger pitching staff put together a pair of gems on Saturday afternoon to help the Colorado School of Mines Baseball team sweep its doubleheader against New Mexico Highlands at Brandt Field by scores of 2-0 and 3-1.
 
Walter Pennington (3-2) started game one of the day and tossed a complete-game shutout. Pennington surrendered no runs on five hits with four strikeouts over 7.0 innings of work. He held the opposition to a batting average of .208. Drew Hill (4-0) opened game two on the bump and walked away with a victory as well. Hill's final line featured one run off of three hits and six strikeouts. Zachary Kriethe accounted for the final 1.2 innings and collected the save thanks to zero runs on one hit with one strikeout. That trio accounted for 14 innings of work over a timespan of three hours and 15 minutes.
 
At the plate, Caden Bonds produced a batting average of .600 courtesy of three hits in five at-bats in two games. Bonds also notched one RBI thank to one double. Derek Daly hit .429 and came away with one RBI as well. Alex Bumpus accounted for Mines' third RBI and scored as well while I-Ly Hsue, Danny McDermott, Jakob Pigati and Trevor Howard came across the plate too.
 
Overall, the pitchers for Mines (11-6, 3-0 RMAC) finished the doubleheader with a 0.64 staff ERA and 11 strikeouts. New Mexico Highlands (1-10, 0-3 RMAC) found a bright spot in 17 strikeouts off the arms in their battery. However, the Oredigger pitchers held the Cowboys to a .191 average at the plate and Mines' defense committed zero errors in both games. The Orediggers extended their winning streak to five games and clinched a series victory. With the losses, NMHU's skid ran out to six games.
 
GAME ONE: Mines 2, New Mexico Highlands 0
After winning the series opener on Friday afternoon, Mines entered the doubleheader boasting an offensive average of 7.1 runs per game. Furthermore, the Orediggers boasted nearly 2.0 home runs per contest. On Saturday, Mines flipped the script and came away efficiently victorious.
 
One run came in the top of the third inning after McDermott reached on a fielder's choice and then baited NMHU on a steal attempt that allowed Howard to score for a 1-0 lead. The second, and final, run of the day's opener plated in the top of the fifth inning. Singles from Hsue and Derek Daly plus a walk to Howard loaded the bases. The Cowboys did the rest of the work on a passed ball that brought Hsue across the plate. Two runs proved enough for Pennington and Mines' defense as the senior lefty carried a no-hitter into the third inning, faced the minimum into the fourth frame and closed the win with two strikeouts and a line drive for a 1-2-3 final frame.
 
GAME TWO: Mines 3, New Mexico Highlands 1
The Orediggers apparently grabbed carbon paper and jotted the same game plan down for game two. That meant power hitting was cast to the side and small ball adopted as the new fad for Mines. Bonds confirmed it in the second panel thanks to his RBI single down the right-field line. Bumpus made it 2-0 in the same inning with a RBI base knock of his own.
 
Defensively, the Orediggers saw six batters through the first two innings and Hill racked up two strikeouts and a double play in the same span. That number grew to five strikeouts after four innings as the 2-0 score stood strong, but the shutout went away in the top of the sixth inning after a NMHU sacrifice fly to center field. However, Mines responded with an insurance run in the final frame thanks to Daly driving in Bumpus. Then, Kriethe shut it down in the bottom half on two ground balls and a fly ball.
 
NOTABLES
- The last time Mines won three games over NMHU in Las Vegas was more than 10 years ago – if ever.
- Bonds' double tied him for the team lead with three on the season. His batting average of .406 is also tops among starters.
- The Orediggers and Cowboys only had two extra-base hits in Saturday's doubleheader.
- Bumpus has reached base safely in every game of his career at Mines.
- Mines's defense boasts three clean sheets and five error-free games on the season. Additionally, the Orediggers have shut out two opponents in 2020.
- Saturday snapped a run of eight straight games with at least one Oredigger home run.
- After three games of conference action, Mines is tied for first in the RMAC standings.
- Drew Hill leads the team and the conference with his record of 4-0 on the year in six appearances.
- Walter Pennington boasts a career mark of 24-10 as a pitcher for Mines.
- As a junior, Hill is 12-3 on the mound as an Oredigger.
- Robby Bales is 51-21 in two years as the head coach for the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes its series at New Mexico Highlands with a single game on Sunday at 12 p.m. in Las Vegas, N.M. Live stats and video of the game will be available at www.minesathletics.com.