LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Colorado School of Mines Baseball team completed its sweep of New Mexico Highlands on Sunday with a 13-2 win in the series finale at Brandt Field.
 
Noah Kuzma spearheaded Mines' offense with two runs on three hits (.600) and four RBI courtesy of two doubles and a home run. Toby Scoles and Danny McDermott also proved efficient at the plate as Scoles went 4-for-5 and McDermott 3-for-5 while notching one double each. Derek Daly and Trevor Howard finished with two RBI apiece. I-Ly Hsue and Jason Hall both scored twice for the Orediggers. Other heavy hitters included Howard and Lucas Ciacco with one home run apiece.
 
On the mound, Ben Schoneman (1-1) started the game and tossed 6.0 innings of two-hit shutout baseball to earn the win. He also walked four batters but produced eight fly balls, seven ground balls and four strikeouts. The trio of Will Scott, Mitch Menard and Weston Siefken accounted for one inning each in relief. No earned runs were allowed and the backend combined to rack up four strikeouts. Scott and Menard surrendered just two hits apiece and Siefken only gave up one base knock.
 
The Orediggers (12-6, 4-0 RMAC) hit .463 as a team including five doubles and three home runs. Mines' pitchers turned in a staff ERA of 0.00 and combined for six strikeouts while holding New Mexico Highlands (1-11, 0-4 RMAC) to .200 at the plate. The Cowboy hurlers managed 11 strikeouts as a staff but walked nine Orediggers and suffered from NMHU producing just one hit for extra bases. With the win, Mines extends its winning streak to six games while dealing Highlands its seventh straight loss.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sunday brought overcast skies and a light chill to the air at Brandt Field, which did nothing to cool the bats of the visiting Orediggers. After scratching out a 2-0 win and 3-1 win on Saturday, Mines decided to return to its wily ways of hitting the ball really far. In true athletic fashion, the Orediggers warmed up with a RBI single from Derek Daly before starting its slugfest. Hits for extra bases piled up as the visitors scored in all but two innings.
 
The run in the first inning came off the bat of Derek Daly and brought Alex Bumpus across the plate for a 1-0 lead. Scoles doubled in the second inning and scored Hall to make it 2-0. Another double in the third panel came off the bat of Kuzma and scored Hsue, giving Mines a 3-0 advantage. Derek Daly struck again in the fourth inning on another RBI single. Then, the Orediggers exploded for seven runs in the fifth frame. Howard sparked the surge by smacking a two-run home run as the second batter of the inning. The Cowboys' pitching change did little to slow Mines' roll. Hall quickly doubled, Bumpus singled, Kuzma doubled again and McDermott singled to cap the seven-run, six-hit outburst.
 
New Mexico Highlands finally kept the Orediggers off the board in the sixth inning and even broke up the shutout in the seventh inning. Both NMHU runs came courtesy of an error by Mines but proved inconsequential. Single runs in the seventh and eighth were solo home runs from Kuzma and Ciacco. That setup a scoreless final frame which proved harmless to the visitors. Siefken rolled out to the bump and worked one strikeout, one line drive and a pop fly to clinch the victory.
 
NOTABLES
- Sunday's win gave Mines its first sweep in over a decade at New Mexico Highlands.
- Since 2017, the Orediggers are 13-3 agaisnt the Cowboys on RMAC opening weekend.
- All but one Oredigger hitter reached base safely in the finale. Every starting hitter scored at least one run for Mines and seven individuals notched at least one RBI.
- Schoneman's win in the finale marked the first pitching victory of his collegiate career, coming in his seventh appearance and third start on the mound.
- Ciacco's home run was the first long ball in three years with the Orediggers.
- Kuzma leads Mines with five home runs and four doubles this season.
- Mines only committed one error in four games over the weekend.
- Bumpus has reached base safely in every game of his career for the Orediggers.
- Nearly half of Mines' hits went for extra bases on Sunday.
- The Orediggers have scored double digit runs in five games this season with two double-digit victories while averaging 7.3 runs and nearly two home runs per game.
- Head Coach Robby Bales has never lost to NMHU and is 51-21 overall in two years as the head coach for the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa next Friday-Sunday at Jim Darden Field. Live stats and video of all games will be available at www.minesathletics.com.