Last Thursday, Feb. 25, the Orediggers faced the Arkansas Fort-Smith Lions. Mines had just tied a 4-game series against Fort Hays State, 2-2, before winning the single game against Arkansas with a final score of 4-1.
The Lions took an early lead by scoring what would be their only run in the third inning. Three innings later, the Lions’ catcher tried to pick off junior Josh Martinez at first, but overthrew his first baseman allowing junior Logan Smith to take home.
The following inning at the bottom of the seventh and with two men on base, sophomore Griffin Jones smashed a left field home run, the second HR for Mines this season. This brought the total score to 4-1.
The Orediggers’ defense was successful in holding the Lions off for the remaining two innings and won the game. This win brought the Orediggers’ baseball season to a 4-4 record as they entered their next 4-game series against Angelo State.
Over the course of the next three days (Feb. 26-28) against Angelo State, the Orediggers would lose their first game but bounce back and win three in a row, putting their season record to a current 7-5. In five of the winning games, the Orediggers scored 10 runs or more and ended three of them early (two 7-inning closers and one 8).
Offense has been shining, with 92 runs in 12 games (7.667 average), a .334 batting average, a .419 on-base percentage, and 3 home runs.
The Orediggers will now travel to MSU Denver to play another 4-game series.
