The Cougars were back in action on Sunday as they took to their home field for a doubleheader against Mines to finish off their four game series. Mines came out victorious in both games, as they won the first by a final score of 8-0, and the second game 13-7. CCU falls victim to the series sweep at the hangs of the Orediggers.
 
Game One:
After the first two games of the series, the Cougars were looking for a starting pitcher to go deep into the game. They turned to junior Joey Loranger, and he provided just what the team needed. Loranger cruised through the first three innings without allowing any runs. He was efficient with his pitches as he pounded the strike zone, and was able to keep the Mines offense off balance.
 
The opening shot was fired in the fourth inning, as Mines was able to get their leadoff man aboard, and then were able to bring him home on an RBI groundout to give them an early 1-0 lead over CCU. The run was unearned for Loranger, who quickly regained his composure and picked up where he left off. Loranger was able to keep the Orediggers from adding to their lead in the fifth and sixth innings, as he needed just 65 pitches to get through six.
 
Despite the brilliant outing from Loranger, the problem was that CSM starter Jake Ekstrom was able to match him every step of the way. Ekstrom held the CCU offense n check throughout the entire game, as he ended up pitching a complete game shutout to secure the 8-0 victory for Mines.
 
Game Two:
The second game got off to a rough start, as the first pitch of the game was deposited over the right centerfield fence by the Mines leadoff hitter. CSM continued to pour it on in the first inning, and when the dust settled they had scored five runs to lead 5-0 going to the bottom of the first inning.
 
The Cougars roared back in the bottom of the first, as they began their comeback attempt. Dillon Mctague got the scoring started, as his RBI groundout gave the Cougs their first run of the day. After Jerry Gallegos scored on a wild pitch, CCU loaded the bases which brought up Kaleb Johnson. Johnson promptly delivered, as he cleared the bases with a double, which evened the score 5-5. Mikale Doherty continued the impressive first inning as he gave Christian the lead as his RBI single drove in Kaleb Johnson. After a wild first inning of play, CCU had taken the lead 6-5.
 
Colorado Christian added onto their lead in the second inning, as Dillon Mctague had another RBI groundout to put the Cougs up 7-5.
 
Unfortunately, that was all of the offense that the Cougars would have in the game, and Mines took advantage in the fifth inning. It was another inning to forget, as Mines put up eight runs to snatch the lead away. They held onto that lead and finished off the sweep after winning 13-7.
 
The Cougars record now sits at 16-26 overall, and 10-18 in RMAC play. They will be back in action next weekend, as they square off against Metro State. That series will begin on Friday April 28^th, with first pitch scheduled for 6PM MST weather permitting.