By: Sam Boender


Story Links

Mines (0-0) at Cal State San Marcos (0-0) – Friday, 2 p.m. (PT) – San Marcos, Calif. [Live Stats] [FLO College]

Mines (0-0) at Cal State San Marcos (0-0) – Saturday, 11 a.m. (PT) – Doubleheader – San Marcos, Calif. [Live Stats] [FLO College]

Mines (0-0) at Cal State San Marcos (0-0) – Sunday, 12 p.m. (PT) – San Marcos, Calif. [Live Stats] [FLO College]

IT’S BASEBALL SEASON
Yes, it’s January and baseball season has officially arrived. The Colorado School of Mines baseball team will travel to California to begin its 2026 campaign against Cal State San Marcos. It’ll be the fourth time since 2022 that the Orediggers have traveled to play the Cougars. Opening day is Friday and features a single, nine-inning game starting at 2 p.m. PT. Action continues Saturday with a doubleheader at 11 a.m. PT. Sunday brings the series finale at 12 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All four games this weekend will have free live stats linked above and at www.minesathletics.com. There will also be live video available with a subscription to FLO College. Monthly plans purchased through this link (https://flosports.link/4lIlpLj) are $19.99 plus taxes and fees. An annual plan can be purchased for $107.88. If fans do not use the link above, the price will be higher. Mines home and conference games will be available with a subscription to the RMAC Network.
 
RMAC NETWORK CHANGES
During the summer, the RMAC Network moved to a pay-per-view model for all events. Fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. For technical support questions, fans can contact Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.
 
WEATHER FORECAST
There’s a reason Mines decided to play January baseball in California. This weekend’s forecast in San Marcos features sunny skies and a high in the mid-80s on Friday and Saturday with zero chance for precipitation. Sunday features some clouds and a high temperature of 75 degrees, but still a minimal chance of precipitation. The wind each day is projected under 10 MPH. Sunscreen and short sleeves will be the order of the day for fans planning to attend.
 
CALIFORNIA TIES
The Mines baseball roster features eight Orediggers who call California home. Those individuals include Alex Freund, Brandon Schaff, Alex Piscotty, Dylan Burke, Jake Verwiel, Tyler Pina, Evan Bilter, and Peter Lynch. Relative to the campus of Cal State San Marcos, Brandon Schaff will be closest to his hometown of Aliso Viejo which is less than an hour north of CSUSM. Alex Freund and Peter Lynch are from about three hours away in the greater Los Angeles area. Meanwhile, Piscotty, Burke, Pina, Verwiel, and Bilter all hail from much further north near the bay area.
 
THE RETURNERS
The 2026 roster for Oredigger baseball features 19 players who saw action for Mines in 2025. That list includes 10 bats and nine arms with Luke Parker touting experience at the plate and on the mound. Highlighting the group of veterans at the plate are Evan Bilter, Tyler Hummel, Jackson Babcock, and Tyler Pina. Bilter, Hummel, and Babcock had the top three batting averages among everyday players on the team last year with Pina serving as the starting catcher and a 2024 Second-Team All-RMAC selection. On the mound, the Orediggers will benefit from returning starters Will Niles, Alex Honeyman, and Grady Booth who all started at least nine games in 2025.  
 
FRESH FACES
Mines Baseball Head Coach Robby Bales put in work during the offseason and brought in 19 fresh faces to bolster the Oredigger roster. The list of newcomers includes 14 true freshmen and four transfers, and one familiar face who worked his way back on the team. Logan Burchfiel, Owen Elser, Justin Kubojiri, Owen Hicks, Keyan Lundvall, Tai Nguyen, Justin Holcomb, Brandon Schaff, Alex Piscotty, Drew Fairman, Matthew Turner, Mateo Aldecocea, Brady Syers, and Sam Strong are the true freshmen. Alex Freund (College of the Canyons), Dylan Burke (Sacramento City College), Jake Verwiel (San Francisco), and William Schulte (Johnson County CC) represent the transfer class. Dillon Alcouffe was a member of the Mines squad in 2023 and 2024. He rejoined the team this fall.
 
PRESEASON AWARDS
Evan Bilter earned a pair of preseason nods on behalf of the Orediggers. He was named Preseason All-RMAC at first base and was voted Preseason Honorable Mention All-Region at designated hitter by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association (NCBWA). Bilter, a redshirt junior, was Honorable Mention All-RMAC at designated hitter in 2024 – his first season of college action. Last year, the utility man played both corners of the infield and in the outfield. He finished 2025 hitting .391 with 38 runs on 68 hits including 12 doubles, one triple, and four home runs with 37 RBI and seven stolen bases.
 
RMAC COACHES’ POLL
The Orediggers were picked #6 in the RMAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll released earlier this month. The ballots from all nine head coaches provided Mines 31 points, putting the squad just one point back of #5 Regis. Colorado Mesa earned the top spot on the list thanks to 64 points and eight first-place votes. Tied for second were CSU Pueblo and MSU Denver. Fourth and fifth were taken up by UCCS and Regis, respectively. Coaches could not vote for their own team.
 
2026 RMAC Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. Colorado Mesa – 64 (8)
t2. CSU Pueblo – 53
t2. MSU Denver – 53 (1)
4. UCCS – 41
5. Regis – 32
6. Mines – 31
7. Adams State – 23
8. New Mexico Highlands – 14
9. Colorado Christian – 13
 
LAST SEASON
Mines was 13-34 (8-22 RMAC) in 2025. That put the Orediggers eighth in the final RMAC standings. Bright spots included a Second-Team All-RMAC nod for shortstop Canon Humphreys. Two individuals hit for the cycle as well including then-true freshman Jackson Babcock and outfielder Jackson Woolwine. On the last weekend of Mines’ season, Mason Andrews became the program’s all-time home run leader. Babcock is back for 2026. Humphreys and Andrews both exhausted their college eligibility. Woolwine completed his bachelor’s degree at Mines and transferred to NCAA Division I William & Mary to use his final season of college eligibility.
 
IN THE PROS
Over the last eight years, three Orediggers have entered baseball’s professional ranks. Mikey Gangwish (2016-19) was the first as he played professionally in Australia before returning to a contract with the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League. He has since retired and earned his master’s degree at Mines. The second was Trevor Kehe (2017-19) who was drafted in the 36th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. He worked in the Orioles organization for three years and advanced as far as High-A ball with the Aberdeen IronBirds before retiring. Rounding out the trio is Walter Pennington (2017-20).
 
WALTER PENNINGTON
Walter Pennington was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Royals in the summer of 2020. He spent 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 in the Royals’ minor league system where he found success including a nod to the International (AAA) All-Star team. In 2024, Pennington made his MLB debut with the Royals against the Rockies at Coors Field, just miles from his childhood home. That appearance made the Broomfield, Colo., native just the second Mines player to ever make the big leagues and the first in over a century. Eventually, Pennington was traded to the Texas Rangers for known-veteran Michael Lorenzen. Pennington moved between triple-A Round Rock and the Rangers’ big-league club. For the year, the lefty’s big-league resume featured a 1-0 record with a 3.00 ERA in 16 games and one start. He struck out 17 and walked 11 across 18.0 innings of work. Last year, Pennington was moved from the Texas Rangers to the Baltimore Orioles where he was eventually designated for assignment as he worked through injuries. Pennington is currently assigned to the Chesapeake Baysox, the double-A affiliate of the Orioles.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE SAN MARCOS
California State University San Marcos baseball finished the 2025 season 25-23 (20-18 CCAA). The Cougars earned the last spot in their conference tournament where they eventually lost to San Francisco State, 8-7, in the first round. Three CSUSM players earned all-conference honors, but only one returns for the 2026 campaign. That’s left-handed pitcher Jack Clark who came out of the bullpen 16 times last year and posted a 2-0 record with a 2.05 ERA and 1.00 WHIP thanks to 15 strikeouts compared to six walks in 22.0 innings of relief. Cal State San Marcos was voted fifth out of nine in the CCAA’s preseason coaches’ poll. All eight of the Cougars’ top hitters are gone as are their top two starting pitchers. The success of CSUSM in 2026 will rely on a new-look roster featuring 29 transfers representing programs such as Cal State Fullerton, UC Davis, Butler, Long Beach State, and more.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Since 2010, Mines and Cal State San Marcos have played eight times and the Orediggers have won six of those meetings – all since 2022. The eight showdowns were in California and not at Jim Darden Field. The Orediggers and Cougars played a single game last season which Mines won, 9-7. Alex Honeyman was the winning pitcher thanks to 5.2 innings of work in the start. Seaver Newby earned the save. At the plate, Jackson Woolwine went 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBI thanks to a double.
 
THE SKIPPER
The 2026 campaign marks Mines’ eighth season with Robby Bales as head coach. During his tenure as the Oredigger skipper, Bales holds an overall record of 159-140 with a mark of 103-93 in RMAC play. He has coached his players to 27 All-RMAC awards, 19 all-region awards, eight all-America nods, seven CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, one MLB Draft Pick and had one player signed as a free agent in the MLB. Furthermore, Bales touts two RMAC Pitchers of the Year during his time at the helm including RMAC Pitcher of the Year, NCBWA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year, D2CCA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year and the RMAC’s all-time wins leader in Tyler Blomster. Additionally, Bales has guided Mines to the NCAA Tournament once, and RMAC Tournament four times, advancing to the regional and conference tournament final in 2019. Bales’ teams have also performed in the classroom as the squad brought home the RMAC Brechler Award in 2020, 2021, and 2023 as the team boasting the highest combined GPA in the conference.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Next weekend, Mines hosts a non-conference game with Regis on Friday, marking the Orediggers’ 2026 home opener. Mines plays a doubleheader at Regis on Saturday before a single game back at Jim Darden Field on Sunday.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines baseball on Twitter at @OrediggersBSB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.