By: John Kean, Sports Information Director
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Miner baseball team couldn't overcome Arkansas Tech's four-run fifth inning Friday and dropped a
6-4 decision to ATU in the Heffington Optical Classic at Meador Park.
The Wonder Boys, who beat the Miners for the third time this season, got two home runs from Jeremy Houchin in the contest, including a three-run blast in the decisive fifth inning that provided the difference in the game.
Arkansas Tech got on the board first with a run in the second, but the Miners posted two in the third to take the lead. The rally started with a two-out single by
Brandon Cogan (Missouri City, Texas/Hightower), then after a walk to Tim Kerovac,
Eaf Redden (Gunter, Texas/Gunter) singled to bring home Cogan.
Cody Bass (Chattanooga, Okla./Chattanooga) followed Redden's hit with another RBI single to score Kerovac to give S&T a 2-1 lead.
Arkansas Tech tied the game in the fourth on Houchin's leadoff homer off
David Birkby (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway West), then ATU chased the Miner starter with a four-run outburst in the fifth with Houchin's three-run homer off
Dan Trenner (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield South) being the big blow of the inning.
The Miners got a run back in the seventh after leadoff hitter
Louie Joseph (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) was hit by a pitch, then back-to-back singles by
Andrew Vance (Stilwell, Kan./Blue Valley ) and Cogan made it 6-3.
S&T had a golden opportunity in the eighth, as Bass led off with a double and
Zac Carter (Perkins, Okla./Perkins-Tryon) was hit by a pitch.
Will Morrison (Rolla, Mo./Rolla) got the Miners to within two with a one-out single, then Joseph was hit by a Karl Whitley pitch to load the bases.
However, ATU reliever Josh Floriani, who shut down a Miner rally when the teams met in Rolla last week, got a pop fly and a strikeout to escape the jam and then pitched around Bass' two-out single in the ninth to get the save.
Bass had three hits for the Miners, while Redden and Cogan had two apiece. The Miners finished the game with nine hits but left 10 runners on base.
S&T (5-9) will face Washburn Saturday at 2:30 p.m., then wrap up play in the weekend event with a 10 a.m. game Sunday against Wayne State (Mich.).
