HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – For the second day in succession, Missouri S&T and Northern Kentucky split a doubleheader, as the Miners took game one 4-2 and the Norse took game two 13-3 in six innings.

 

S&T had only four hits in the first game, but got three of them in the two innings that it scored in to pull out the victory.

 

NKU scored twice in the second off S&T starter Zac Helton (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette), scoring the first on a sacrifice fly by Jack Ambrose and the second on a one-out RBI double by Brian Erie.

 

The Miners tied the score in the fifth in an inning that started with a walk to Zach Carter (Perkins, Okla./Perkins-Tryon). With two outs, Louie Joseph (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) reached on an infield single, then Thomas McCormick (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) doubled down the right field line to score both runners.

 

S&T grabbed the lead an inning later when Carter's sacrifice fly scored Drew Davenport (McHenry, Ill./McHenry West), who had walked with one out, with the go-ahead run. Moments later, Grant Johnson (LaSalle, Ill./St. Bede Academy) reached on an error that allowed Andrew Vance (Stilwell, Kan./Blue Valley ) to score an unearned run to give S&T a 4-2 lead.

 

Northern Kentucky loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but Dan Trenner (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield South) got the Miners out of the jam by getting Jason Cisper to fly out to end the threat. David Birkby (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway West) threw a perfect seventh inning to pick up his fourth save.

 

Helton, who got the win, and three relievers scattered seven hits in the contest, while Joseph had two of the Miners' four hits.

 

The Miners grabbed an early lead in the nightcap as McCormick's sacrifice fly scored Brandon Cogan (Missouri City, Texas/Hightower) in the first. However, the Norse took advantage of some sloppy play by S&T to put five on the board in the bottom half of the inning.

 

NKU had only three hits in the first, but a walk, a hit batter, an error and a wild pitch all contributed to the big inning.

 

S&T got two of the runs back in the second when Cogan doubled home Carter and Davenport, but the Norse responded with a four-run outburst in their half of the frame to take a 9-3 lead. Northern added three more in the fifth and another in the sixth to wrap up the game.

 

Cogan had two hits and two runs batted in for the Miners, while Joseph followed his two-hit performance in the opener with another in the second game. The Norse outhit S&T 13-9.

 

The Miners (19-31-1) will await the results of the games at Quincy and Drury over the next two days to see where things stand as far as the GLVC playoff race goes.  S&T and Quincy will play Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the S&T Baseball Field -- while Drury opens its rain-hampered four-game series with Missouri-St. Louis Monday afternoon. 

Quincy (10-9 in GLVC West) split its doubleheader Sunday with Southern Indiana and remains a full game ahead of the Miners (9-10) in the GLVC West standings. Drury is 7-9 in divisional play, but holds the tie-breaker over both teams.