LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Missouri S&T junior outfielder Ben Pieper (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) set a new single season record Sunday by belting his ninth home run of the season, but the Miners were swept for the second day in succession by Bellarmine in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Knights took game one 12-4 and the nightcap by a score of 11-7.

 

The Miners took a 2-0 lead in the opening inning of game one, getting the first run when Pieper reached on an error to score Brandon Cogan (Missouri City, Texas/Hightower), who had singled to start the game.  S&T got its second run in the first on another error, which scored Sam Adams (Forsyth, Mo./Forsyth).

 

S&T extended its lead in the second thanks to some more Knight miscues. Adams and Will Morrison (Rolla, Mo./Rolla) each got hits with two outs, then moved ahead on the bases on a wild pitch; a subsequent throwing error on the play allowed Adams to cross the plate.

 

Bellarmine knotted the score with a pair of runs in its half of the second and one in the third, but the Miners regained the lead in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Adams. Chris Wiedmar tied the game for the Knights in the bottom half of the fourth with an RBI single.

 

The game remained tied until the bottom of the fifth, when the Knights took the lead on a bases loaded double off the bat of Zachary Blanchard. Bellarmine added five more runs in the sixth – all unearned – off three Miner pitchers.

 

Morrison and Drew Davenport (McHenry, Ill./McHenry West) had two hits apiece for the Miners, who had 11 hits in the opener but stranded 13 runners. Andrew Page (Stoney Creek, Ont./Cardinal Newman), who pitched the first five innings for S&T, was charged with the loss.

 

Bellarmine continued its offensive explosion right out of the gate in game two, tallying five more runs in the opening inning.   S&T grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top half on a solo home run by Morrison, but the Knights put six hits on the board in the latter half, the big blow being a two-run double by Blanchard.

 

Caleb Smith (Calgary, Alta./Central Memorial ) drove in a run for S&T in the second – a run the Knights got back in the bottom of the inning, then Davenport scored in the fifth after recording a leadoff single and later scoring on an error after a passed ball.

 

The Knights kept the Miners at bay, however, with a run in the sixth, two more in the seventh after S&T got a run across the plate and two in the eighth.

 

S&T's run in the seventh came on an RBI single by Morrison, then Pieper hit his record-setting home run in the ninth, a three-run blast that cut the lead to four. The Miners got two more runners on base after the home run, but saw the rally end at that point.

Pieper's ninth home run of the season broke the 13-year-old school record held by Matt Bryant, who hit eight in the 1997 campaign.

 

The Miners finished with 14 hits in game two; Cogan, Morrison and Matt Kempin (Wichita, Kan./Trinity Academy) all had three hits apiece. Zac Helton (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette) took the loss in the nightcap.

 

S&T (12-25, 9-11 GLVC) will host William Woods in a non-conference game Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the S&T Baseball Field.