ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T got a strong pitching performance from Zack Gronek (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell) and a timely two-out hit from Andy Hall (Rolla, Mo./Rolla HS) to propel it to a 2-0 win Saturday over Upper Iowa and a sweep of the weekend series to open the 2011 campaign. Game two of the scheduled doubleheader was cancelled due to rain.

Gronek struck out nine and allowed just three hits in the 6 1/3 innings he worked before the game was delayed and later called due to the rain that fell through much of the contest. He pitched out of a two-on, none-out jam in the top of the fifth, helping his own cause by throwing a runner out at third on an attempted sacrifice and fanning Nick Bergeman looking to get out of the inning.

The Miners got both of their runs in the fourth. Drew Davenport (McHenry, Ill./McHenry West) drew a walk to start the inning and with one out, Ben Pieper (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) ripped a double down the line in left to put runners on second and third. One out later, Hall blooped a ball that landed just inside the line in left to score Davenport and Pieper with the only two runs of the contest.

S&T finished with just four hits in the game, as Davenport and Eric Van Dyke (Longmont, Colo./Silver Creek) also had hits for the Miners. Gronek faced just 23 batters in the 6 1/3 innings he worked and got six of his nine strikeouts looking.

Missouri S&T opened its season with back-to-back wins for the first time since 1995 with the victories over the weekend and will return to action next Saturday when they open a three-game series at Arkansas-Monticello.