NORMAL, Ill. – Missouri S&T took its season down to the final swing of the bat Saturday evening, but came up short as it fell 4-2 to Wayne State (Mich.) in an elimination game of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional at Corn Crib Stadium.

The Miners, who saw their best season in school history end with a 30-19 record, trailed 4-0 after four innings of play. After scoring single runs in the fifth and seventh innings, S&T loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth inning, but WSU starter Josh Wedesky got Nick Burke (Good Hope, Ill./West Prairie HS) to fly out to end the contest.

Wayne State jumped on top in the opening inning by scoring twice, getting the first run on an RBI single by Michael Wiseman and the other on a hit by Alex Trojan. The Miners prevented a second run from scoring on the play when Ben Pieper (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) threw Andrew Ciennik out at the plate.

The Warriors added another run in the second when Caleb Dalman drove in a run with a hit, but a pair of defensive gems by left fielder Lee Voth-Gaeddert (Hesston, Kan./Hesston HS) prevented any more runs from scoring in the inning. Following Dalman's RBI single, C.J. Maszal drove a Kyle Robertson (Granite City, Ill./Granite City) pitch to deep left, but Voth-Gaeddert reached over the fence to haul a potential three-run homer back into the park.

Voth-Gaeddert finished the inning a moment later with a diving catch of a sinking liner by Wiseman.

Wayne State tacked on an unearned run in the fourth when Brad Guenther reached on an error with one out and scored on a wild pitch later in the frame.

S&T got on the scoreboard in the fifth before it got its first hit of the contest, as Voth-Gaeddert drew a leadoff walk, stole second, went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a ground out off the bat of Andy Hall (Rolla, Mo./Rolla HS). The next Miner hitter, Burke, broke up Wedesky's no-hitter with a hit to left center.

In the seventh, Ben Pieper (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) reached second on a throwing error by Dalman, then advanced to third on a bunt and scored on a ground out by Carter. 

The Miner bullpen hurlers used in Saturday's contest – Drew Pyles (White Lake, Mich./West Bloomfield) and Nolan Korn (Cedar Hill, Mo./Northwest) – kept the Warriors off the scoreboard over the final five innings to give S&T a chance to rally.

Pieper was hit by a pitch with one out in the ninth, then with two out in the inning, the Miners caught a break when Bobby Thomas – a defensive replacement when the frame started – dropped a foul pop off the bat of Carter to keep the game going.

Carter followed by reaching on an infield single, then Grant Brasher (Bridgeton, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit) got an infield hit of his own to load the bases. However, Wedesky was able to get Burke, who had two of the Miners' four hits, to fly out to Maszal to close the contest.

Robertson took the loss for S&T, whose 30 wins were the most in a season in school history. The Miners also won the Great Lakes Valley Conference's West Division title, earned their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1972 and won a game in the tournament for the first time ever.