Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 (Rolla, Mo.) – The Missouri S&T Lady Miners gave up four home runs in dropping both games of a doubleheader to Kentucky Wesleyan 7-0 and 8-2 to begin the 2014 season on Saturday afternoon at the S&T Softball Field.

Things didn't start well for the Lady Miners (0-2) as they committed four errors in the first inning leading to the Panthers (4-4) run. After that things settled down as both pitchers got into a groove over the next four innings.

KWC extended its lead to 3-0 in the sixth on a two-run homer to left field off the bat of Kaci Ovelgoenner and the added four more in the seventh. Ovelgoenner finished with three hits, three RBIs and two runs scored in the contest. Mackenzie Weedman added two RBIs as well. Josalyn Ress pitched got the complete game shutout allowing three hits while striking out six.

S&T struggled to get any offense going against Josalyn Ress as it was held to only three hits in the contest. Kelsi O'Neill (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs), Becca Strope (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville) and Cailey Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) had the three hits. Amber Duncan (Centralia, Mo./Centralia) took the loss allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits in five-plus innings of work. She struck out two and walked one.

The Lady Miners took a 1-0 lead in the night cap thanks to some small ball. Dana Lawson (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) and Savannah Fedorchak (Oakville, Mo./Oakville) drew back-to-back walks to start the second and were moved up on a sacrifice by O'Neill. Rachel Glenn (Chicago, Ill./Marion Catholic) drove in Lawson with a groundout to first and Fedorchak went to third. Lori Badalamenti (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland ) then walked to put runners on the corner, but S&T left them stranded.

Strope allowed just one hit in the first three innings before running into trouble in the fourth. She retired the lead-off batter before giving up a home run Casey Smith to tie the game. After a single she got two groundouts to third to end the inning.

In the fifth she gave up a lead-off single and a sacrifice moved the runner to second. Ovelgoenner then hit her second two-run homer of the day to put the Panthers in front 3-1. Ashley Crooke then singled and came around to score on Weedman's two-run homer to make it 5-1.

Kentucky Wesleyan added another run in the sixth on a double by Crooke to score Alex Baumgart. The Lady Miners got that run back in the home half of the inning. With two outs and runners at first and second Adrienne Kruse (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) ripped a shot up the middle to score Victoria Culbertson (Nevada, Mo./Nevada).
S&T had a chance for more but once again couldn't get a key two-out hit.

The Panthers tacked on two more in the seventh on a two-run single by Kelsey Miller.

The Lady Miners finished the second game with six hits. Glenn and Kruse drove in the two runs. Strope took the loss allowing five runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings of work. She walked two and struck out two.

Kentucky Wesleyan pounded out 13 hits in the game led by Miller with four while Ovelgoenner and Weedman had two RBIs each. Smith went the distance allowing two runs on six hits. She walked five but struck out three.

S&T is scheduled to go to Evansville, Ind., next Saturday to take part in the Southern Indiana Spring Classic. The Lady Miners are scheduled to play Ferris State at 11 a.m. and Tiffin University at 1 p.m.