Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 LIBERTY, Mo. – Missouri S&T rapped out 16 hits and a got a five-hit shutout from Kyle Robertson (Granite City, Ill./Granite City) to take a 4-0 victory in the opening contest of its Great Lakes Valley Conference weekend series Friday at William Jewell.  However, the Miners were blanked over the final nine innings of game two in a game eventually won by the Cardinals 2-1 in 10 innings.

Robertson held the Cardinals to no more than one hit in any inning in the opener and struck out four along the way to pick up his first win since March 23.  The Cardinals had only one runner reach third base in the entire contest – which came with one out in the ninth – but Robertson completed his 117-pitch complete game with a pair of ground outs to preserve the shutout.

S&T scored single runs in four consecutive innings, starting with the third, for its four tallies in game one.  The first run came as Reed Brown (Rogers, Ark./Heritage) doubled to open the inning, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Tyler Bodenstab (Independence, Mo./Truman)'s sacrifice fly.

The Miners got another leadoff double in the fourth, this one from Jake Brower (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland), to kickstart a rally.  Adam Richter (Breese, Ill./Mater Dei) followed with a hit to move Brower to third, but he was thrown out at the plate as the Miners tried to execute a double steal.  S&T didn't come away empty, however, as Brown singled with two outs to move Richter to third, then a balk by Cardinal pitcher David Collins scored the run.

In the fifth, the Miners loaded the bases to start the inning on hits by Lance Portwood (Edmond, Okla./Edmond Santa Fe) and Nick Ulrich (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney) that sandwiched a walk to Trevor Karbowski (Standish, Mich./Sterling Central).  Richter then delivered a one-out single to drive in Portwood to give the Miners a three-run lead.

S&T's run in the sixth came courtesy of a one-out hit by Bodenstab that was followed by a double off the bat of Michael Lockett (O'Fallon, Mo./Timberland).

The Miners had six players with a multiple-hit performance in the opener, with Portwood, Ulrich and Richter all getting three hits apiece.

In game two, the Miners grabbed the early lead as Brown opened the contest with a single and later scored on an RBI single by Karbowski.  That turned out to be the only run the Miners could score, as they left runners on base in every inning except for the seventh – leaving 13 on base overall – and left the bases loaded in the sixth with the game tied at one.

The Cardinals knotted the score with a run in the second off S&T starter John Auble (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) as they strung together a hit, a hit batter and another single after the first two hitters were retired. 

Auble pitched into the sixth after the Miners had missed a golden opportunity in the top half of the inning when they loaded the bases with one out, but saw the threat end with a pop out and a line out.  Tom Laudadio (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) took over for Auble and got the final two outs in the sixth as well as the Cardinals in order in each of the next three innings.

S&T had another good chance in the eighth following a leadoff single by Portwood and a passed ball that moved him to second, but a pair of strikeouts during the inning squelched that threat.  Portwood got another leadoff hit in the tenth – his third hit of the game – but only got as far as second as the Cardinals escaped that inning.

In the bottom of the tenth, Bryan Porting opened with a hit to give William Jewell its first baserunner against Laudadio.  Following an intentional walk with one out to Clarke O'Dowd, Hunter Bingham singled home the game-winning run to give the Cardinals the victory.

William Jewell (13-24, 11-15 GLVC) outhit the Miners (17-22, 11-14 GLVC) by a 12-10 margin in the second game.

The Miners will wrap up their weekend set with the Cardinals with a noon doubleheader on Saturday.