KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Missouri S&T overcame an early six-run deficit to catch up with Truman State, but the Bulldogs regained the lead in the bottom half of the fifth and held on for an 8-7 win Saturday in the opening game of their four-game weekend series in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

The second game of Saturday's doubleheader was postponed – due to a weather delay of over two and one-half hours in game one – meaning the teams will play their doubleheader as scheduled on Sunday and finish the series with a single game Monday afternoon.

Truman put six runs on the scoreboard in the opening inning off Miner starter Mack Preston (Shawnee, Kan./Shawnee Mission Northwest), highlighted by a three-run double by Will Fones, but S&T answered right back in the second by cutting the Bulldog lead in half.  Nick Ulrich (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney) led off the inning with a hit and Brandon Farley (Vancouver, Wash./Heritage) drew a walk, then with one out, Lucas Swindle (Weldon Spring, Mo./Lutheran-St. Charles) reached on an infield single; an error on the play allowed Ulrich to score.

Tyler Bodenstab (Independence, Mo./Truman) followed with a run-scoring single, then after a hit by Tyler Johnson (Union, Mo./Union), Trevor Karbowski (Standish, Mich./Sterling Central) drove in the third run of the inning with a ground ball.

The Bulldogs scored a run in their half of the second on an RBI single by Kyle Smith, then the Miners broke loose in the fifth to tie the game against starter Mark Roberts and knocked him out of the game in the process.

Following back-to-back walks to start the inning and a sacrifice bunt, a ground out by Adam Richter (Breese, Ill./Mater Dei) brought home the first run of the frame.  That was followed by a triple off the bat of Swindle that cut the lead to 7-6, then Swindle scored the tying run as Bodenstab reached on an error.

But in the bottom of the fifth, the Bulldogs regained the lead on an RBI double by Zac Larkin – a lead they would keep for the balance of the contest even as the Miners mounted scoring threats in the late innings.

S&T got runners at the corners with one out in the eighth, but Matt Tometz got a double play ball to end that threat.  The Miners then got their leadoff hitter on in the ninth when Farley singled and pinch-runner Tyler Schutt (Katy, Texas/Cinco Ranch) was advanced to second, but Peter Young got the final two outs – the last on a liner hit right back at him off the bat of Bodenstab – to save the victory.

The Miners outhit the Bulldogs (23-13, 15-10 GLVC) 13-9 in the game, as Bodenstab finished with three hits and Johnson, Swindle and Lance Portwood (Edmond, Okla./Edmond Santa Fe) had two hits apiece.  Blake Stephens (Chillicothe, Mo./Chillicothe) took the loss in relief for S&T (20-16, 15-10 GLVC).