ROLLA, Mo. – The Missouri S&T Lady Miners swept past the Lincoln Blue Tigers with a 5-3 win in the opener and then rallied for a 2-1 win in the nightcap on Tuesday at the S&T Softball Field. S&T pounded out 20 hits in the doubleheader and were led by Monica Weiss (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette ) and Kyra Slemp (Roeland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) with four apiece.

The opener was scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when the Lady Miners (5-22) scored a pair of runs on three hits. The rally started with two outs as Shelby Michaelis (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) and Kyra Slemp (Roeland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) reached on back-to-back singles. Cailey Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) drove in both runs doubling off the fence in left field. That would be all they would get as a pop out to second ended the inning.

S&T added to its lead in the fourth. Morgan Imhoff (Jamestown, Mo./Jamestown) led off the inning with a walk, advanced to second on a single by Lori Badalamenti (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland ) and scored on Monica Weiss (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette )'s single to left. The Lady Miners added a couple of insurance runs in the fifth. With one out Slemp reached on an infield single and went to second on a passed ball. Baker came through again hitting a home run down the left field line sneaking inside the pole.

Lincoln (3-31) rallied in the seventh scoring three runs off of Bethany Rader (Memphis, Mo./Scotland County ), who relieved Becca Strope (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville), Allyson Corry and Sam Kircher hit back-to-back doubles in the inning accounting for the runs. Strope came back in and finished it off with a ground ball back to the circle.

S&T banged out a season-high 13 hits in the win and had five with at least two hits led by Weiss with three. Slemp, Baker, Savannah Fedorchak (Oakville, Mo./Oakville) and Badalamenti had two apiece. Strope got the win going 6.1 innings allowing no runs on four hits while striking out three and issuing two free passes.

The Blue Tigers struck first in the nightcap with a run in the top of the third. With one out Jessica Wolken hit a bloop double down the left field line. Megan Heimbaugh drove her in with a single to right center. Michaelis narrowly missed throwing out Wolken at the plate as she slid in just ahead of the tag. That would be all Lincoln got though as Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) got a foul out and a strikeout to end the inning.

The Lady Miners answered with a run in the fourth to tie it. Slemp led off the inning with a double but couldn't advance as a lineout and a flyout resulted in two outs. Andi Davis (Blue Springs, Mo./Archbishop O'Hara ) came off the bench and delivered a pinch-hit single to left center driving in Slemp. Miranda Thompson (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette) flew out to end the inning.

The Blue Tigers tried to retake the lead in the fifth as Kassidey Borland led off the inning with a walk, went to second on a sacrifice bunt and tried to score on a two out hit but Michaelis fired a strike to the plate to cut Borland down and keep the game tied.

S&T took the lead in the home half of the fifth. Olivia Culbertson (Nevada, Mo./Nevada) led off with a double to the gap in left center. Culbertson advanced to third on a groundout by Weiss and scored on Michaelis's hit to left field.

Lincoln made things interesting in the seventh putting the tying and winning runs on the corner with one out. Viets bowed her neck and left the runners stranded with a strikeout and a groundout to Davis to end the game.

The Lady Miners had seven hits in game two led by Slemp and Davis with two apiece. Weiss, Michaelis and Culbertson had one apiece. Viets went the distance in the nightcap allowing a run on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks to earn the win.
S&T returns to action on Saturday afternoon when it heads to St. Louis to take on the Tritons of Missouri-St. Louis in a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.