ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T got its baseball season off to a successful start Saturday afternoon, getting a shutout performance from Keith Coulson (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central) in the opener and timely hitting in the nightcap to sweep a doubleheader from Lincoln by scores of 1-0 and 8-2.

Coulson allowed only two hits in his complete game effort in the seven-inning opener, giving up just a single in the fourth and fifth innings as the Blue Tigers had only four baserunners in the contest.  He also struck out six and got a double play ball to halt Lincoln's best scoring opportunity in the fourth inning.

The Miners got the only run in the first game in the fifth inning by staging a two-out uprising that began with a bloop single off the bat of Justus Nelson (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong).  Following a wild pitch and a walk to Cameron Burk (Nacogdoches, Texas/Cushing), Adam Richter (Breese, Ill./Mater Dei) doubled into the gap in left center to bring home Nelson.

Richter had two of S&T's six hits in the opener and Bodenstab also had two hits for S&T, who shut out an opponent in the season opener for the second year in a row and third time since 2012.

Lincoln took the initial lead in the nightcap on an RBI single by Jeffrey Jackson in the second that scored an unearned run, but S&T answered with four in the bottom half of the inning, aided by a pair of errors along the way.

Lance Portwood (Edmond, Okla./Edmond Santa Fe) led off the inning with a hit and advanced to second on a wild pickoff throw, then after Eli Miller (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) was hit by a pitch, Nathan Volkmann (Liberty, Mo./Liberty)'s sacrifice bunt was first bobbled, then thrown away by Lincoln pitcher Zach Maskill, allowing Portwood and Miller to both come around to score.

Two batter later, Lucas Swindle (Weldon Spring, Mo./Lutheran-St. Charles) doubled home Volkmann and would later score on a wild pitch.

After Lincoln cut the lead to 4-2 in the third, the Miners scored twice in the fourth and two more in the sixth to break the contest open.

S&T scored its first run in the fourth when Tyler Johnson (Union, Mo./Union) reached on an error that allowed Bodenstab to score, then Nick Ulrich (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney) drove in Johnson with a two-out single.  Swindle brought home the two runs in the sixth when he capped a rally that started with two outs with a single to score Miller and Volkmann.

Mack Preston (Shawnee, Kan./Shawnee Mission Northwest) pitched the first six innings to get the win, scattering five hits and striking out two.  Quintan Reed (Smithville, Mo./Smithville) threw two scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts, while Ethan Krenning (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) fanned two in a perfect ninth to close the contest.

S&T outhit the Blue Tigers 9-6 in the nightcap as eight different Miners had hits in the game.  Swindle had two of the hits and drove in three.

The Miners return to the field tomorrow to host Southwest Baptist in a noon doubleheader.