Rolla, Mo. – The Missouri S&T softball nine picked up its first win in league play with a 7-3 win over Saint Joseph's in the opener of a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at the S&T Softball Field. S&T (7-18, 1-7 GLVC) tried to overcome a four run deficit but came up a run short dropping the second game 6-5.

Game 1 – Lady Miners 7 Saint Joseph's 3
After working out of a jam in the top of the first the Lady Miners broke on top in the bottom of the first thanks to some small ball. Monica Weiss (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette ) led off with a single to third, went to a second on a sacrifice, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error by the second baseman.

S&T got out of a bases loaded jam in the second inning as Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) struck out Myranda Eckberg to end the threat. The Lady Miners added to their lead in the bottom of the second with a two-out rally. Viets singled up the middle and scored on Victoria Culbertson (Nevada, Mo./Nevada)'s double to center field. Culbertson tried for a triple but was cut down at third to end the inning.

Saint Joseph's (8-19, 5-3 GLVC) tied the game in the top of the third thanks to a one-out single and a two-run homer from Samantha Miller.

The game stayed tied until an S&T uprising with two outs in the fifth. Andi Davis (Blue Springs, Mo./Archbishop O'Hara ) started it off with a single to third and Kyra Slemp (Roeland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) followed with a single down the right field line to put runners on the corner for Fedorchak. Fedorchak followed with a single to left center to score Davis and Slemp went to third on the play as Fedorchak advanced to second on the throw to third. Cailey Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) broke it open with a two-run single to center and advanced to second on the throw home. Kelly Heckemeyer (St. Elizabeth, Mo./St. Elizabeth) followed with another single scoring Baker.

The Lady Miners added an insurance run in the sixth on a two-out single from Slemp to bring home Culbertson to make it 7-2. The Pumas scored a run in the seventh on a two out error to make it 7-3 but Viets got Miller to ground out to end the game.

S&T banged out 13 hits in the opener led by Weiss with three while Slemp, Baker and Culbertson had two each. Viets earned the win in a complete game effort allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits with three strikeouts against two walks.

Game 2 – Saint Joseph's 6 Lady Miners 5
In the second game Saint Joseph's jumped on Courtney Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) scoring four times in the first inning. The big blow was a three-run homer off the bat of Ashley Whitaker. The Lady Miners began to chip away at the lead in the bottom of the first on a two out single from Fedorchak to score Davis.

S&T got another run back in the second on Hannah Franceschini (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central)'s first home run of the season to cut the lead in half and added another run in the third on an RBI single from Fedorchak to score Slemp. S&T had a chance for more but left the bases loaded after Franceschini narrowly missed tying the game with an infield single that rolled foul.

The Pumas scored twice in the sixth thanks to a walk and back-to-back doubles to make it 6-3. The Lady Miners rallied in the home half of the sixth thanks to a single and a couple off errors to get the two runs back they surrendered in the top of the sixth but once again left the bases loaded on a fly ball to right. S&T sent eight batters to the plate in the sixth scoring two runs on two hits with three SJC errors.

The Lady Miners went down in order in the seventh with Fedorchak getting robbed of extra bases at the fence on a great catch by Miller to open the inning.

S&T outhit the Pumas 8-6 in the nightcap with Fedorchak and Baker combining for half of them. The Lady Miners left seven baserunners in game two. Jackson went the distance in a losing effort allowing six runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

S&T is back in action on Tuesday when it travels up the road to Jefferson City to take on the Lincoln Blue Tigers in a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.