ROLLA, Mo. – Back in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in five years, Missouri S&T will play in the first game of the day Thursday morning when it opens play in the Midwest Regional against Southern Indiana in a 10 a.m. contest in Quincy, Ill.
Ironically, when the Miners last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2011, their first opponent in the regional was Southern Indiana – a 2-0 Missouri S&T win -- and as was the case then, the first round matchup will be one of the two division champions from the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
Missouri S&T won the GLVC West Division with a 19-9 record and comes into Thursday's game at 35-17 overall, while the Screaming Eagles went 20-8 to win the GLVC East and are 33-19 on the season. It is a matchup of two teams who are both hitting over .300 and rank among the top four teams in the GLVC in team earned run average on the season.
The Miners have the higher ranking in terms of batting average with a .312 mark compared to the .305 average posted by the Screaming Eagles – S&T is third in the GLVC in hitting – while USI's 3.80 earned run average leads the conference despite allowing 23 earned runs in two GLVC Tournament games last weekend. Missouri S&T is fourth in the GLVC with a 4.18 ERA on the year.
S&T had six players earn All-GLVC honors last week, headed by first-team selections
Eli Miller (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) and
Aaron Bedsworth (New Bloomfield, Mo./New Bloomfield). Miller leads the Miners in hitting and is second in the GLVC with a .409 average, while also ranking among the league leaders in hits with 74, stolen bases with 20 and triples with seven.
Bedsworth brings an 8-3 record into the regional with a 2.90 earned run average and ranks among the league leaders in strikeouts with 67 in 80 2/3 innings of work. Bedsworth, along with
Keith Coulson (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central) and
Dan Borek (Greenville, Wis./Hortonville), have combined for 26 wins this season, while second-team All-GLVC reliever
Ethan Krenning (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) has nine saves.
Besides Miller, the Miners have received big offensive contributions this season from
Tyler Bodenstab (Independence, Mo./Truman), who is hitting .359 and leads the GLVC with seven triples, while also ranking among the conference leaders in runs scored with 54 and stolen bases with 17.
Nick Ulrich (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney), meanwhile, leads S&T with seven home runs and 52 runs batted in; the latter figure is an S&T single-season record.
Southern Indiana had eight all-conference selections, including first-team picks Kyle Kempf, Ryan Bertram and Kyle Niemeier that are the top three hitters for the Screaming Eagles. Kempf, an outfielder who was a unanimous All-GLVC selection, heads USI with a .352 average and has seven outfield assists this season.
Bertram, the Eagles' catcher, is hitting .351 on the year and Niemeier, a shortstop, is batting .341. USI's top home run hitters are Sam Griggs and Drake McNamara with seven apiece, with Griggs leading the team with 47 runs batted in.
On the mound, the Screaming Eagles have relied heavily on a group of four starters who have combined for 12 of the team's 13 complete games, led by Devin Williams and his 1.95 earned run average. Colin Nowak is 6-3 with a 3.10 ERA and 52 strikeouts, while Lucas Barnett has thrown 79 innings and fanned 73, tied for fourth in the GLVC.
Missouri S&T will face either top-seed Quincy or Alderson Broaddus, the champion of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, Friday in its second game of the regional.
