ROLLA, Mo. – Following a homestand in which it won seven of eight games, Missouri S&T's baseball team heads on the road for eight contests beginning Sunday as it opens a four-game series against Saint Joseph's in Rensselaer, Ind.
The Miners and Pumas will play doubleheaders on Sunday and Monday – with noon start times each day – in S&T's final non-conference games before the start of Great Lakes Valley Conference play next Saturday at Drury.
Over the weekend, S&T took three of four in a series against Illinois Springfield, sweeping a doubleheader Friday before splitting a pair on Sunday. The Miners won two of the games from UIS in walk-off fashion with late rallies, taking the second game Friday with a five-run seventh inning that was capped by
Matt Reschke (Darien, IL/Hinsdale South)'s three-run homer to win the game.
On Sunday, the Miners trailed by a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in game two when
Eli Miller (Shelbyville, IL/Shelbyville) tripled in the game-tying run, then S&T won the game in the 13
th inning by taking advantage of a throwing error following
Zach Gadway (Tucson, AZ/Sabino)'s double that allowed
Matt Knickerbocker (Bayfield, CO/Bayfield) to cross the plate with the winning run.
Missouri S&T, who is 9-6 on the year, is led at the plate by Miller, who is hitting .383 on the year and leads the GLVC in stolen bases with 12 and is tied for the league lead in runs scored with 21.
Adam Richter (Breese, IL/Mater Dei) is hitting .379 and is sixth in the conference with 20 runs batted in, while
Lucas Swindle (Weldon Spring, MO/Lutheran-St. Charles) is hitting .354 and has hit two of S&T's four home runs this year.
Anthony Garza (Belleviille, IL/Belleville East) has a 1-0 record and 4.50 earned run average on the year, while
Luke Marcheschi (Bloomington, IL/Central Catholic) has a 5.03 ERA to go with a 2-2 record and
Trent Green (Perryville, MO/Perryville) has a staff-high 19 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings. Miner pitchers have struck out 81 hitters over the first 15 contests.
The Miners will be contending this weekend with the GLVC's top pitching staff, as the Pumas – 11-2 on the season as the institution plans to suspend operations following the spring semester – bring a 2.87 team ERA into the series. Saint Joseph's comes into Sunday's twinbill as the owners of a five-game winning streak on the arms of starters Lukas Jaksich, who has a 1.84 earned run average with nearly one strikeout per inning pitched and Quinn Snarskis, who is 3-0 with a 3.16 ERA.
The Pumas have five regulars hitting better than .300, led by Martin Napleton with a .471 average and a team-high 11 runs batted in. Brenden Rivera is hitting .364 on the year, while Chase Fieldhouse is at .350 and Riley Benner is hitting .340 with 10 RBI.
Saint Joseph's is ranked in two national polls this week, sitting at No. 19 in the Collegiate Baseball rankings and 25
th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.
Missouri S&T defeated Saint Joseph's 7-0 last season in the only meeting between the teams, which took place at the Midwest Regional Crossover in Westfield, Ind., in mid-March.
