ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T stepped outside of Great Lakes Valley Conference play Tuesday afternoon and behind four hits from
Kaleb Reid (Smithville, MO/Smithville), picked up a victory over Fontbonne at the S&T Ballpark, scoring in six of its eight innings at the plate in a
9-3 win over the Griffins.
Reid had a hand in four of the Miners' six scoring innings Tuesday, including the opening frame when he singled with one out, stole second, moved to third on a ground ball and scored on a wild pitch to give S&T the early lead.
After Fontbonne scored twice in the second to take the lead, the Miners took the advantage back for good in the third as
Brett Yasui (Mililani, HI/Kamahameha) reached on an error and Reid was hit by a pitch with two outs to precede a triple into the gap by
Adam Richter (Breese, IL/Mater Dei) off former Miner Levi Earnest.
S&T scored again in the fourth when
Matt Knickerbocker (Bayfield, CO/Bayfield) was hit by a pitch, stole second and came around to score on a hit by
Jack DeGarmo (Liberty, MO/Liberty North), then after the Griffins had pulled to within a run in the fifth, S&T got that run back with that same combination in the sixth as DeGarmo tripled home Knickerbocker with two outs.
The Miners tacked on two more runs in the seventh on RBI singles by Richter and
Lucas Swindle (Weldon Spring, MO/Lutheran-St. Charles) and two more in the eighth when Reid drove in Yasui and
Kyle Hix (Harrisonville, MO/Harrisonville) with an opposite field single.
Reid reached base five times in the game for S&T (18-17), as the Miners outhit the Griffins (11-18) – the ninth-best hitting team in NCAA Division III entering the contest – by an 11-10 margin. Richter had two hits and three runs batted in, while DeGarmo also had two hits and two RBI.
Matt Lamb (Doniphan, NE/Grand Island), the first of six pitchers used by the Miners in the mid-week, non-league outing, was credited with the win after pitching into the fourth inning. The six S&T hurlers combined to strike out eight Griffins, including strikeouts on seven of the final 10 outs of the game.
Missouri S&T will open a four-game series Sunday against William Jewell with a noon doubleheader at the S&T Ballpark.
